Inga Gurgenidze Explained

Inga Gurgenidze
Native Name:ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე (Georgian)Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе (Russian)
Native Name Lang:geo
Fullname:Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze
Also Known As:Inga Nikitina
Birth Date:23 April 2009
Birth Place:Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
Residence:Kazan, Russia
Coach:Liudmila Gafarova
Choreographer:Evgeni Ilin
Ilona Bikmetova
Skating Club:RSSHOR of Figure Skating
Currenttraininglocations:Kazan
Combined Total:190.52
Combined Date:2022 JGP Italy
Sp Score:63.04
Sp Date:2022 JGP Italy
Fs Score:127.48
Fs Date:2022 JGP Italy

Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze (Georgian: ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე, ru|Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе; born 23 April 2009), born Inga Zurabovna Nikitina, is a Russian-born Georgian figure skater who represents Georgia in women's singles. She is the 2022 JGP Italy bronze medalist, the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial junior champion, the 2022 Bosphorus Cup junior silver medalist, and the 2023 Dragon Trophy junior champion. She finished within the top ten at the 2023 World Junior Championships. She is the twenty-third woman in history to have successfully landed a triple Axel jump in competition.

Personal life

Gurgenidze was born on 23 April 2009 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. Part of her family is from Georgia, including her grandmother, who she used to visit every summer as a child.

She initially competed under her mother's surname, Nikitina, until the 2021–22 season when she changed it to her father's surname, Gurgenidze.

In addition, she has expressed interest in learning the English and Georgian languages.

Gurgenidze's figure skating idols are Julia Lipnitskaia, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

Career

Early career

Gurgenidze began figure skating in 2013 and has been coached by Liudmila Gafarova since a very young age.

She competed at the 2022 Russian Junior Championships, finishing in fifteenth place.

2022–23 season

In August 2022, it was confirmed that Russian-born Gurgenidze would be representing Georgia in international competition, having never previously skated for Russia internationally. She made her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix series. She began her season with a fourth-place finish at 2022 JGP Latvia. At her second even, the 2022 JGP Italy, Gurgenidze won the bronze medal.

Gurgenidze then went on to win gold at the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, silver at the 2022 Bosphorus Cup, and another gold at the 2023 Dragon Trophy. She finished the season at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. After placing a disappointing nineteenth in the short program, Gurgenidze managed to skate a solid free program, placing seventh in that segment of the competition and finishing in ninth place overall.

2023–24 season

In her second Junior Grand Prix season, Gurgenidze came ninth at the 2023 JGP Hungary and sixth at the 2023 JGP Armenia. She successfully defended her gold medal at the 2023 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and then won gold at the 2023 Bosphorus Cup to conclude the fall season.

Gurgenidze represented Georgia in the women's event at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, coming fifth. At the 2024 World Junior Championships, she placed twelfth.

2024–25 season

During the off-season, Gurgenidze worked with Russian choreographer, Sergey Plishkin, on her free skate to music from the film, Dancer in the Dark. Regarding the program's concept, Gurgenidze explained that she plays a blind woman dancing in the dark and moving her soul while still unable to see. She would begin the season by competing on the 2024-25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fifth at 2024 JGP Turkey. At her second junior grand prix event, 2024 JGP China, Gurgenidze's coach, Liudmila Gafarova, was unable to attend due to visa issues. Gurgenidze would place a disappointing thirteenth-place in the short program but managed to skate a solid free skate that included a clean triple axel. She would finish third in that segment of the competition and finish sixth overall.

In late November, Gurgenidze would compete on the junior level at the 2024 NRW Trophy, where she took the gold medal.

Programs

SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2024–2025
  • Tango Time
2023–2024
  • Winter
  • Memphisto's Lullaby
  • Breathing Under Water
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
2022–2023

----

  • The Devil You Know
2021–2022
  • Waltz

Competitive highlights

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

For Georgia

International: Junior
Event22–2323–2424–25
align=left 5th
align=left 9th 12th
align=left C 6th
align=left 6th
align=left 9th
align=left bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left 4th
align=left 5th
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled

For Russia

National
Event21–22
align=left 15th
align=left 10th
align=left Russian Cup 2nd Stage 6th
align=left Russian Cup 4th Stage bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results

Personal best highlighted in bold.

For Georgia

2024–25 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
November 11–17, 20242024 NRW Trophyalign=center 1
65.30
align=center 1
112.89
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
178.19
October 9–12, 20242024 JGP Chinaalign=center 13
50.45
align=center 3
128.69
align=center 6
179.14
September 18–21, 20242024 JGP Turkeyalign=center 6
59.93
align=center 5
111.03
align=center 5
170.96
2023–24 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 20242024 World Junior Championshipsalign=center 7
62.28
align=center 16
110.59
align=center 12
172.87
January 28–30, 20242024 Winter Youth Olympicsalign=center 7
57.99
align=center 6
115.42
align=center 5
173.41
Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 20222023 Bosphorus Cupalign=center 1
64.49
align=center 1
111.83
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
176.52
November 2–5, 20232023 Denis Ten Memorialalign=center 3
54.22
align=center 1
109.54
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
163.76
October 4–7, 20232023 JGP Armeniaalign=center 6
55.47
align=center 5
110.43
align=center 6
165.90
September 20–23, 20232023 JGP Hungaryalign=center 13
54.32
align=center 8
105.53
align=center 9
159.85
2022–23 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 20232023 World Junior Championshipsalign=center 19
52.02
align=center 7
120.48
align=center 9
172.50
February 9–12, 20232023 Dragon Trophyalign=center 4
53.73
align=center 1
124.09
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
177.82
Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 20222023 Bosphorus Cupalign=center 2
52.58
align=center 1
118.47
align=center bgcolor=silver 2
171.05
October 26–29, 20222022 Denis Ten Memorialalign=center 1
63.62
align=center 1
110.56
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
174.18
October 12–15, 20222022 JGP Italyalign=center 4
63.04
align=center 3
127.48
align=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
190.52
September 7–10, 20222022 JGP Latviaalign=center 5
58.80
align=center 4
121.48
align=center 4
180.28

External links