Asaf Kazimovich Kazimov (Russian: Асаф Казимович Казимов; born 12 March 2000) is a Russian-German ice dancer who currently competes for Spain. With his skating partner, Sofía Val, he is the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice champion.
| Asaf Kazimov | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Asaf Kazimovich Kazimov |
| Native name | Асаф Казимович Казимов |
| Born | 12 March 2000 Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Hometown | Dortmund, Germany |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Spain (2023–present)  Germany (until 2023) |
| Partner | Sofía Val (2022–present) Viktoriia Lopusova (2019–2022) Lara Luft (2015–2019) Diana Scheidt (until 2015) |
| Coach | Kirill Khaliavin Sara Hurtado Ksenia Monko Oscar Muñoz |
| Skating club | SK International Ice Dance School |
| Began skating | 2006 |
Personal life
editKazimov was born on 12 March 2000 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He and his family immigrated to Germany in 2012. Kazimov has his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.[1]
Career
editEarly years
editKazimov began learning how to skate in 2006 in his native Saint Petersburg. He trained as a single skater under Valentina Chebotareva and Olga Ivanova until he was 11, at which point he was encouraged to pursue ice dance. Kazimov and his family emigrated from Russia to Germany in 2012, and there he took up the sport with his first competitive partner, Diana Scheidt.[1] Scheidt/Kazimov competed as advanced novices both internationally and domestically during the 2014–15 season before splitting during the first half of 2015.
2015–2019: Partnership with Luft
editKazimov teamed up with his second skating partner, Lara Luft, in 2015.[2] They competed for Germany for three seasons together, from 2016 to 2019, including three Junior Grand Prix assignments, a bronze medal in the junior ice dance category at the 2017 Christmas Cup, and a silver medal at the 2019 German junior national championship. Luft/Kazimov split in 2019.
2019–2022: Partnership with Lopusova
editKazimov next formed a partnership with fellow Russian-born skater Viktoriia Lopusova, with whom he competed for three seasons from 2019 to 2022 and made his senior international debut. Lopusova/Kazimov competed at two junior international events during the 2019–20 season and won the bronze medal at the 2019 German junior national championship, but did not appear internationally or domestically during the 2020–21 season.
The team returned to make their senior international debut at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying event to the 2022 Winter Olympics, where they finished 15th. They competed at six other international senior B events over the course of the 2021–22 season, and finished 4th at the 2021 German Championships.
2022–23 season: Debut of Val/Kazimov
editLopusova/Kazimov split in August 2022, despite having prepared for the upcoming 2022–23 season. Kazimov connected with his current skating partner, Sofía Val, through their now coach, Sara Hurtado, and the skaters convened in Madrid for a five-day tryout period in September. They elected to team up for Val's native Spain not long after, and Kazimov relocated to Madrid to train under Hurtado and her former skating partner, Kirill Khaliavin.
The new team was ineligible to compete internationally until January 2023 when Kazimov received his release from the German Ice Skating Union. Val/Kazimov debuted at the 2023 Challenge Cup at the end of February where they placed sixth of 14 and secured their technical minimum scores to be eligible to compete at the 2023 World Championships.
At the World Championships in March, Val/Kazimov placed 30th in the rhythm dance and did not advance to the free dance portion of the competition.[3]
2023–24 season
editVal/Kazimov opened their first full competitive season with a 13th-place finish at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial. They set new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall, at their next ISU Challenger Series assignment, the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy, where they placed sixth. The team won their first international medal a week later at the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice, taking the title ahead of Lithuanian and Chinese teams Ramanauskaitė/Kizala and Xiao/He.[3]
Competing at their first Spanish Championships in December, Val/Kazimov won the silver medal behind the new team Smart/Dieck.[4] Despite the latter being the national champions, it was initially announced by the Spanish federation that Val/Kazimov would represent the country at the 2024 European and World Championships. Following controversy around the criteria used to arrive at this result, on 27 December the Spanish federation announced that Smart/Dieck would instead be given the country's lone World Championship berth, while Val/Kazimov would go to the European Championships.[5][6]
In the rhythm dance at the European Championships in Kaunas, Val lost a level on her twizzle sequence, and both partners had low levels on their step sequences. They were 23rd in the segment, and missed the cut for the free dance.[7]
Programs
editWith Val
edit| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 [8] |
| |
| 2023–2024 [9] |
|
|
| 2022–2023 [10] |
|
With Lopusova
edit| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [11] |
|
|
| 2021–2022 [12] |
|
|
With Luft
edit| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 [2] |
|
|
| 2017–2018 [13] |
|
|
Competitive highlights
editCS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Val for Spain
edit| International[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| Worlds | 30th | ||
| Europeans | 23rd | ||
| CS Budapest Trophy | 6th | ||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 11th | ||
| CS Nepela Memorial | 13th | TBD | |
| CS Tallinn Trophy | TBD | ||
| Bosphorus Cup | 3rd | ||
| Challenge Cup | 6th | ||
| Ephesus Cup | 1st | ||
| Trophée Métropole Nice | 1st | ||
| National[3] | |||
| Spanish Champ. | 2nd | ||
With Lopusova for Germany
edit| International[14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 19–20 | 21–22 |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 15th | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | 20th | |
| Bavarian Open | 8th | |
| Challenge Cup | 7th | |
| Egna Dance Trophy | 9th | |
| Open d'Andorra | 9th | |
| Trophée Métropole Nice | 10th | |
| International: Junior[14] | ||
| Golden Spin | 10th | |
| Grand Prix of Bratislava | 4th | |
| National[14] | ||
| German Champ. | 3rd J | 4th |
With Luft for Germany
edit| International: Junior[15][16] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
| JGP Armenia | 11th | ||
| JGP Austria | 16th | ||
| JGP Lithuania | 10th | ||
| Bavarian Open | 19th | ||
| Christmas Cup | 3rd | ||
| Ice Star | 7th | ||
| Mentor Toruń Cup | 10th | ||
| Volvo Open Cup | 11th | ||
| National[15][16] | |||
| German Champ. | 2nd J | ||
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Morelli, Matteo (27 April 2023). "Val & Kazimov Develop Their Own Style". ice-dance.com.
- ^ a b "Lara LUFT / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Sofia VAL / Asaf KAZIMOV: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Tomàs Guarino y Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck brillan en el cierre del Campeonato de España Iberdrola de Patinaje 2023-24 en Logroño" [Tomàs Guarino and Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck shine at the closing of the 2023-24 Iberdrola Spanish Skating Championships in Logroño] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "España competirá con la pareja Val-Kazimov en el Europeo de Patinaje y con Smart-Dieck en el Mundial" [Spain will compete with the Val/Kazimov couple in the European Skating Championships and with Smart/Dieck in the World Championship] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Comunicado RFEDH acerca de la selección de parejas de danza para el Campeonato de Europa y Campeonato del Mundo 2024" [RFEDH statement about the selection of dance couples for the 2024 European Championships and World Championships] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "El equipo español completa su participación en el Europeo de Kaunas" [The Spanish team completes its participation in the European Championship in Kaunas] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Sofia VAL / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Sofia VAL / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Sofia VAL / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Viktoriia LOPUSOVA / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ "Viktoriia LOPUSOVA / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Lara LUFT / Asaf KAZIMOV: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "Viktoriia LOPUSOVA / Asaf KAZIMOV: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Asaf KAZIMOV / Sofía VAL". RinkResults.com. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Lara LUFT / Asaf KAZIMOV:Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 27 September 2024.