Camille Kovalev

Camille Kovalev (née Mendoza; born 29 November 1994 in Toulouse) is a French pair skater. With Pavel Kovalev, she is a two-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, 2018 Volvo Open Cup silver medalist, 2015 International Cup of Nice bronze medalist, 2015 Lombardia Trophy bronze medalist, and is a five-time French national champion (2022-26).

Earlier in her career, she skated with Christopher Boyadji and competed in the final segment at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

Kovalev was born on 29 November 1994 in Toulouse, France. She married her skating partner, Pavel Kovalev, in December 2017 and subsequently adopted his last name.^[1]

Kovalev began figure skating in 2000 at the age of six.^[1][2] She would begin competing as a pair skater in 2011 after teaming up with Christopher Boyadji. Coached by Vivien Rolland and Diana Skotnicka, Kovalev/Boyadji represented the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.^[3] They competed at the 2012 World Junior Championships, where they would finish sixteenth. Their partnership would eventually dissolve following the 2011–12 figure skating season.^[4]

In 2014, it was announced that Kovalev had teamed up with Russian pair skater, Pavel Kovalev and that they would be coached by Medhi Bouzzine and that they would represent the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.^[5][6]

Their first competition as a team was at the 2014 Master's de Patinage, although they would withdraw from the event after placing third in the short program. They would subsequently compete at the 2014 NRW Trophy and the 2015 Bavarian Open, finishing fourth at both events.^[7]

The Kovalevs started the season by winning their first international medal together, a bronze at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy. They would then go on to win silver at the 2015 Master's de Patinage and bronze at the 2015 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.^[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win silver at the 2016 French Championships. They then closed the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Bavarian Open.^[7]

Beginning the season with a gold medal win at the 2016 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs would subsequently finish sixth at the 2016 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and fourth at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy.^[7]

They would end the season by winning bronze at the 2017 French Championships.^[7]

The Kovalevs started the season by winning bronze at the 2017 Master's de Patinage. They would then compete at the 2017 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy, finishing eighth and fifth, respectively.^[7]

The Kovalevs began the season by winning silver at the 2018 Master's de Patinage and at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup. They then concluded the season by winning bronze at the 2019 French Championships.^[7]

Beginning the season at the 2020 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs won the gold medal. They would then go on to compete on the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series, finishing thirteenth at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup and seventeenth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win their second national silver medal at the 2020 French Championships.^[7]

The Kovalevs only competed at one event that season, the 2020 Master's de Patinage, where they won the bronze medal.^[7]

In fall 2021, it was announced that the Kovalevs were now being coached by Laurent Depouilly in Courbevoie.^[1] They started the season by finishing seventh at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix series debut at the 2021 Internationaux de France, the pair would come in seventh place.^[7]

In December, they would win their first national title at the 2022 French Championships. With this result, the Kovalevs were selected to represent France at the European and World Championships for a first time. At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, they would come in fourteenth place.^[7]

In March 2022, the International Skating Union banned athletes representing Russia from competing at international events as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send any athletes to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France.^[8] Because of this, the Kovalevs finished World Championships with a strong eighth-place.^[7]

The Kovalevs began the season by finishing sixth at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy before going on to win gold at the 2022 Master's de Patinage.^[7]

Going on to compete on the 2022–23 Grand Prix circuit, the pair won their first Grand Prix medal, a silver, at the 2022 Grand Prix de France. They would subsequently finish fifth at the 2022 NHK Trophy.^[7]

In December, the Kovalevs won the national title for a second consecutive time at the 2023 French Championships. Named to the European and World team, the Kovalevs would finish sixth at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland and fourteenth at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.^[7]

Selected to compete for Team France in the pairs discipline at the 2023 World Team Trophy, the pair would individually place fifth and Team France would finish in fifth place overall.^[7]

The Kovalevs started the season by winning gold at the 2023 John Nicks Pairs Challenge. Following a ninth-place finish at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, the pair would win gold for a fourth time at the 2023 Master's de Patinage. They would subsequently compete at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they placed fifth.^[7]

Competing on the 2023–24 Grand Prix circuit, the Kovalevs won the bronze medal at the 2023 Grand Prix de France. “We are so happy,” said Camille. “We came here with the goal to win a medal and we did it. We fought until the end to get it!”^[9] They went on to finish fifth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.^[7] In December, they would win their third national title at the 2024 French Championships.^[7]

The pair then went on to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, despite Camille developing a fever two days before the event. During the short program, Camille would have a very hard fall on the throw triple flip, landing on her chest. She would then fall again on the side-by-side triple toe. As a result of these mistakes, the pair would only place fifteenth in the short program. They would end up withdrawing before the free skate due to Camille's illness.^[10][11][7] The Kovalevs would subsequently compete at the 2024 International Challenge Cup, where they took the bronze medal.^[7]

Weeks before the 2024 World Championships, the Kovalevs announced that they would not compete at the event due to Pavel injuring himself from a very bad fall in training.^[12]

In June, the pair announced that while continuing their coaching relationship with Laurent Depouilly, that they would begin training at the ASGA Figure Skating Club.^[13]

During the off-season, Pavel dislocated his ankle and underwent surgery during the summer. He would also injure his back shortly after returning to the ice and would subsequently be forced to miss another two weeks of training. The Kovalevs, having initially been told by doctors that they would likely need to sit out of the beginning of the season, Pavel would eventually be cleared to skate at the 2024 Master's de Patinage in late September, much earlier than the couple would have expected. They would ultimately win silver at the event.^[7][14][15] They would subsequently finish sixth at the 2024 Tayside Trophy.^[7]

Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, the Kovalevs finished seventh at the 2024 Grand Prix de France and sixth at the 2024 Cup of China.^[7]

In late December, the Kovalevs won their fourth national title at the 2025 French Championships.^[7]

The Kovalevs then competed at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they finished ninth overall. They subsequently finished fourth at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[7]

Selected to compete at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, the Kovalevs placed twenty-first in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment. They then closed the season by competing for Team France at the 2025 World Team Trophy, placing sixth in all segments of the pairs event and Team France finished fourth overall.^[7][16][17]

In June, the Kovalevs announced that they had made a coaching change from Laurent Depouilly to Bruno Massot.^[18]

They opened the season by winning gold at the 2025 Master's de Patinage. They then competed at the 2025 Skate to Milano, the final Olympic qualifying event. At the event, the Kovalevs placed second in the short program and fifth in the free skate, placing fourth overall.^[7] Due to this placement, Team France was given the first alternate spot for pair skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[19]

Going on to compete on the 2025–26 Grand Prix series, the Kovalevs finished sixth at the 2025 Grand Prix de France.^[7] They went on to compete at the 2025 NHK Trophy, however, Camille sustained a shoulder injury following a fall on their side-by-side triple toe attempt in the short program. As a result, the team was forced to withdraw. According to their coach, Bruno Massot, the injury involved a dislocation, but the available three-minute injury recovery period was insufficient for her to resume skating. Kovalev did not require immediate hospital treatment and was expected to undergo further evaluation upon returning home.^[20]

In December, the Kovalevs competed at the 2026 French Championships, where they won their fifth national title.^[7] They were subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team to compete in the figure skating team event.^[21] The following month, the Kovalevs competed at the 2026 European Championships in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom, where they finished in tenth place.^[7]

Less than two weeks before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, it was announced that the Winter Sports Association of Uzbekistan had reliquinshed their sole Olympic pair skating spot. As the first alternates, the Kovalevs were selected to compete in the Games' individual pair event.^[22]

On February 6, the Kovalevs placed seventh in the short program in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event. “There’s so much to enjoy here,” said Camille. “Honestly, everything. It feels like a dream come true. Every moment, we try to take pictures, look around, see what’s happening next, what we can do next. I really feel like a kid in Disneyland!”^[23]

Media related to Camille Mendoza at Wikimedia Commons

• Camille Kovalev & Pavel Kovalev at the International Skating Union
• Camille Kovalev & Pavel Kovalev at Skating Scores
• Camille Kovalev & Christopher Boyadji at the International Skating Union
• Camille Kovalev & Christopher Boyadji at Skating Scores
• Camille Kovalev at Milano Cortina 2026
• Camille Kovalev at Olympics.com
• Camille Kovalev at Olympedia
• Camille Kovalev at Équipe de France (in French)
• Camille Kovalev on Instagram