Inga Gurgenidze
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე (Georgian)
Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе (Russian) |
| Full name | Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze |
| Other names | Inga Nikitina |
| Born | 23 April 2009 |
| Height | 1.46 m (4 ft 9+1⁄2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country | Georgia (since 2022) Russia (until 2022) |
| Coach | Liudmila Gafarova |
| Skating club | RSSHOR of Figure Skating |
Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze (Georgian: ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე, Russian: Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе; born 23 April 2009), born Inga Zurabovna Nikitina,[1] 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.[2]
Personal life
Gurgenidze was born on 23 April 2009 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia.[3] Part of her family is from Georgia, including her grandmother, who she used to visit every summer as a child.[4]
She initially competed under her mother's surname, Nikitina, until the 2021–22 season when she changed it to her father's surname, Gurgenidze.[1]
In addition, she has expressed interest in learning the English and Georgian languages.[4]
Gurgenidze's figure skating idols are Julia Lipnitskaia, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.[4]
Career
Early career
Gurgenidze began figure skating in 2013 and has been coached by Liudmila Gafarova since a very young age.[4][3]
She competed at the 2022 Russian Junior Championships, finishing in fifteenth place.[5]
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.[1] She made her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix series. She began her season with a fourth-place finish at 2022 JGP Latvia.[6] At her second even, the 2022 JGP Italy, Gurgenidze won the bronze medal.[7]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[4] She would begin the season by competing on the 2024-25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fifth at 2024 JGP Turkey.[6] 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.[4] In late November, Gurgenidze would compete on the junior level at the 2024 NRW Trophy, where she took the gold medal.[8]
Finishing the season at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Gurgenidze placed second in the short program with a score of 67.47. “I feel really good,” she said after the short program. “I skated my best today and I skated with confidence. Skating at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia really helped me, and competing in Georgia was such a big pleasure. It also gave me the confidence that I can win.”[9] She received a silver small medal for the segment.[10] She struggled during the free skate, however, placing eleventh in that segment and dropping to sixth place overall.[11][9]
2025–26 season
Gurgenidze opened the season in October by finishing sixth at 2025 JGP United Arab Emirates.[6]
At the 2026 World Junior Championships, Inga finished 6th overall. [12] “I feel mixed emotions about today,” she said after the free skate. “Compared to previous competitions, it was definitely better and also compared to last season it was better. So, it is mixed feelings, bittersweet.”[13]
Programs
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2026 [14] |
|
|
|
| 2024–2025 [15][4] |
|
|
|
| 2023–2024 [3] |
|
|
|
| 2022–2023 [16] |
|
| |
| 2021–2022 [17][18] |
|
|
Competitive highlights
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- TBD – Assigned
- C – Cancelled
For Georgia
| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Youth Olympics | 5th | |||
| World Junior Championships | 9th | 12th | 6th | 6th |
| JGP Armenia | C | 6th | ||
| JGP China | 6th | |||
| JGP Hungary | 9th | |||
| JGP Italy | 3rd | |||
| JGP Latvia | 4th | |||
| JGP Turkey | 5th | |||
| JGP United Arab Emirates | 6th | |||
| Bosphorus Cup | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd |
| Crystal Skate | 2nd | |||
| Denis Ten Memorial | 1st | 1st | ||
| Dragon Trophy | 1st | 1st | ||
| Ephesus Cup | 2nd | |||
| EYOF | 1st | |||
| NRW Trophy | 1st |
For Russia
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Russian Championships | 15th |
| Russian Cup Final | 10th |
Detailed results
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 190.52 | 2022 JGP Italy |
| Short program | TSS | 67.47 | 2025 World Junior Championships |
| TES | 38.57 | 2025 World Junior Championships | |
| PCS | 28.90 | 2025 World Junior Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 128.69 | 2024 JGP China |
| TES | 74.72 | 2024 JGP China | |
| PCS | 58.92 | 2022 JGP Italy |
Personal best highlighted in bold.
For Georgia
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 8-11, 2025 | 2025 JGP United Arab Emirates | 7 | 56.26 | 4 | 111.97 | 6 | 168.23 |
| Nov 24-30, 2025 | 2025 Bosphorus Cup | 3 | 62.52 | 1 | 111.85 | 2 | 174.37 |
| Jan 14-19, 2026 | 2026 Crystal Skate of Romania | 1 | 62.25 | 3 | 94.93 | 2 | 157.18 |
| Jan 23-25, 2026 | 2026 Dragon Trophy | 1 | 65.32 | 1 | 124.46 | 1 | 189.78 |
| Mar 3-8, 2026 | 2026 World Junior Championships | 5 | 64.28 | 10 | 118.32 | 6 | 182.60 |
| 2024–25 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| Feb. 25 – Mar. 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships | 2 67.47 |
11 115.57 |
6 183.04 |
| November 11–17, 2024 | 2024 NRW Trophy | 1 65.30 |
1 112.89 |
1 178.19 |
| October 9–12, 2024 | 2024 JGP China | 13 50.45 |
3 128.69 |
6 179.14 |
| September 18–21, 2024 | 2024 JGP Turkey | 6 59.93 |
5 111.03 |
5 170.96 |
| 2023–24 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 2024 | 2024 World Junior Championships | 7 62.28 |
16 110.59 |
12 172.87 |
| January 28–30, 2024 | 2024 Winter Youth Olympics | 7 57.99 |
6 115.42 |
5 173.41 |
| Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 2022 | 2023 Bosphorus Cup | 1 64.49 |
1 111.83 |
1 176.52 |
| November 2–5, 2023 | 2023 Denis Ten Memorial | 3 54.22 |
1 109.54 |
1 163.76 |
| October 4–7, 2023 | 2023 JGP Armenia | 6 55.47 |
5 110.43 |
6 165.90 |
| September 20–23, 2023 | 2023 JGP Hungary | 13 54.32 |
8 105.53 |
9 159.85 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 19 52.02 |
7 120.48 |
9 172.50 |
| February 9–12, 2023 | 2023 Dragon Trophy | 4 53.73 |
1 124.09 |
1 177.82 |
| Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 2022 | 2023 Bosphorus Cup | 2 52.58 |
1 118.47 |
2 171.05 |
| October 26–29, 2022 | 2022 Denis Ten Memorial | 1 63.62 |
1 110.56 |
1 174.18 |
| October 12–15, 2022 | 2022 JGP Italy | 4 63.04 |
3 127.48 |
3 190.52 |
| September 7–10, 2022 | 2022 JGP Latvia | 5 58.80 |
4 121.48 |
4 180.28 |
References
- ^ a b c Kuznetsov, Dmitry. "Российская фигуристка сменила гражданство. Ради карьеры она будет выступать под другой фамилией" [The Russian figure skater changed her citizenship. For the sake of her career, she will perform under a different name.]. Sport Express (in Russian). Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Dragon Trophy 2023 Judges Details Per Skater, Women's Free Program" (PDF). International Skating Union.
- ^ a b c "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bagriantseva, Maya (13 October 2024). "Inga Gurgenidze: Georgia's NextGen Hopeful". Golden Skate. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "RUS-Inga GURGENIDZE". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Competition Results: Inga GURGENIDZE". International Skating Union.
- ^ "Skaters grab last seven tickets for ISU Junior Grand Prix Final at JGP Egna-Neumarkt". International Skating Union. October 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "GEO-Inga GURGENIDZE". Skating Scores.
- ^ a b Slater, Paula (March 1, 2025). "Mao Shimada secures historic three-peat at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
- ^ "Spectacular Mao Shimada (JPN) defies gravity for strong lead at ISU World Junior Championships". International Skating Union. February 27, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Incredible Mao Shimada (JPN) flies high to historic third ISU World Junior Championship title". International Skating Union. March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 - Junior Women". results.isu.org. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Slater, Paula (March 7, 2026). "Japan's Mao Shimada wins fourth straight Junior World title". Golden Skate.
- ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Девушки. Короткая программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Девушки. Произвольная программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
External links
- Inga Gurgenidze at the International Skating Union
- Inga Gurgenidze at Skating Scores
- Inga Gurgenidze at Olympedia
- Inga Gurgenidze on Instagram