Kyrylo Marsak

Kyrylo Andriyovych Marsak (Ukrainian: Кирило Андрійович Марсак; born 7 September 2004) is a Ukrainian figure skater. He is the two-time Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, a two-time Volvo Open Cup medalist (gold in 2024, bronze in 2022), 2023 Bavarian Open bronze medalist, and a three-time Ukrainian national champion (2023–25).

Marsak was born in Kherson, Ukraine to parents, Zoya and Andriy, and grew up in Kyiv. He also has a sister, Yelyzaveta Marsak, who is six years older.^[1][2]

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with Marsak's home city of Kyiv being one of the first areas of attack. Three weeks following the initial invasion, Marsak and his sister fled the country, eventually settling in Toruń, Poland. In June, Marsak moved to Laukaa, Finland for his training while his sister remained in Poland where she opened up her own figure skating school called, “On Ice with Elizabeth.” With this school, Yelyzaveta organises masterclasses and skating camps together with other Ukrainian athletes for skaters of all levels.^[3][4][5].

Marsak is currently a student at the National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport.^[6] He speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Finnish.^[7][8][9]

Marsak began learning to skate in 2009.^[1] During the 2018–19 season, he made his first appearance at the senior-level Ukrainian Championships.^[10]

For most of the season, Marsak trained in Kyiv, coached by Dmytro Shkidchenko.^[11] He started the season by placing fourth on the junior level at the 2021 Victor Petrenko Cup. He followed this up by winning his first senior national medal, a bronze, at the 2022 Ukrainian Championships.^[12]

In early February, Marsak won bronze on the junior level at the 2022 Jégvirág Cup.^[12] Later that month, however, Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine leading to Marsak fleeing the country, temporarily settling in Toruń. Only one month following this, he competed at both the 2022 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival and the 2022 World Junior Championships, placing fifteenth and thirty-third, respectively.^[10][5]

After spending some time in Latvia, Marsak went to Laukaa, Finland in June 2022 after being invited to partake in a training camp led by Alina Mayer-Virtanen.^[5] In response to an appeal from the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, she and her husband, Valtter Virtanen, helped Marsak prepare for the season. In August, he began training at the couple's skating club, the Peurunka Skating Academy in Laukaa after Virtanen decided to fund Marsak's skating career and allow him touse their rink free of charge.^{[13][13][14][7]} Meanwhile, Marsak's longtime coach, Dmitri Shkidchenko remained in Ukraine but continued to guide Marsak via Viber.^[5]

In September, Marsak placed ninth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Latvia. He made his senior international debut in October, at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. His first senior international medals, both bronze, came the following month, at the Volvo Open Cup in Latvia and the Tallinn Trophy in Estonia.^[10]

In January, Ukraine named Marsak to replace the injured Ivan Shmuratko at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland. He qualified to the final segment in seventeenth place after the short program, where he scored a personal best.^[15] Marsak placed twenty-second in the free skate and finished twenty-first overall. The day of the free program, Marsak had learned that his coach, Shkidchenko had died.^[16]

He went on to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta, where he finished fifteenth, scoring personal bests in the free skate and combined total segments of the competition.^[10]

Marsak made his World Championship debut at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, where he placed twenty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment of the competition despite delivering a solid program. He closed his season by winning the gold medal at the 2023 Ukrainian Championships.^[10]

Marsak began the season with a Junior Grand Prix appearance, coming fourteenth at the 2023 JGP Turkey. He then competed on the 2023-24 ISU Challenger Series, finishing fifteenth at the 2023 Finlandia Trophy, eleventh at the 2023 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, and fifteenth at the 2023 Warsaw Cup.^[10][12]

Marsak went on to win bronze at the 2023 Tallinn Trophy and gold on the junior level of the 2024 Volvo Open Cup.^[10] At the 2024 Bavarian Open and the 2024 Tallink Cup, Marsak finished eleventh and fourth at these events.^[10][12]

Selected to compete at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, Marsak placed twenty-third. He closed his season by winning his second consecutive national title at the 2024 Ukrainian Championships.^[10]

Marsak opened the season by finishing sixth at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge. He followed this up by winning gold at the 2024 Volvo Open Cup. Continuing to compete on the 2024-25 ISU Challenger Series, he placed fifteenth at the 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy and fifth at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup.^[12]

In January, Marsak competed at the 2025 Winter World University Games in Turin, Italy. He placed twenty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment. The following month, he competed at the Road to 26 Trophy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, finishing in eighth place.^[12]

Marsak subsequently closed the season by competing at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He placed thirty-third in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.^[12] In an interview following his performance, he shared, "I am so disappointed. Trainings went so well, I’m physically ready, but I don’t know, something is wrong mentally, and it’s really, really frustrating. I do keep going because I love this sport. Now I will prepare for the qualifier. I just love figure skating, I follow every competition. I also enjoy teaching the little kids in Finland, where I train right now. And I just love every aspect of figure skating, but right now, it’s really, really frustrating."^[17]

In April, Marsak competed at the 2025 Ukrainian Championships, winning his third consecutive national title. His father, Andriy took two weeks off from his army duties to watch his son compete at the event in Bohuslav. However, while in attendance, most of Andriy's army unit were killed. "It was a very bad situation, so that trip most likely saved him," Marsak remarked. "If he had been there, it’s not certain that we would have seen each other again."^[2]

Working with choreographer, Ekaterina Ivleva Guarise, Marsak selected the song, "Fall on Me" by Andrea and Matteo Bocelli to use for his short program, dedicating it to his father, Andrii, who had been serving on the frontline of Ukraine’s defense in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Additionally, Marsak's Euphoria-themed free skate was created with the intention of containing subtle references to the ongoing war. Speaking on this, Marsak shared, "The words ‘I’m tired’ resonate with all Ukrainians. So much bad news, so many traumatic events – it all piles up until you feel completely drained. But the second song, ‘The Feels,’ is about continuing to move forward even when you feel exhausted. It’s about finding strength and joy in what you do. For me, this translates to my feelings on the ice."^[18]

Marsak started the season by finishing eleventh at the 2025 CS Lombardia Trophy. He then went on to compete at the ISU Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Marsak's fourth-place finish at the event earned Ukraine a quota for the men's singles discipline at the Games. In an interview following the event, Marsak shared his happiness with the result, saying, "I can’t believe it that I can do it. I can go to Olympics. I got the spot for my country, and it’s such an honor to represent my nation. I don’t know, it seemed like something obstruct - the Olympics, something big, something out of this world. It’s a dream that came true. I have dreamed about it ever since I was a kid. It was more like an abstract dream that okay, someday I wanna be at the Olympics, and now it’s a reality."^[12][19][20]

He subsequently competed at the 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy but was forced to withdraw before the free skate due to suffering from food poisoning.^[21][12]

In November, Marsak won the silver medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup and finished fifth at the 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy. Two months later, he competed at the 2026 European Championships in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom, where he scored personal bests in all three competition segments and finished in eighth place overall.^[12] He expressed elation with the result, saying, "I didn’t expect this. I’m just proud of myself that I could pull it together. I wasn’t even hoping for the top 10, but it just happened and it’s amazing. I’m so happy about it, to have a bigger team at Europeans next year."^[22] One week later, he won gold at the 2026 Merano Ice Trophy.^[12]

Going into the 2026 Winter Olympics, Marsak protested Individual Neutral Athletes's participation at the upcoming Olympics because of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. "All the buildings that had meaning in my life, especially in Kherson, they are destroyed! The skating rink is destroyed to pieces and my apartment is also the bomb came like one floor under!" he shared. "Even under 'neutral' status they should not be allowed. Most of them are supporting this war secretly and there is even proof but IOC was not paying attention to it unfortunately. How you can say that the sport is out of the politics? They are representing their country, they're representing their flag. That is directly the politics."^[23] Following this statement, Marsak shared, "I received a lot of messages from Russians saying that I'm not worthy enough and I shouldn't be here [at the Olympics]. But I was like, okay, whatever. Let's talk on the ice."^[24]

On 10 February, Marsak competed in the short program, where he scored a personal best by almost ten points and placed eleventh in that segment.^[12] "It was unbelievable," he shared following his short program. "I was in the moment, I was feeling every beat. I was so happy that I could do all these jumps and all these other elements. The step sequence is so good, it's just so cool."^[24][12] Due to them placing eleventh and twelfth, respectively, Marsak was required to skate after Individual Neutral Athlete, Petr Gumennik, a move that was widely criticized by skating fans. Two days later, Marsak struggled throughout his free skate, placing twenty-third in that segment and falling to nineteenth overall. While waiting for his scores in the kiss and cry area, Gumennik was seated about ten feet away from him in the leader's chair, a decision that was also criticized.^{[25][26][27][12]}

Following his free skate performance, Marsak shared, "I was trying to fight until the end, but unfortunately I think pressure was too high for me today and I couldn’t handle it. Even the practice today was extremely shaky. I was extremely nervous in practice, and I couldn’t bring myself back for the competition... The short program had no role in this unsuccessful free skate. I would say there was just too much negative information during this last couple of days, with the disqualification of Vladyslav Heraskevych and with all the International Olympic Committee situation. I guess it was just too much for me to handle, especially since we also had to compete right after the neutral athlete. That also played a role."^[28]

• Kyrylo Marsak at the International Skating Union
• Kyrylo Marsak at Skating Scores
• Kyrylo Marsak at Milano Cortina 2026
• Kyrylo Marsak at Olympics.com
• Kyrylo Marsak at Olympedia
• Kyrylo Marsak on Instagram