Marina Shirshova

Marina Shirshova
Marina Shirshova in 2025
Personal information
Native name
Марина Ширшова
NationalityFinland
Born
Soviet Union
Figure skating career
CountryFinland

Marina Shirshova (Russian: Марина Ширшова) is a Russian-Finnish figure skating coach, choreographer and program designer. She has been working in Finland since the mid-1990s and has coached several national champions in various age categories.

Personal life

Marina Shirshova was born in Russia, where she trained in figure skating and later transitioned into coaching after completing her competitive career.

She moved to Finland in the mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, she worked as a head coach at the Finnish figure skating club Kouvolan Taitoluistelijat (Kouvola), where she coached young skaters and developed training programs for competitive athletes.[1]

Later she continued her coaching career in Southern Finland, including working with the club Lappeenrannan Taitoluistelijat, where she served both as a coach and as a choreographer.[2]

Her husband, Boris Efimov, is a physician. The pair have two children Alisa and Nikita, with the former being a pair skater that currently competes for the United States. Shirshova is also the mother-in-law of American pair skater, Misha Mitrofanov.[3][4][5]

Coaching career

Shirshova is known for her work with young skaters, novices and junior-level athletes. Her training focuses on skating skills, flexibility, choreography and development of performance quality. Her coaching work has been covered by Finnish national broadcaster Yle, including reporting on her role as the coach of Finnish skater Iida Karhunen.[6] She has more than 20 years of coaching experience and is regarded as one of the most experienced specialists in Southern Finland.[2] She later founded the SM Skating School in Lappeenranta.[7]

Collaboration with the German Figure Skating Federation

Shirshova has collaborated with the Deutsche Eislauf-Union (DEU). In 2024, she was part of the coaching team for the DEU B-level coach education programme. In 2025, the DEU announced her as part of its international coaching staff working alongside Russian coach Alexei Mishin.[8]

Camps and international collaboration

In addition to her regular coaching work, Shirshova has participated in international training camps in Finland. She has served as a coach at figure skating camps in Imatra alongside international specialists, including Adam Sola.[9] In 2024, Shirshova co-hosted a high-level training camp in Imatra attended by Belgian skater Loena Hendrickx. She was also listed as a guest coach for the 2025 season of Bootcamp on Ice, organised by Belgian skater Jorik Hendrickx.[10]

Notable students

Finland

  • Iida Karhunen – Finnish junior national champion (2023, 2024, 2025) and Finnish senior national champion 2026. She placed fourth at the 2024 World Junior Championships.[11][12]
  • Janna Jyrkinen – Finnish junior national champion (2022) and Finnish senior national champion (2023); top-10 finisher at the 2023 European Championships.[14]

Germany

  • Nikita Starostin – German senior national champion (2023, 2025); coached by Shirshova as a technical coach. His coaching relationship with Shirshova has been documented by Golden Skate, Figureskatersonline and IceDance Berlin.[17]

Pair skating

  • Alisa Efimova – Trained with Shirshova during her early skating career until 2014 when she switched from women singles to pair skating.[18]

Honours

  • Kultainen ansiomerkki (Golden Merit Badge), Finnish Figure Skating Association, 2020. [19]

References

  1. ^ "Alisa Efimova ja Marina Shirshova eivät luistele äidin ja tyttären rooleista". SkatingFinland (in Finnish). 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  2. ^ a b "Valmennus – Marina Shirshova". Lappeenrannan Taitoluistelijat ry (in Finnish). Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  3. ^ "Alisa Efimova ja Marina Shirshova eivät luistele äidin ja tyttären rooleista". Skating Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  4. ^ "Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov American Champions Olympic Hopefuls – The Skating Club of Boston". Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  5. ^ "Alisa Efimova / Misha Mitrofanov". U.S. Figure Skating Zone. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Ei voi hyväksyä mitenkään". Yle (in Finnish). 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  7. ^ "Contact Us". SM Skating School. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  8. ^ "DEU coaching education programme". Deutsche Eislauf-Union. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  9. ^ "Professional figure skaters Adam Sola and Marina Shirshova as coaches at figure skating camp". City of Imatra (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  10. ^ "Bootcamp on Ice – Guest Coaches". Bootcamp on Ice. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  11. ^ "ISU Bio – Iida Karhunen". International Skating Union. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  12. ^ "Suomen mestaruuskilpailut 2026 – Naiset". Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto (STLL). Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  13. ^ "Finnish Junior Champions". SkatingFinland. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  14. ^ "ISU Results – Janna Jyrkinen". International Skating Union. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  15. ^ "Roman Galay – Competition History". ISU. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  16. ^ "ISU Historical Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  17. ^ "Nikita Starostin coaching background". Golden Skate. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  18. ^ "Alisa Efimova biography". SkatingFinland. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  19. ^ "Kultaiset ansiomerkit". Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto (Finnish Figure Skating Association) (in Finnish). Retrieved 2026-01-13.
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