Igor Efimchuk | Golden Skate

Igor Efimchuk

The Finn

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Igor Igorevich Efimchuk (Russian: Игорь Игоревич Ефимчук) is a Russian figure skater who is competing for Team St. Petersburg (coached by Julia Kulibanova). Efimchuk was born 29 June 1999 in Uralsk, Kazakhstan.

Biographical Information

ISU bio
http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00014645.htm
Fsrussia bio
https://fsrussia.ru/biografiya/biografiya/efimchuk-igor
Figure-skaters.ru bio
https://figure-skaters.ru/igor_efimchuk

Programs

2025-26
SP: "Tropa De Elite" by Tihuana
FS: Anna Karenina (soundtrack) by Dario Marianelli

2017-18
SP: Anna Karenina (soundtrack) by Dario Marianelli
FS: Spectre (James Bond soundtrack) by Thomas Newman

Program Videos

2025/26 Saint Petersburg Cup, 1st stage
SP: https://vkvideo.ru/video-230116255_456239074
FS: https://vkvideo.ru/video-230116255_456239078

2017 Russian Junior Championships
SP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu9ePrYzXvc
FS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDVIpFgdvpQ

5th stage of Russian Cup
SP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTutCCxCHx8
FS No video

3rd stage of Russian Cup
SP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YmPoy8wRU
FS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVPBjEfIsi4

Original Post

He skated great SP at the 2017 Russian Junior Championships. He scored above 80 points and he is 2nd after SP. He has a quad (4T), so, he is fully capable to get a good placement at this competition even though he has been somewhat inconsistent in the past but then again most junior men have.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He fell his quad but he was still able to hold a medal position. Great job. Despite the fact that he got bronze here I don't think we will see him at the Junior Worlds because I am pretty sure Samarin will be going there, as he should be.
 
Any news about how he did at the test skate event?

He haven't been named on any of the first three JGP events but hopefully he will be named either 4th or 5th event.
 
It looks like he will do his JGP debut at JGP Belarus. Hopefully he will do great because he has all the tools to make it to the JGP Final.
 
Found Igor and totally by accident :laugh: Looks like he's skating with Holiday on Ice with Rohene Ward! You can see him a couple of times in this video published yesterday by Alexei Rogonov! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_SIVt0cq40

Not sure if it's a full time touring job or just for Russia but good luck to him. He looks happy :love:
 
Igor has returned to competing!
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2025-26-russian-mens-figure-skating.101056/post-3447888

Interview on his amazing comeback
https://sport24.ru/figureskating/ar...e-semiletney-pauzy-intervyu-igorya-yefimchuka

Share your impressions, are you satisfied with your skates?
— Of course, I am satisfied, because it is difficult to get into shape and start training.

— How long did it take to restore the quadruple toe loop?
— The toe loop itself didn't take long to restore, but it was more challenging to include it in the program so that I had enough energy for the other elements. I already want to include two quads in my free skate. Initially, I also had the Lutz, but as the training process began, the program turned out to be more challenging than I excepted. So things are as they are now.

— Were you very nervous?
— Compared to my previous competitions, it was much easier. My attitude has changed, now it is more like fun for me.

— Have you been following figure skating these past seven years?
— Honestly, I haven't. I have probably only watched the last World Championships.

— Do you feel like things have changed a lot?
— Of course. In the past, I could have taken good places at the World Championships with my layout. Figure skating has come a long way, and there is a lot to work on.

— What was the reason to retire?
— At the Junior Russian Championship, there was a poor performance, I poorly recovered from the surgery. It was the last year in the junior age, it was necessary to move up to seniors. Unsuccessful performance plus injury, so I decided to retire.

— What are your plans for this season?
— To enjoy figure skating, to try to progress. I don't think about the results at all, I don't set specific goals for myself. For now, I just like to restore what I had. In general, I have restored my competitive shape that I had back then. Now I want more. Before I ended my career, I had landed all quads except for the flip, and I want to get them back.

— What have you been doing for the past seven years?
— I spent two years skating in different countries in shows. And when the pandemic started, I stopped coming to the rink at all, I put my skates away. It wasn't until last summer that I returned to the ice, coaching children, and then I started playing amateur hockey. In the winter, I started training on my own.

— So, it's all been done in a year?
— Even less than that. The normal training process started a week before a training camp, in June.

— What inspired you to come back?
— I started skating, trying jumps, and I quickly recovered the Axel. Then I pushed myself, progressed, and that was my inspiration.

And short interview of the coach, Julia Kulibanova
https://matchtv.ru/figure-skating/m...ntanno_bylo_vidno_chto_u_nego_jest_potrebnost

— What is your goal for this season? Does Igor plan to skate for a long time, or is he not thinking about it?
— I haven't set any goals yet. We are still on our way, and this is our first try. We didn't know how well we would do, so I don't want to make any predictions. The debut turned out to be quite good, and we can only hope that we will be successful and continue to progress and move forward, but I am still cautious about making predictions.

— It was a shock for you that he wanted to come back? Did you immediately agree to accept him?
— When he came, we didn't think it would work out. I thought he would help me with my coaching. But when he started skating for himself, it became clear that he had a desire to try. There is a certain potential, and it is understandable that it is difficult to return, but some things haven't been lost. He is getting somewhere. As people get older, they start to understand what quality looks like and how to skate. So we decided to give it a try.

Why did Igor decide to come back?
— It wasn't like he wanted to come back. It was a mutual decision, and it happened quite spontaneously. We decided to give it a try because it was clear that he had a need to do so, and he wanted to skate.

Does Igor train children in your group?
— Not really. He helps out a bit, but he doesn't have as much time for it now because it is challenging to combine these activities with serious training. But where he can, he helps a little.
 
Igor has returned to competing!
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2025-26-russian-mens-figure-skating.101056/post-3447888

Interview on his amazing comeback
https://sport24.ru/figureskating/ar...e-semiletney-pauzy-intervyu-igorya-yefimchuka

Share your impressions, are you satisfied with your skates?
— Of course, I am satisfied, because it is difficult to get into shape and start training.

— How long did it take to restore the quadruple toe loop?
— The toe loop itself didn't take long to restore, but it was more challenging to include it in the program so that I had enough energy for the other elements. I already want to include two quads in my free skate. Initially, I also had the Lutz, but as the training process began, the program turned out to be more challenging than I excepted. So things are as they are now.

— Were you very nervous?
— Compared to my previous competitions, it was much easier. My attitude has changed, now it is more like fun for me.

— Have you been following figure skating these past seven years?
— Honestly, I haven't. I have probably only watched the last World Championships.

— Do you feel like things have changed a lot?
— Of course. In the past, I could have taken good places at the World Championships with my layout. Figure skating has come a long way, and there is a lot to work on.

— What was the reason to retire?
— At the Junior Russian Championship, there was a poor performance, I poorly recovered from the surgery. It was the last year in the junior age, it was necessary to move up to seniors. Unsuccessful performance plus injury, so I decided to retire.

— What are your plans for this season?
— To enjoy figure skating, to try to progress. I don't think about the results at all, I don't set specific goals for myself. For now, I just like to restore what I had. In general, I have restored my competitive shape that I had back then. Now I want more. Before I ended my career, I had landed all quads except for the flip, and I want to get them back.

— What have you been doing for the past seven years?
— I spent two years skating in different countries in shows. And when the pandemic started, I stopped coming to the rink at all, I put my skates away. It wasn't until last summer that I returned to the ice, coaching children, and then I started playing amateur hockey. In the winter, I started training on my own.

— So, it's all been done in a year?
— Even less than that. The normal training process started a week before a training camp, in June.

— What inspired you to come back?
— I started skating, trying jumps, and I quickly recovered the Axel. Then I pushed myself, progressed, and that was my inspiration.

And short interview of the coach, Julia Kulibanova
https://matchtv.ru/figure-skating/m...ntanno_bylo_vidno_chto_u_nego_jest_potrebnost

— What is your goal for this season? Does Igor plan to skate for a long time, or is he not thinking about it?
— I haven't set any goals yet. We are still on our way, and this is our first try. We didn't know how well we would do, so I don't want to make any predictions. The debut turned out to be quite good, and we can only hope that we will be successful and continue to progress and move forward, but I am still cautious about making predictions.

— It was a shock for you that he wanted to come back? Did you immediately agree to accept him?
— When he came, we didn't think it would work out. I thought he would help me with my coaching. But when he started skating for himself, it became clear that he had a desire to try. There is a certain potential, and it is understandable that it is difficult to return, but some things haven't been lost. He is getting somewhere. As people get older, they start to understand what quality looks like and how to skate. So we decided to give it a try.

Why did Igor decide to come back?
— It wasn't like he wanted to come back. It was a mutual decision, and it happened quite spontaneously. We decided to give it a try because it was clear that he had a need to do so, and he wanted to skate.

Does Igor train children in your group?
— Not really. He helps out a bit, but he doesn't have as much time for it now because it is challenging to combine these activities with serious training. But where he can, he helps a little.
Another comment
https://tass.ru/sport/24948679

I last performed in 2018. Apparently, I was very disappointed. There were many factors: switching to seniors laying ahead, an injury, unsuccessful performances. Then I decided to retire. I was skating for two years in shows, then I put my skates away. I tried to find myself in life outside of figure skating. Last summer, I accidentally received an offer to train children and returned to the ice. I started skating thanks to the idea of making a New Year's holiday for children. I began to restore various elements. It started to work out, something lit a spark in me. I set challenges for myself every time I went on the ice. I tried to get the triple Axel back first, and got it pretty quickly. Then the quad toe loop, I had to work on it because it was scary.

For this season, I was planning two quad jumps in the short program and three ones in the free skate. I hope that it will be possible to come to this. I don't have any goals yet, I am just enjoying it. What is the motivation? Most likely, the unclosed Gestalt. And in general, I am fascinated by the idea that, after not skating for so many years, it is possible to regain ultra-c jumps. I am very grateful to Julia Lvovna [Kulibanova] for taking me back and helping me a lot in my return to the ice. Also, thanks to the whole team that works with me.
 
Back
Top