Aleksandr Galliamov

Galliamov began learning to skate in 2005.[3] He was a single skater until 2014 when he switched to pair skating and moved to Saint Petersburg. He and his first partner, Alexandra Polishchuk, skated together through the 2015–2016 season. He competed with his next partner, Nika Osipova, during the 2016–2017 season.[4]

Galliamov teamed up with Anastasia Mishina in February 2017.[5] Coached by Nikolai Velikov and Ludmila Velikova, the pair won the junior title at the 2017 Golden Spin of Zagreb, their first international event.[6]

Mishina/Galliamov placed seventh at the 2018 Russian Championships and took silver at the junior event. In March 2018, they won bronze at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. They were part of a Russian sweep of the pairs' podium, along with their training partners Polina Kostiukovich / Dmitrii Ialin (silver) and Daria Pavliuchenko / Denis Khodykin (gold).

Mishina/Galliamov started their season by competing in the 2018 JGP series. At their first JGP event of the season, they won the gold medal in Bratislava, Slovakia. They were ranked first in both the short program and the free skate and won the gold medal by a margin of more than 11 points over the silver medalists, their teammates Apollinariia Panfilova / Dmitry Rylov.[7] At their second JGP event of the season they won another gold medal, now in Vancouver, Canada. Again they were ranked first in both the short program and the free skate, and again they beat the same silver medalists, Panfilova/Rylov. This time they beat them by about 10 points.[8] Mishina/Galliamov also upgraded their earlier short program, free skate, and combined total record scores. With two JGP gold medals, they qualified for the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Mishina/Galliamov made their international senior debut at the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy, where they won the gold medal with a personal best score of 192.75 points.

At the JGP Final, Mishina/Galliamov won the gold medal after placing third in the short program and first in the free skate. They were part of a Russian sweep of the pairs' podium. Mishina/Galliamov beat the bronze medalists, Panfilova/Rylov, by about 4 points, but the race for the gold medal was tight. Mishina/Galliamov won the gold medal by a margin of only 1.1 points over the silver medalists, their training partners Kostiukovich/Ialin. At this event, Mishina/Galliamov also upgraded their junior-level pairs' record for the combined total (190.63 points) and free program (126.26 points).[5]

At the 2019 Russian Championships, they competed as seniors domestically, placing fourth in the short program with upgraded jump and throw content.[9] They slipped to fifth place overall after placing fifth in the free skate when Mishina fell on the side-by-side combination jump attempt.[10] Mishina/Galliamov subsequently won the Russian junior national title.

Assigned to the 2019 World Junior Championships, Mishina/Galliamov placed third in the short program after Galliamov struggled on their side-by-side spin.[11] They won the free skate, despite another fall by Mishina on the jump combination, and narrowly took gold over Panfilova/Rylov by a margin of 0.57 points. Galliamov said that being third after the short program had motivated them to perform better in the free.[12]

Mishina/Galliamov at the 2019 Internationaux de France podium.

Mishina/Galliamov began their first full senior season on the Challenger series, competing and winning at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy after placing first in both segments.[13]

Making their senior Grand Prix debut at the 2019 Internationaux de France, Mishina/Galliamov were second in the short program behind Daria Pavliuchenko / Denis Khodykin.[14] They won the free skate to take the gold medal, despite Mishina botching their planned three-jump combination.[15] At their second Grand Prix, the 2019 NHK Trophy, they placed third in the short program after a jump problem from Galliamov.[16] They were clean in the free skate, winning the bronze medal and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.[17] Competing at the Final, Mishina/Galliamov were fourth in the short program, skating cleanly but for their side-by-side spins not receiving a level due to errors.[18] Third in the free skate, they won the bronze medal overall, the highest-ranked Russian team in the competition.[19]

Mishina/Galliamov ran into trouble in the short program at the 2020 Russian Championships, with Mishina falling on their throw triple flip, stumbling in the step sequence, and exiting the pair spin too early. Consequently, they placed eighth in the segment.[20] The free skate proved much more successful, with them placing third and rising to fourth place overall. She observed, "we were not in a good mood, but we were able to recover."[21]

In the spring of 2020, Mishina/Galliamov moved to train under Tamara Moskvina, the coach of numerous Olympic pairs champions, and choreographer Alexander Stepin.[22] [23] They debuted their programs at the senior Russian test skates, earning particular notice for an innovative lift in their short program to Cesare Pugni's La Esmeralda.[23] They were scheduled to compete in the second stage of the domestic Russian Cup, but had to withdraw after Galliamov contracted COVID-19.[24] Subsequently, they were able to compete in the fourth stage of the Russian Cup in Kazan, winning the gold medal over former national champions Tarasova/Morozov and their fellow Moskvina students Boikova/Kozlovskii.[25][26]

Competing on the Grand Prix at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup shortly after that, they placed first in the short program, narrowly ahead of Boikova/Kozlovskii, after both teams made errors.[27] In the free skate, Mishina singled a planned triple Salchow, resulting in a second-place finish in that segment and the silver medal overall, behind Boikova/Kozlovskii.[28]

At the 2021 Russian Championships, Mishina/Galliamov entered with expectations of vying for the top of the podium but encountered problems in the short program when Galliamov skated through his attempt at a side-by-side jump. As a result, they placed fifth in that segment.[29] The free skate also proved difficult, with both making jump errors and Galliamov almost dropping Mishina in their final lift. Galliamov was uncertain as to why they had performed poorly but suggested his being unwell the week before may have been a factor.[30]

Following their disappointment at the national championships, Mishina/Galliamov participated in the 2021 Channel One Trophy, a televised competition organized in lieu of the cancelled European Championships. They were selected for the Time of Firsts team captained by Evgenia Medvedeva and placed second in both segments, while the team finished in second place.[31][32] After this, they competed at the Russian Cup Final, which was widely viewed as a contest between them and national bronze medalists Pavliuchenko/Khodykin for the third Russian pairs berth at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm.[33] Mishina/Galliamov won both segments of the competition to take the gold medal, their only minor mistake being a free skate jump step out from Mishina.[34][35]

At the 2021 World Championships in March, Mishina/Galliamov skated both of their programs cleanly to earn new personal bests in both individual segments as well as overall. In the short program, the team ranked third behind training-mates Boikova/Kozlovskii in first and Chinese team Sui/Han in second, but in the free skate overtook the two leading teams to win the segment and claim the title unexpectedly. Mishina/Galliamov are the first team to win gold in their Worlds debut since Gordeeva/Grinkov of the Soviet Union in 1986, and the second-youngest pair to win Worlds after Gordeeva/Grinkov.[36] They then concluded the season at the 2021 World Team Trophy, where they easily placed first in both segments to help Team Russia win the gold medal.[37][38][39]

Entering the Olympic season as the reigning World Champions, Mishina and Galliamov opted to retain their La Esmeralda program from the previous season, with revisions to account for new technical elements and choreography. Coach Moskvina designed their new free program to the music of Georgi Sviridov to express how "the youth is striving for something new and different than the past generation."[40] Making their season debut at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, they won the gold medal over rivals Tarasova/Morozov.[6]

At their first Grand Prix assignment, the 2021 NHK Trophy, Mishina/Galliamov won both segments of the competition to take the gold medal, again over Tarasova/Morozov. They skated without error in the short program and, in the free skate, had only a minor issue with the landing of their throw triple loop, requiring Mishina to put a hand down. Galliamov said they were "satisfied" with the result but "not the maximum yet; there is still room to grow."[41] At their second event, the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, they were second in the short program after a jump error but won the free skate easily to take another gold medal.[42] The results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final, to be held in Osaka, but it was subsequently cancelled due to restrictions prompted by the Omicron variant.[43]

At the 2022 Russian Championships, Mishina/Galliamov placed first in both segments of the competition to take the gold medal, 3.87 points ahead of silver medalists and training partner rivals Boikova/Kozlovskii. Mishina remarked afterward, "out of principle, we wanted to be on the podium here. This is our fourth time at Nationals, and we've never made the podium before, and I didn't make it with my previous partner either."[44]

Making their European Championship debut at the 2022 edition in Tallinn, Mishina/Galliamov won the short program, prevailing over a clean skate by Tarasova/Morozov by 0.78 points, and breaking their training partners Boikova/Kozlovskii's world record in the process. Clean in the free skate as well, they won the gold medal and broke Chinese pair Sui/Han's world record in that segment. Despite this, Mishina said, "we don't really pay attention to the scores and haven't even seen the protocols, but this isn't the best we can do. We can still do better than that."[45] On January 20, they were officially named to the Russian Olympic team.[46]

Mishina/Galliamov began the Olympic Games as the Russian entry in the pairs' short program of the Olympic team event, facing off against Chinese rivals Sui/Han for the first time since the 2021 World Championships. Both teams skated cleanly, with Sui/Han reclaiming their world record with a new high score of 82.83. Mishina/Galliamov scored 82.64, 0.19 less. This result secured nine points for the Russian team.[47] They also performed in the free skate segment, winning it despite a double-fall on their final lift, together with the rest of Team Russia, won the gold medal.[48] In the pairs event, Mishina/Galliamov skated two clean programs to win the bronze medal, with a total score 2.17 points back of gold medalists Sui/Han and 1.54 points behind silver medalists Tarasova Morozov. Mishina said afterward that while they had hoped to win, "we were just happy with the fact that we managed to do everything well. If an athlete does everything that he can, there is more happiness than disappointment. We will keep working. Third place gives us motivation to work harder."[49][50]

In early March 2022, the ISU banned all figure skaters and officials from Russia and Belarus from attending the World Championships due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; therefore Mishina/Galliamov were not allowed to participate and defend their title.[51]

Senior results

Mishina/Galliamov (center) on the 2019 Internationaux de France podium.

Junior results