Polina Tsurskaya

Polina Igorevna Tsurskaya (born July 11, 2001) is a Russian figure skater. She is the the 2017 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, the 2015-16 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics champion, the 2016 Russian Junior champion, and the 2017 Russian Junior bronze medalist.

Personal Life Edit

Polina Igorevna Tsurskaya was born on July 11, 2001 in Omsk, Russia, a Siberian city near the border of Kazakhstan. Polina began figure skating when she was four years of age. She immediately displayed talent when she first started. She moved to Moscow in 2013, where she began receiving coaching from Eteri Tutberidze and Sergei Dudakov.

Tsurskaya's hobbies include reading and needlework. She has a brother, Igor, who is nine years her senior.

Career Edit

2015-16 Season Edit

Tsurskaya debuted internationally at 2015 JGP Slovakia. She won the competition after leading the short program and freeskate, finishing with a 10.14 point margin over second place finisher, Mai Mihara.

Tsurskaya's second Junior Grand Prix assignment, 2015 JGP Poland, ended in another victory. She led the short program despite a fall, with a 3.35 point margin. She remained the leader after the freeskate with a 17.87 point margin, and won the competition with a 21.22 point margin. She earned the first berth to the 2015-16 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain.

Producing two more clean performances, again leading in both the short program and freeskate, Tsurskaya won the 2015-16 JGP Final by 11.27 points.

Finishing her first senior national championships with a fourth place finish, and winning junior national championships shortly after, Tsurskaya qualified for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

Finishing the short program in fourth place after receiving penalizations for two underrotations, Tsurskaya won the freeskate and overall competition, ending with a 16.54 point margin.

The next month, having traveled to Debrecen to compete at the 2016 World Junior Championships, Tsurskaya withdrew from the competition shortly before the short program, having aggravated an ankle injury in practice. She had to refrain from running or jumping for three months, until June.

2016-17 Season Edit

Tsurskaya's first international competition this season was at 2016 JGP Russia. Leading the short program by 4.64 points, Tsurskaya finished second in the freeskate after popping a double axel. Having received the highest program component scores in both programs, she won the competition in with an 8.53 point margin.

After performing two clean performances at her next Junior Grand Prix assignment, 2016 JGP Estonia, Tsurskaya won with a 5.59 point margin. Having received the second berth to the 2016-17 JGP Final, Tsurskaya withdrew from the competition after experiencing pains on her right knee. While receiving a subsequent medical examination, it was determined she was in need of surgery.

Tsurskaya was diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans, a rare genetic disease, which likely contributed to her knee injury. It was later revealed that she additionally had a herniated disc. She traveled to Germany in late October for surgery, in which a piece of detached cartilage was removed. She resumed jumping in mid-December.

Tsurskaya did not compete at senior nationals due to injury. Receiving the bronze medal at junior nationals, she qualified for 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei.

Tsurskaya ended 2017 World Junior Championships with a tenth place finish. She was situated in eleventh place in the short program after falling once and receiving three underrotation marks. She finished ninth in the freeskate after popping several jumps and receiving two underrotation marks.

2017-18 Season Edit

Tsurskaya's senior international debut was at 2017 NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan. Finishing with third place in the short program, and second in the freeskate, Tsurskaya received a bronze medal.

Tsurskaya's next Grand Prix assignment was 2017 Skate America. She was situated in eighth place after a fall in the short program. She placed fourth in the freeskate and overall after a clean performance, being held back by a low program component score.

At 2018 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Tsurskaya finished in fifth place after popping a triple lutz in the freeskate. She was named as the second alternate to the 2018 European Championships.

Programs Edit

Exhibitions Edit

ISU Results Edit

(Season bests highlighted in bold) Edit

2017-2018 Season
Date	Competition	Level	SP	FS	Total
November 24 - 26	2017 Skate America	Senior	8 63.20	4 132.36	4 195.56
November 10 - 12	2017 NHK Trophy	Senior	3 70.04	2 140.15	3 210.19
2016-2017 Season
Date	Competition	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 13 - 19	2017 World Junior Championships	Junior	11 54.30	9 101.61	10 155.91
September 28 - October 1	2016 JGP Estonia	Junior	1 66.72	1 127.30	1 194.02
September 14 - 18	2016 JGP Russia	Junior	1 69.02	2 114.71	1 183.73
2015-2016 Season
Date	Competition	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 14 - 20	2016 World Junior Championships	Junior	WD
February 12 - 21	2016 Winter Youth Olympics	Junior	4 58.65	1 127.39	1 186.04
December 10 - 13	2015-16 JGP Final	Junior	1 66.69	1 128.59	1 195.28
September 23 - 26	2015 JGP Poland	Junior	1 61.04	1 126.81	1 187.85
August 19 - 23	2015 JGP Slovakia	Junior	1 66.08	1 123.42	1 189.50

Medal Record (In Chronological Order) Edit

Social Media Edit

Instagram: polina_tsurskaya

VK: tsurskayap

Sources Edit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polina_Tsurskaya

https://www.statsonice.com/skater/Polina/Tsurskaya/

http://jwc2016debrecen.hu/en/interview-with-youth-olympic-champion-polina-tsurskaya/

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00054618.htm

https://rsport.ria.ru/interview/20161220/1113939411.html

http://www.fsrussia.ru/intervyu/2825-polina-tsurskaya-nadeyus-chto-predstoyashchij-chempionat-mira-slozhitsya-dlya-menya-luchshe-chem-predydushchij.html

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/09/13/20112435

https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20170428/1119739454.html