Ivan Igorevich Bich (russian: Иван Игоревич Бич; born 14 February 1993) is a Russian

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

. With former partner

Kamilla Gainetdinova Kamilla Ralifovna Gainetdinova (russian: Камилла Ралифовна Гайнетдинова; born 12 October 1997) is a Russian Pair skating, pair skater. With former partner Ivan Bich, she is the 2013 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Belarus, JG ...

, he is the 2013 JGP Belarus champion and a two-time (2012, 2013) Russian junior national bronze medalist.

Personal life

Ivan Igorevich Bich was born 14 February 1993 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. His father, Igor, is a former pair skater and an ISU technical specialist.

Career

Bich initially trained as a singles skater, coached by Alla Piatova. He last competed in singles in September 2010, winning the junior bronze medal at the first stage of the Russian Cup series. He decided to begin training as a pairs skater. In May 2011, Bich formed a partnership with

, who until then was a Moscow-based singles skater. Gainetdinova moved to Saint Petersburg to train with him. They were coached by

Oksana Kazakova Oksana or Oxana (, ; be, Аксана), sometimes transliterated as Aksana, is a female given name of Ukrainian origin. The closest equivalent is the Russian name '' Kseniya'' (russian: Ксения, links=no), but the two names coexist in use i ...

in their first two seasons together. Gainetdinova/Bich made their international debut at the 2011

Warsaw Cup The Warsaw Cup is an annual international figure skating competition which is generally held in November in Warsaw, Poland. Its senior categories became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. Medals may be awarded in the discipl ...

, winning the junior bronze medal. They won bronze at the 2012 Russian Junior Championships. In the free skate, Gainetdinova/Bich landed SBS 3Lz, receiving 6.70 points for the element. They also included a SBS 3Lo+2A sequence after the halfway point, receiving 5.99 points due to some negative grades of execution. They were assigned to the 2012 World Junior Championships, where they finished 11th. In their second season, Gainetdinova/Bich debuted on the

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

series. They were 7th at their first event in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

. At the 2012 JGP Croatia, they landed a SBS 3LZ+2T combination in the free skate, as well as upgrading their

twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

to a triple for the first time. They are the first pair to land the combination in a junior competition. Gainetdinova/Bich finished 4th at the event. They won bronze at the 2013 Russian Junior Championships with a free skate that included a SBS 3Lz+2T combination at the start of the program and SBS 3T after the halfway mark. They finished 8th at the 2013 World Junior Championships. In spring 2013, Gainetdinova/Bich moved to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and joined

Natalia Pavlova Natalia Yevgenievna Pavlova (russian: Наталья Евгеньевна Павлова, née Dongauzer, Донгаузер) is a Russian pair skating coach and former competitor for the Soviet Union. Personal life Natalia Yevgenievna Dongauz ...

and

Artur Dmitriev Artur Valeryevich Dmitriev (russian: Артур Валерьевич Дмитриев; born 21 January 1968) is a Russian former pair skater who competed internationally for the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, and Russia. He is a two-time Olymp ...

. Beginning their third season with gold at the 2013 JGP Belarus, the pair then won the bronze medal at the 2013 JGP Czech Republic. Their results qualified them to the JGP Final in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. At the final, Gainetdinova/Bich placed sixth in both segments and overall. Their partnership ended in early 2014.

Programs

(with Gainetdinova)

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Gainetdinova

Single skating

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bich, Ivan Russian male pair skaters 1993 births Living people Figure skaters from Saint Petersburg