Maksym Spodyriev ( uk, Максим Сподирєв; born 29 December 1993) is a retired Polish ice dancer. With his skating partner, Natalia Kaliszek, he has won medals on the

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. E ...

, including gold at the

2017 CS Tallinn Trophy The 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition, held in November 2017 at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. Its senior categories were part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded i ...

, and eight Polish national titles. They have represented Poland at the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

, as well as the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and World championships. At the junior level, they placed in the top ten at the 2015 Junior Worlds. Spodyriev skated for Ukraine earlier in his career. He began competing for Poland in 2014.

Personal life

Maksym Spodyriev was born on 29 December 1993 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. He moved to

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, Poland in 2014. He was granted Polish citizenship in 2016.

Early career

Spodyriev began learning to skate in 1998. He switched from singles to ice dancing when he was fourteen years old. Following a partnership with Veronika Sharapova, he teamed up with Russian-born ice dancer Daria Korotitskaia in 2011. The two competed internationally for Ukraine, coached by Halyna Churilova and

Mariana Kozlova Mariana Olehivna Kozlova ( uk, Мар'яна Олегівна Козлова; born 4 August 1983) is a Ukrainian former competitive ice dancer. With Sergei Baranov, she is the 2003 Winter Universiade silver medalist, the 2003 Skate Israel bron ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.ISU Junior Grand Prix events, placing as high as fourth, before parting ways at the end of the 2013–2014 season.

Partnership with Kaliszek

2014–2015 season

In 2014, Spodyriev began competing with Polish ice dancer Natalia Kaliszek for Poland, coached by Sylwia Nowak-Trębacka in

. The two made their international debut at the

Volvo Open Cup Volvo Open Cup is a figure skating competition held in Riga, Latvia. It was part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. The competition may include men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing at various levels. ...

, where they took the junior silver medal. Switching to the senior level, they placed sixth at a Challenger Series (CS) event, the

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 ...

, before winning gold at the Santa Claus Cup. They won the Polish national title at the Four Nationals in December 2014 and took bronze the following month at the Toruń Cup. Kaliszek/Spodyriev were selected to represent Poland at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

, held in late January 2015 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. Ranked fifteenth in the short dance, they qualified to the free dance, where they placed fourteenth and rose to fourteenth overall. In early March, they made their second and final appearance on the junior level, competing at the World Junior Championships in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia; they placed tenth in the short dance, sixth in the free dance, and seventh overall. Later in March, they traveled to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China, for the World Championships but were eliminated after placing twenty-fourth in the short dance.

2015–2016 season

Kaliszek/Spodyriev competed in three 2015–16 Challenger Series competitions. After placing seventh at the Nebelhorn Trophy, they won bronze at the

Mordovian Ornament The Mordovian Ornament is a senior international figure skating competition. The inaugural edition took place on 15–18 October 2015 at the Palace of Sports in Saransk, Russia. In some years, the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medal ...

and silver at the

. They finished third in the Challenger Series ranking. Kaliszek/Spodyriev placed eleventh at the 2016 European Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, having ranked eleventh in both segments. At the 2016 World Championships in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, they placed fourteenth in the short dance, sixteenth in the free dance, and sixteenth overall. At the end of May 2016, it was announced that the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...

had chosen the foxtrot portion of their short dance to become a pattern dance.

2016–2017 season

Starting their season on the Challenger Series, Kaliszek/Spodyriev placed fourth at the

2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial The 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial ( sk, Memoriál Ondreja Nepelu) was held on September and October 2016. It is an annual senior international figure skating competition held in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger ...

and fifth at the

2016 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition held in October 2016 in Espoo. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair ...

, in early October. During training in early November, they had a fall related to poor rink conditions in Toruń, which resulted in her blade cutting two of his fingers. Later in the same month, they debuted on the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

series, having received invitations to two events. The duo finished fifth at the

2016 Cup of China The 2016 Audi Cup of China was the fifth event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing on November 18–20. Medals were ...

and seventh at the

2016 NHK Trophy The 2016 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena in Sapporo on November 25–27. Me ...

. In January 2017, Kaliszek/Spodyriev finished 8th at the

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

, Czech Republic. In March, they placed fifteenth in the short, thirteenth in the free, and fourteenth overall at the 2017 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. Due to their result, Poland qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

, South Korea.

2017–2018 season

Kaliszek/Spodyriev began the season with a tenth-place finish at the

2017 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition held in October 2017 in Espoo. It was part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair ...

, the first of two

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

events the team would take on that year. On the

, they placed ninth at Skate Canada and eighth at the Internationaux de France. Following the end of the Grand Prix, they won gold at the

, followed by a bronze medal at the Santa Claus Cup. They repeated as champions at the

Polish Figure Skating Championships The Polish Figure Skating Championships ( pl, Mistrzostwa Polski w łyżwiarstwie figurowym) are a figure skating competition held annually to determine the national medalists of Poland. The event has been held annually since 1922. Medals may be ...

for the fourth consecutive time and were named to Poland's Olympic team, as well as to the European and World championships. Competing at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburgh hosting the diving events and Gleneagles ...

, Kaliszek/Spodyriev placed tenth. Competing at the

ice dance event, they placed fourteenth in the short dance. Kaliszek/Spodyriev were one of three teams in the competition whose

rhumba Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also co ...

pattern dance made use of the song "

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...

", along with South Koreans Yura Min /

Alexander Gamelin Alexander Gamelin (born February 22, 1993) is an American-born South Korean ice dancer. He competed from the 2004–05 through the 2014–15 season with his twin sister, Danielle Gamelin. The two won the gold medal in senior dance at the 2015 U.S ...

and the Chinese team of Wang Shiyue / Liu Xinyu. The effect of the song's ubiquity was heightened further because Kaliszek/Spodyriev and the Min/Gamelin skated consecutively and attracted comments on social and entertainment media. The duo qualified for the free dance, placing fifteenth and fourteenth overall. They concluded the season at the 2018 World Championships in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where they placed seventeenth.

2018–2019 season

The

2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held in September 2018 at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf. It is part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance ...

marked Kaliszek/Spodyriev's first event of the new season, placing eighth. On the

, they placed sixth at Skate America and fifth at the

Rostelecom Cup The Rostelecom Cup (russian: Кубок Ростелекома), formerly the Cup of Russia (russian: Кубок России), is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating ser ...

. Following the Grand Prix, they competed at the 2018

, winning the silver medal behind Tiffany Zahorski / Jonathan Guerreiro. They went on to compete in two more

events, winning the bronze medal at the

Tallinn Trophy The Tallinn Trophy is an international figure skating competition, typically held in November or December in Tallinn, Estonia. In some years, its senior categories are included in the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles ...

and silver at Golden Spin. In December, Kaliszek/Spodyriev won their fifth national title. Competing in the rhythm dance at the 2019 European Championships, they placed fourth and were the only team to receive a perfect score on the Tango Romantica pattern dance. They placed fifth in the free dance and fifth overall. They placed eleventh at the 2019 World Championships.

2019–2020 season

The pattern dance based on Kaliszek and Spodyriev's 2015–16 "Tea for Two" short dance, formally known as the Tea Time Foxtrot, was adopted for use in the junior international competitive season. Kaliszek and Spodyriev spent much of the preseason teaching the dance at seminars for junior dance teams. Beginning the season at the 2019

Shanghai Trophy The Shanghai Trophy is an annual international skating competition organized by the Chinese Skating Association The Chinese Skating Association (CSA) was founded in 1956. It hosts the annual Chinese Figure Skating Championships and the Cup of Ch ...

, they won the bronze medal there before winning silver at the

2019 CS Ice Star The 2019 CS Ice Star was held in October 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ...

. On the

, they placed sixth at the

2019 Internationaux de France The 2019 Internationaux de France was the third event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Patinoire Polesud in Grenoble, France from November 1–3. Medal ...

. At the

2019 Rostelecom Cup The 2019 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia from November 15–17. Medals wer ...

, they placed fourth in the rhythm dance despite a serious error on the Finnstep pattern dance, exiting hold midway through. They remained in fourth place overall following the free dance. Polish champions again, Kaliszek/Spodyriev, finished the season at the 2020 European Championships, where they placed ninth. They had been assigned to compete at the World Championships in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

2020–2021 season

With the pandemic limited international opportunities, Kaliszek/Spodyriev won the Four National Championships again before competing at the

2021 World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, where they placed twelfth. This qualified one berth for a Polish dance team at the

2021–2022 season

Kaliszek/Spodyriev began the new season on the

2021 Skate America The 2021 Guaranteed Rate Skate America was the first event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 22–24. ...

, where they finished eighth. They withdrew from several other events, including the

2021 Rostelecom Cup The 2021 Rostelecom Cup was the sixth event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi on November 26–28. Medals were award ...

, before winning the Polish national title again. They were named to the Polish Olympic team for the second time and then competed at the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The tournament began three days after the conclusion of the 2022 Commo ...

, finishing fourteenth. Competing at the

in the dance event, Kaliszek/Spodyriev were fifteenth in the rhythm dance. Kaliszek fell at the end of their program, as a result of which they placed last in the free dance and dropped to seventeenth overall. Following

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been Invasion, invaded or Military occupation, occupied a number of times throughout History of Ukraine, its history. List See also *List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References

...

, Spodyriev's native country, Kaliszek and Spodyriev's club welcomed many refugee Ukrainian skaters, notably fellow ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikitin. The duo were scheduled to compete at the 2022 World Championships, but withdrew after a positive COVID test. On July 16, they announced their retirement from competitive figure skating.

Programs

With Kaliszek

With Korotitskaia

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

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 ...

With Kaliszek for Poland

With Korotitskaia for Ukraine

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spodyriev, Maksym 1993 births Polish male ice dancers Ukrainian male ice dancers Living people Sportspeople from Kharkiv Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Ukrainian emigrants to Poland Naturalized citizens of Poland Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Poland