Alexander Samarin

Alexander Vladimirovich Samarin (Russian: Александр Владимирович Самарин; born 15 June 1998) is a Russian figure skater. He has won two medals on the ISU Challenger Series, including gold at the 2015 CS Warsaw Cup, and three gold medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. He is the 2017 Russian national silver medalist, three-time Russian national junior silver medalist and 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist.

Alexander Vladimirovich Samarin was born 15 June 1998 in Moscow.

Early years

Samarin began skating in 2002. His very first coach was Lyubov Fedorchenko at the Young Pioneers Stadium. In 2006, he switched to CSKA Moscow, where he was coached by Inna Goncharenko. In the 2009–10 season, he won the novice event at the 2010 NRW Trophy in Dortmund, Germany, and the junior silver medal at the International Crystal Skate 2010 in Odintsovo, Russia. In 2011–12, he withdrew from the 2012 Russian Junior Championships due to illness.

2012–13 season

In 2012–13, at the start of the season, Samarin underwent an eye surgery because of a detached retina. Debuting on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series, he won a pair of bronze medals at JGP events in Slovenia and Germany and became the first alternate for the 2012 JGP Final. At the Russian Championships, he finished eighth in his first senior appearance and then won the silver medal on the junior level. He was assigned to the 2013 World Junior Championships where he finished eighth.

2013–14 season

In 2013–14, Samarin was assigned to one JGP event, in Belarus, and finished 4th. At the 2014 Russian Championships, he placed 13th in seniors, landing his first triple Axel in competition in the free skate, and then 4th at junior level. He was coached by Goncharenko until the end of the season.

2014–15 season

Samarin changed coaches ahead of the 2014–15 season, joining Elena Buianova and Svetlana Sokolovskaya. He won bronze at his first Junior Grand Prix event of the season, in Courchevel, France, and then silver in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Making his senior international debut, he took silver in November at the 2014 Ice Challenge, an ISU Challenger Series (CS) competition in Graz, Austria, and finished 8th the following month at another CS event, the 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb. Nationally, he finished 11th on the senior level and second on the junior level. Concluding his season, he placed 6th in the short, 9th in the free, and 11th overall at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

2015–16 season

Competing in the 2015–16 JGP series, Samarin finished 4th in Slovakia and won gold in Croatia. He appeared at two CS events, placing 4th at the 2015 Mordovian Ornament and winning the 2015 Warsaw Cup. At Russian nationals, he ranked 8th on the senior level and won the silver medal as a junior, behind Dmitri Aliev. He finished fourth at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, after winning a small silver medal for the short program and placing fifth in the free skate.

2016–17 season

Competing in the 2016–17 JGP series, Samarin won gold medals in Saransk, Russia, and Tallinn, Estonia. His medals qualified him to the 2016–17 JGP Final in Marseille. In December, he won silver in France, having finished second to Dmitri Aliev, and then took silver at the Russian Championships, behind Mikhail Kolyada.

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix