Oleksii Bychenko

Oleksii (Alexei) Bychenko (Hebrew: אולקסי ביצ'נקו‎‎; Ukrainian: Олексій Юрійович Биченко; born 5 February 1988) is an Israeli figure skater. He is the 2016 European silver medalist and 2016 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist. He is the first Israeli skater to medal at the European Championships. He represented Ukraine through 2009.

For Ukraine

Representing Ukraine, Bychenko debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in the 2003–04 season. His senior international debut took place in late September 2005 at Skate Israel but he continued appearing occasionally on the junior level. He achieved his best JGP result, 8th, in October 2006 in Taipei, at his final junior event.

Bychenko became a two-time (2007, 2008) Ukrainian national silver medalist on the senior level. His final international appearance for Ukraine came in late November 2009, at the Crystal Skate of Romania.

For Israel

Bychenko first appeared internationally for Israel at the Golden Spin of Zagreb in December 2011. He qualified for the final segment at the 2012 European Championships in Sheffield and went on to finish 22nd overall. At the 2012 World Championships in Nice, he was eliminated after the short program.

At the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, Bychenko qualified a spot for Israel in the men's event at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He finished 21st in Sochi, Russia.

Bychenko received his first Grand Prix invitations in the 2014–15 season. He finished fourth at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm after placing seventh in the short program and fourth in the free skate.

At the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Bychenko placed fourth in both segments and edged out Russia's Maxim Kovtun for silver by a margin of 0.35. It was Israel's first European figure skating medal.

In the 2016–17 season, Bychenko won bronze at a Grand Prix assignment, the 2016 Rostelecom Cup, and gold at a Challenger Series event, the Golden Spin of Zagreb. He ranked third in the short program, 9th in the free skate, and 5th overall at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In March, he placed 11th in the short, 12th in the free, and 10th overall at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to his result, Israel qualified two spots in the men's event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

For Israel

For Ukraine