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Vadym Kolesnik

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Not to be confused with Vadim Kolesnik.
Vadym Kolesnik
Kolesnik during the rhythm dance at the 2023 Skate Canada International
Native nameВадим Колесник
Born (2001-10-27) October 27, 2001 (age 23)
Kharkiv, Ukraine
HometownNovi, Michigan
Height1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States (since 2017)
 Ukraine (until 2017)
PartnerEmilea Zingas (since 2022)
Avonley Nguyen (2017–20)
Zlata Iefymenko (2015–16)
CoachIgor Shpilband
Pasquale Camerlengo
Adrienne Lenda
Natalia Deller
Skating clubSC of New York
Began skating2006
Medal record
Representing  United States
Figure skating: Ice dance
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tallinn Ice dance
Junior Grand Prix Final
Silver medal – second place 2019–20 Torino Ice dance

Vadym Kolesnik[a] (born October 27, 2001) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Emilea Zingas, he is the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist and 2023 U.S. national pewter medalist.

With his former partner, Avonley Nguyen, he is the 2020 World Junior champion, the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, and the 2020 U.S. junior national champion. He has also won four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, including three golds, and qualified to the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Personal life

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Kolesnik was born on October 27, 2001, in Kharkiv, Ukraine.[2] He moved to the United States in spring 2017.[3]

Career

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Early years

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Kolesnik began learning to skate as a four-year-old after his grandmother took him to a local rink.[3] The coaches at the rink did not wish to take him due to his weight, but he kept returning until one accepted him.[3] In the 2015–2016 season, he appeared internationally with Zlata Iefymenko for Ukraine. Competing in advanced novice ice dancing, they placed ninth at the 2015 Ice Star and then fourth at the 2015 NRW Trophy.[4]

Partership with Nguyen

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2017–2018 season: Debut of Nguyen/Kolesnik

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In autumn 2016, Kolesnik and Avonley Nguyen of the United States had a three-week tryout in Novi, Michigan, following which he returned to Ukraine for a few months.[3] They began their partnership in February 2017.[5]

Nguyen/Kolesnik received their first ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignments in the 2017–2018 season. They placed fifth at JGP Belarus and sixth at JGP Italy. After taking gold in junior ice dancing at Midwestern Sectionals, they qualified to the 2018 U.S. Championships, where they would finish fifth.

2018–2019 season: JGP medals

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Nguyen/Kolesnik at the 2019 World Junior Championships

Nguyen/Kolesnik won the silver medal at 2018 JGP Lithuania, behind Russia's Ushakova/Nekrasov, and the gold at 2018 JGP Slovenia to qualify for their first JGP Final. They placed fifth overall at the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final after placing fifth in the rhythm dance and fifth in the free dance.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships, they won the silver medal behind Green/Green after placing second in the rhythm dance and winning the free dance.

At the 2019 World Junior Championships, Nguyen/Kolesnik placed fifth in the rhythm dance but moved up to fourth overall after placing third in the free dance. They were awarded a small bronze medal for the free, where they had the highest technical base value of any of the competing teams and the second-highest technical score overall.[6]

2019–2020 season: World Junior champion and Junior Grand Prix Final silver

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Nguyen/Kolesnik at the 2019–20 JGP Final

Nguyen/Kolesnik began their Junior Grand Prix season at the 2019 JGP United States, where they placed first in both segments with personal best scores and won the gold medal. At 2019 JGP Poland, they again set personal best scores in both segments to take the title and qualify for the 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Competing at the Final, Nguyen/Kolesnik narrowly lost the gold medal by only 0.16 points behind Kazakova/Reviya of Georgia at the JGP Final.[7] She commented "we're a little disappointed right now, but we’ll continue to keep on working. All our competitors were really strong. We were only a fourth of a point behind, and we felt we could push and get to the next level, but it didn’t work out."[8]

At the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Nguyen/Kolesnik scored 184.38 total points to take the gold medal by more than 22 points. Their free dance, set to Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2," featured all positive grades of execution and eight Level 4 elements, earning 109.89 points.[9]

At the 2020 Bavarian Open, they placed first in both the rhythm dance and free dance to win the gold medal. They concluded the season at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they entered as one of the favorites for the title. Nguyen/Kolesnik placed third in the rhythm dance behind Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy and Kazakova/Reviya, after Nguyen stepped out of her twizzle sequence. She remarked they had "left a few points on the table, but now we'll focus on the free dance."[10] They won the free dance, setting a new junior world record and taking the Junior World title over Kazakova/Reviya. Nguyen said afterward, "I've dreamed about this moment for so long and to know that our work finally paid off, it just feels great!" Kolesnik indicated that they had not decided whether to move up to senior competition or remain at the junior level for another season.[11]

At the end of June, Nguyen announced that the two had split. She said she had "many happy memories" of their partnership and wished him the best as they "pursued different paths."[12] Within minutes, Kolesnik's announcement post followed. He thanked Nguyen "for all you have done for our partnership," expressed his admiration for her, and wished her all the best.[13]

Partnership with Zingas

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2022–2023 season: Debut of Zingas/Kolesnik

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After many months of searching for a new permanent partnership in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kolesnik tried out with Cypriot-American singles skater Emilea Zingas.[14] Kolesnik would later say that "the first time I skated with Emilea I felt something special. I felt like I can be myself. She opens up in the way that I want to skate and that's how it comes out — freedom."[15] On May 15, 2022, Zingas officially announced that the two would compete together representing the United States.[16]

Zingas/Kolesnik made their international debut in December 2022 at 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they won the bronze medal.[14]

After winning gold in November 2022 at the U.S. Ice Dance Final to qualify for the 2023 U.S. Championships, the team entered a dance field more open than normal due to presumptive national silver medalists Hawayek/Baker being absent due to health issues. Zingas/Kolesnik unexpectedly placed third in the rhythm dance, less than a point ahead of Zagreb gold medalists Carreira/Ponomarenko, who had erred on their twizzles.[15] After the free dance, Carreira/Ponomarenko had squeaked ahead overall by 0.32, but Zingas/Kolesnik stood on the podium as pewter medalists, a noteworthy achievement in a team's first season. Kolesnik said of the new partnership "I think we've got a match."[17]

2023–2024 season

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Zingas/Kolesnik during their free dance at 2023 Skate Canada International

For their free dance, Zingas proposed skating to Alan Menken's Beauty and the Beast film score, which Kolesnik was persuaded of after a "watch party."[18]

Beginning the season on the Challenger circuit, Zingas/Kolesnik finished fourth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial.[19] They were invited to make their Grand Prix debut at 2023 Skate Canada International, where they placed fifth, despite a rhythm dance twizzle error.[20][18] They were fifth as well at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.[21] Zingas/Kolesnik finished out the fall season at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they won the silver medal.[19]

In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Zingas/Kolesnik were named as first alternates for the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai.[22] They finished only sixth at the national championships, but were notified while driving home that national champions Chock/Bates had withdrawn from the Four Continents Championships due to illness, and they were to fly to Shanghai the following morning.[23][24] They were fourth in both segments of the competition, coming fourth overall, 1.07 points back of bronze medalists Carreira/Ponomarenko. Zingas called the event "a great bonus."[24]

2024–2025 season

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Zingas/Kolesnik started the season by winning bronze at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.[19] Beginning the 2024–25 Grand Prix series at 2024 Skate Canada International, they came fourth in the rhythm dance, 1.13 points behind third-place French team Lopareva/Brissaud. Both partners received low levels on their twizzles in the free dance, and they dropped to fifth overall, which Kolesnik called "very disappointing."[25] They followed this up by finishing fifth at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.[19]

Programs

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Ice dance with Emilea Zingas

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Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition
2022–2023
[26]
2023–2024
[27]
2024–2025
[28]

Ice dance with Avonley Nguyen

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Season Short dance Free dance Exhibition
2017–2018
[29]
Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition
2018–2019
[2]
2019–2020
[30]

Records and achievements

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Junior world record scores

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Nguyen/Kolesnik are the current junior world record holders for the free dance.

Junior ice dance combined total records
Date Score Event Note
March 7, 2020 177.18 2020 World Junior Championships Later surpassed by Kateřina Mrázková / Daniel Mrázek at the 2023 World Junior Championships.
Junior ice dance free dance
Date Score Event Note
March 7, 2020 108.91 2020 World Junior Championships Current junior world record holder.

Competitive highlights

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Ice dance with Emilea Zingas

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Competition placements at senior level [19]
Season 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Four Continents Championships 4th
U.S. Championships 4th 6th
GP Finland 5th 5th
GP Skate Canada 5th 5th
CS Golden Spin 3rd 2nd
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 3rd
CS Nepela Memorial 4th
CS Warsaw Cup 2nd
U.S. Ice Dance Final 1st

Ice dance with Avonley Nguyen

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Nguyen/Kolesnik (left) with Kazakova / Reviya (center) and Shanaeva / Naryzhnyy (right) on the 2019–20 JGP Final podium
Competition placements at junior level [31]
Season 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
World Junior Championships 4th 1st
Junior Grand Prix Final 5th 2nd
U.S. Championships 5th 2nd 1st
JGP Belarus 5th
JGP Italy 6th
JGP Lithuania 2nd
JGP Poland 1st
JGP Slovenia 1st
JGP United States 1st
Bavarian Open 1st

Detailed results

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Small medals awarded only at ISU Championships. ISU personal bests highlighted in bold.

Ice dance with Emilea Zingas

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Senior results

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Results in the 2022–23 season [19]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 7–12, 2022 United States 2023 U.S. Ice Dance Final 1 79.58 1 113.16 1 192.74
Dec 7–10, 2022 Croatia 2022 Golden Spin of Zagreb 3 73.14 3 110.96 3 184.10
Jan 23–29, 2023 United States 2023 U.S. Championships 3 78.18 4 119.95 4 198.13
Results in the 2023–24 season [19]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 28–30, 2023 Slovakia 2023 CS Nepela Memorial 3 75.61 3 111.67 4 187.28
Oct 27–29, 2023 Canada 2023 Skate Canada International 5 72.25 5 112.71 5 184.96
Nov 17–19, 2023 Finland 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo 5 72.13 5 111.65 5 183.78
Dec 6–9, 2023 Croatia 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb 2 78.23 3 105.09 3 183.32
Jan 22–38, 2024 United States 2024 U.S. Championships 5 77.59 8 104.11 6 181.70
Jan 30–Feb 4, 2024 China 2024 Four Continents Championships 4 75.76 4 117.31 4 193.07
Results in the 2024–25 season [19]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 18–21, 2024 Germany 2024 Nebelhorn Trophy 3 77.47 3 116.87 3 194.34
Oct 25–27, 2024 Canada 2024 Skate Canada International 4 75.63 5 113.78 5 189.41
Nov 15–17, 2024 Finland 2024 Finlandia Trophy 6 72.72 3 116.76 5 189.48
Nov 20–24, 2024 Poland 2024 CS Warsaw Cup 2 77.20 2 118.87 2 196.07

Ice dance with Avonley Nguyen

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Junior results

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Nguyen/Kolesnik at the 2019–20 JGP Final
Results in the 2017–18 season [31]
Date Event SD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 20–23, 2017 Belgium 2017 JGP Belarus 5 50.37 6 64.52 5 114.89
Oct 11–14, 2017 Italy 2017 JGP Italy 6 52.84 6 72.46 6 125.30
Dec 28, 2017–Jan 7, 2018 United States 2018 U.S. Championships (junior) 7 54.02 4 80.29 5 134.31
Results in the 2018–19 season [31]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 5–9, 2018 Lithuania 2018 JGP Lithuania 2 63.40 2 98.44 2 161.84
Oct 3–6, 2018 Slovenia 2018 JGP Slovenia 1 65.41 1 100.22 1 165.63
Dec 7–12, 2018 Canada 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final 5 63.73 5 94.74 5 158.47
Jan 18–27, 2019 United States 2019 U.S. Championships (junior) 2 65.92 1 105.14 2 171.06
Mar 4–10, 2019 Croatia 2019 World Junior Championships 5 65.18 3 102.72 4 167.90
Results in the 2019–20 season [31]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 28–31, 2019 United States 2019 JGP United States 1 66.17 1 104.63 1 170.80
Sep 18–21, 2019 Poland 2019 JGP Poland 1 69.20 1 105.48 1 174.68
Dec 5–8, 2019 Italy 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final 2 68.72 2 106.02 2 174.74
Jan 20–26, 2020 United States 2020 U.S. Championships (junior) 1 74.49 1 109.89 1 184.38
Feb 3–9, 2020 Germany 2020 Bavarian Open 1 64.13 1 101.33 1 165.46
Mar 2–8, 2020 Estonia 2020 World Junior Championships 3 68.27 1 108.91 1 177.18

Notes

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  1. ^ Ukrainian: Вадим Колесник, romanized: Vadym Kolesnyk

References

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  1. ^ Nguyen, Avonley (April 29, 2018). "Thank you @gzuerlein" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  2. ^ a b "Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Getting to Know Avonley Nguyen & Vadym Kolesnik". ice-dance.com. July 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "Zlata Jefimenko & Vadym Kolesnik". tracings.net.
  5. ^ "Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Slater, Paula (March 9, 2019). "Canada's Lajoie and Lagha take ice dance title at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  7. ^ Slater, Paula (December 6, 2019). "Georgia's Kazakova and Reviya take lead in Junior Ice Dance in Torino". Golden Skate.
  8. ^ Slater, Paula (December 8, 2019). "Kazakova and Reviya capture first Junior Grand Prix gold for Georgia". Golden Skate.
  9. ^ "First Junior Champions Crowned at U.S. Championships". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. January 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Slater, Paula (March 5, 2020). "Shanaeva and Naryzhnyy take narrow lead at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  11. ^ Slater, Paula (March 7, 2020). "Nguyen and Kolesnik dance to Junior World title". Golden Skate.
  12. ^ Nguyen, Avonley (2020-06-29). ""It is with many mixed emotions that I announce the end of my partnership with Vadym."" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  13. ^ Kolesnik, Vadym (2020-06-29). "Avonley and I have an announcement to make. We have achieved quite a lot in just three years, but we have decided it's time to go in different direction. ..." Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  14. ^ a b "Team USA Wraps up Challenger Series with Seven Medals at Golden Spin of Zagreb". U.S. Figure Skating. December 10, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Walker, Elvin (January 27, 2023). "Knierim and Frazier, Levito, Chock and Bates Take First Step Toward Gold". U.S. Figure Skating.
  16. ^ @emileazingas (May 15, 2022). "So excited to announce our partnership" – via Instagram.
  17. ^ Flett, Ted (January 28, 2023). "Chock and Bates repeat as US Champions". Golden Skate.
  18. ^ a b Slater, Paula (October 29, 2023). "Gilles and Poirier win fourth consecutive Skate Canada title". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h "Competition Results: Emilia ZINGAS / Vadym KOLESNIK". International Skating Union.
  20. ^ "Browns, Thorngren Earn Career-Best Grand Prix Finishes at Skate Canada International". U.S. Figure Skating. October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  21. ^ Slater, Paula (November 18, 2023). "Chock and Bates take second consecutive Grand Prix gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Flett, Ted (January 27, 2024). "Chock and Bates take fifth national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Slater, Paula (February 4, 2024). "Gilles and Poirier add Four Continents gold to collection". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  25. ^ Slater, Paula (October 28, 2024). "Gilles and Poirier claim fifth Skate Canada title". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  26. ^ "Emilea ZINGAS / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Emilea ZINGAS / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023.
  28. ^ "Emilea ZINGAS / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.
  30. ^ "Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019.
  31. ^ a b c d "Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018.
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World Junior Record Holders
Preceded by Junior Free Dance
March 7, 2020 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Junior Total Score
March 7, 2020 – March 4, 2023 		Succeeded by
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