Angélique Abachkina

Angélique Abachkina
Angélique Abachkina at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships
Personal information
Native name	Анжелика Абашкина
Alternative names	Anzhelika Abachkina
Country represented	Russia
Former country(ies) represented	France
Born	(2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 (age 21) Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Partner	Pavel Drozd
Former partner	Louis Thauron
Former coach	Igor Shpilband Fabian Bourzat Greg Zuerlein Adrienne Lenda Muriel Zazoui Romain Haguenauer Olivier Schoenfelder Diana Ribas
Former choreographer	Fabian Bourzat Greg Zuerlein Romain Haguenauer Diana Ribas
Former skating club	Paris Bercy CSG Lyon
Training locations	Novi, Michigan Lyon, France
Began skating	2006
Retired	October 20, 2018
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	155.55 2017 Internationaux de France
Short dance	61.11 2016 JGP France
Free dance	95.74 2017 Internationaux de France

Angélique Abachkina (born 26 January 2000) is a Russian-French ice dancer. She currently skates with Pavel Drozd for Russia. With her former skating partner, Louis Thauron, she represented France at four World Junior Championships, finishing within the top ten at three editions (2015–2017).

Abachkina previously retired in October 2018 after the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace would not release her to skate with Drozd, but unretired in May 2021 after being released for the Figure Skating Federation of Russia.^[1][2]

Personal life[]

Angélique Abachkina (pronounced /ˈɑːbɑʃkiːnɑː/, Russian: Анжелика Абашкина) was born on 26 January 2000 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.^[3] She arrived in France with her family when she was eight months old.^{[citation needed]}

Career[]

Abachkina began learning to skate in 2006.^[3] She teamed up with Louis Thauron in 2012. The duo debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2013, placing eighth in Estonia and tenth in Poland. In 2014, they were named in the French team for the World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.^[4] Abachkina/Thauron placed 19th in the short dance, 15th in the free dance, and 18th overall.^[5] They were coached by Muriel Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, Olivier Schoenfelder, and Diana Ribas in Lyon, France during the 2013–14 season.^[6]

Abachkina/Thauron changed coaches prior to the 2014–2015 season, joining Igor Shpilband and Fabian Bourzat in Novi, Michigan.^[7] They placed seventh at both of their 2014 JGP events. Ranked eighth in the short dance and seventh in the free, they finished eighth overall at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Competing in the 2015 JGP series, Abachkina/Thauron won the silver medal in Riga, Latvia, and placed fourth in Zagreb, Croatia. They finished 7th at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

In the 2016 JGP series, Abachkina/Thauron were awarded gold in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France, and bronze in Yokohama, Japan.

In July 2018, Alexander Zhulin began coaching the new partnership of Angelique Abachkina and Russia's Pavel Drozd, but the skaters parted ways after learning that the French federation would not release her to compete for Russia.^[1] On October 20, 2018, she decided to retire from competitive skating.^[8] She later unretired in 2021 after the French Federation decided to fulfill her request to transfer back to Russia, and she renewed her partnership with Drozd, coached by Zhulin.

Programs[]

with Drozd[]

Abachkina/Thauron at the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final

Abachkina/Thauron at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow

with Thauron[]

Competitive highlights[]

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

With Thauron

References[]