Sofiia Holichenko
Ukrainian pair skater
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Sofiia Yuriyivna Holichenko (Ukrainian: Софія Юріївна Голіченко; born 23 November 2004) is a Ukrainian pair skater. With her skating partner, Artem Darenskyi, she is the 2025 World Junior silver medalist, a three-time Ukrainian national champion (2022–24), and the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist.
Sofiia Holichenko and Artem Darenskyi at the 2024 World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Sofiia Yuriyivna Holichenko | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Sofia/Sofiya Golichenko | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 November 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Dnipro, Ukraine | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Ukraine | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Artem Darenskyi (since 2020) Ivan Pavlov (2018–19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Ihor Marchenko | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | MDUSH of Winter Sport, Dnipro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
Early career
As a singles skater, Holichenko most notably won the bronze medal at the 2018 Ukrainian junior championships.[1] She competed a single season in pairs with Ivan Pavlov, winning a bronze medal at the senior Ukrainian championships.[2]
2020–21 season: Debut of Holichenko/Darenskyi
In June, it was announced that she had formed a new partnership with Artem Darenskyi.[3]
After obtaining the required minimum technical elements scores, Holichenko/Darenskyi were nominated to represent Ukraine at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm. They withdrew a few days before the start of the competition, having tested positive for coronavirus.[4]
2021–22 season: Beijing Olympics
Holichenko/Darenskyi began the season at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, attempting to qualify a berth for Ukraine at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They placed eleventh at the event, outside the qualifications.[5] However, Ukraine qualified to the Olympic team event due to Anastasiia Shabotova qualifying to the women's competition at Nebelhorn, allowing for a Ukrainian pair to be sent for that.[6] Holichenko/Darenskyi went on to finish fifth at the Budapest Trophy.[5]
After winning their first Ukrainian national title, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed fifteenth at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn.[5] Days later, they were named to the Ukrainian Olympic team.[7] They finished ninth among nine pairs entered in the short program of the Olympic team event.[8] This was their only performance at the Games, as Team Ukraine did not advance to the second stage of the competition and finished tenth.[9]
The team returned home to Dnipro after the Olympics and immediately found themselves in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10] They enlisted Canadian music editor Hugo Chouinard to change their short program music in advance of the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, hoping to inspire the country with Ukrainian music.[11] They undertook a six-day journey to France, via Romania, Italy, and Poland, with Darenskyi saying that their goal was "to show that Ukrainian athletes are fighting for their country." On arrival, they received a standing ovation and placed thirteenth in the short program with very limited training. In light of this, they opted not to compete in the free skate. They temporarily left home to live and train in Toruń for the foreseeable future.[10]
2022–23 season
Prior to the season beginning, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had left Toruń and returned to Dnipro to train.[12]
Holichenko/Darenskyi's lone competitive appearance for the season came at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they finished in twelfth place. They missed the rest of the season due to injury and only returned to compete at the 2023 Ukrainian Championships in April, which they won.[5][13][14]
2023–24 season: Challenger Series bronze
In August 2023, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had switched coaches from Lilia Batutina to Ihor Marchenko.[15]
Starting the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Holichenko/Darenskyi came in eighth place.[5] At the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed third in the short program and third in the free skate, placing third overall and earning their first ISU Challenger Series medal.[5]
In the second half of the season, Holichenko/Darenskyi came eleventh at the 2024 European Championships and seventeenth at the 2024 World Championships.[5]
2024–25 season
Due to the constant shelling taking place in Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war, Holichenko and Darenskyi had limited access to ice rinks where they could train in throughout the off-season.[16] Their first competition of the season was on the 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit at the 2024 JGP Poland, where they won the silver medal.[17]
Returning to the senior level, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed seventh at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup. The pair then went on to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they placed eleventh.[5] They subsequently won the bronze medal at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.[18]
They then represented Ukraine at the 2025 World Junior Championships, winning the silver medal. The team attributed their attendance at the junior championship to a desire to secure berths for Ukrainian pairs on the following season's junior circuit. “Well, we’re glad that we won this medal, but it was not our main target,” Darenskyi said. “Our main target was to secure the spots for Ukraine and the World Championships in Boston, where we hope to qualify. We hoped for the triple flip to work here, but maybe in Boston it will work.”[19]
They closed the season by competing at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where they finished in seventeenth place overall.[5]
In April, Holichenko/Darenskyi's training rink in Kherson was destroyed by a Russian missile. Three people were injured and one person was killed from the impact.[20][21]
2025–26 season
Holichenko/Darenskyi opened their season with a sixth-place finish at the 2025 Lombardia Trophy. They then went on to finish fifth at the ISU Skate to Milano and twelfth at the 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[18]
Going into the 2026 European Championships, Holichenko/Darenskyi each dealt with injuries and losing their luggage at the airport upon arriving.[22] Despite this, the pair still opted to compete at the event, finishing in sixteenth place.[18]
Programs
Pair skating with Artem Darenskyi
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 [23] |
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| 2024–25 [24] |
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| 2023–24 [15] |
| |
| 2022–23 [12] |
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| 2021–22 [25][26] |
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| 2020–21 [27] |
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Competitive highlights
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- TBD – Assigned
- WD – Withdrew from competition
Pair skating with Artem Darenskyi
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics (Team event) | 10th | |||||
| World Championships | WD | 17th | 17th | 18th | ||
| European Championships | 15th | 11th | 11th | 16th | ||
| Ukrainian Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3rd | 12th | ||||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 11th | 12th | 8th | |||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 7th | |||||
| Budapest Trophy | 5th | |||||
| Denis Ten Memorial | 6th | |||||
| Lombardia Trophy | 6th | |||||
| Road to 26 Trophy | 3rd | |||||
| Skate to Milano | 5th |
| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 2nd |
| JGP Poland | 2nd |
Pair skating with Ivan Pavlov
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian Championships | 3rd |
| Ice Star | 6th |
| Volvo Open Cup | 3rd |
Single skating
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian Championships | 3rd |
| Ice Star | 15th |
Detailed results
Pair skating with Artem Darenskyi
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 169.41 | 2025 Skate to Milano |
| Short program | TSS | 59.34 | 2024 World Championships |
| TES | 33.64 | 2024 World Championships | |
| PCS | 25.70 | 2024 World Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 112.24 | 2025 Skate to Milano |
| TES | 59.50 | 2025 World Championships | |
| PCS | 55.33 | 2025 European Championships |
Senior level
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Feb 23–24, 2021 | 2024 Ukrainian Championships |
2 | 48.39 | 2 | 88.51 | 2 | 136.90 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 21–25, 2021 |  2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
10 | 52.63 | 10 | 89.75 | 11 | 142.38 |
| Oct 14–17, 2021 |  2021 Budapest Trophy |
4 | 51.99 | 5 | 95.65 | 5 | 147.64 |
| Oct 27–31, 2021 |  2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge |
7 | 55.89 | 6 | 106.28 | 6 | 162.17 |
| Dec 7–8, 2021 | 2022 Ukrainian Championships |
1 | 49.58 | 1 | 92.45 | 1 | 142.03 |
| Jan 10–16, 2022 |  2022 European Championships |
14 | 55.15 | 15 | 92.46 | 15 | 147.61 |
| Feb 4–7, 2022 |  2022 Winter Olympics (Team event) |
9 | 53.65 | N/a | N/a | 10 | N/a |
| Mar 21–27, 2022 |  2022 World Championships |
13 | 44.95 | N/a | N/a | – | WD |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 21–24, 2022 | 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
12 | 44.07 | 12 | 80.79 | 12 | 124.86 |
| Apr 5–7, 2023 | 2023 Ukrainian Championships |
1 | N/a | 1 | N/a | 1 | N/a |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 20–23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
8 | 50.71 | 8 | 105.77 | 8 | 156.48 |
| Dec 6–9, 2023 |  2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
3 | 55.92 | 3 | 106.25 | 3 | 162.17 |
| Jan 8–14, 2024 |  2024 European Championships |
12 | 52.95 | 10 | 101.42 | 11 | 154.37 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 |  2024 World Championships |
16 | 59.34 | 18 | 100.05 | 17 | 159.39 |
| Apr 4–6, 2024 | 2024 Ukrainian Championships |
1 | N/a | 1 | N/a | 1 | N/a |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 20–24, 2024 |  2024 CS Warsaw Cup |
5 | 54.45 | 7 | 96.82 | 7 | 151.27 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships |
10 | 56.73 | 11 | 108.22 | 11 | 164.95 |
| Feb 18–20, 2025 |  Road to 26 Trophy |
3 | 56.84 | 3 | 107.21 | 3 | 164.05 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 |  2025 World Championships |
17 | 57.20 | 17 | 111.35 | 17 | 168.55 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 11–14, 2025 | 2025 Lombardia Trophy |
6 | 44.88 | 5 | 90.89 | 6 | 135.77 |
| Sep 18–21, 2025 | 2025 ISU Skate to Milano |
6 | 57.17 | 4 | 112.24 | 5 | 169.41 |
| Dec 3–6, 2025 | 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
13 | 48.20 | 11 | 99.80 | 12 | 148.00 |
| Jan 13–18, 2026 |  2026 European Championships |
16 | 42.32 | 16 | 84.46 | 16 | 126.78 |
| Mar 24–29, 2026 |  2026 World Championships |
17 | 58.85 | 16 | 109.43 | 18 | 168.28 |
Junior level
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 25–28, 2024 | 2024 JGP Poland |
2 | 51.81 | 5 | 84.77 | 2 | 136.58 |
| Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships |
2 | 57.40 | 2 | 106.66 | 2 | 164.06 |
