Alexandra Ignatova

Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Ignatova (; []; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater who currently competes as an Individual Neutral Athlete. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 World bronze medalist, a European silver and bronze (2020) medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, the 2021 U.S. Classic champion, and the 2021 Skate America champion. Domestically, she is the 2022 Russian national champion, the 2019 silver medalist, and the 2020 and 2021 bronze medalist. At the junior level, she has been a two-time Junior World Champion (2018 and 2019), the 2018 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a four-time champion on the Junior Grand Prix series, and a two-time Russian Junior national champion.

Trusova is credited for leading the ladies figure skating technical revolution and being the new face of women's figure skating by becoming the first female skater to land the quad Lutz, quad flip, and quad toe loop jumps; the second to land the quad Salchow (after Miki Ando); and the first to land two and three ratified quads in a free skate, achieved at the 2018 Junior World Championships and the 2019 Nepela Trophy, respectively. She is also the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympic Winter Games, and the first woman to land four and five quads in a free skate, achieved at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She currently holds four Guinness World Records, the fourth in recognition of her landed quadruple flip at the 2019 ISU Grand Prix Final. Her technical score of 92.35 points in the free skate at the 2018 Junior Worlds was the highest recorded in women's singles skating at the junior and senior level until the GOE (Grade of Execution) system was changed at the end of 2017–18 season.

Additionally, Trusova is recognized as the youngest woman to become a World Junior champion and a Junior Grand Prix Final champion following her wins at the 2018 World Junior Championship and the 2018 Junior Grand Prix Final at the age of 13. At the 2018 JGP Lithuania, she became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in combination after performing a quad toe loop and triple toe loop. a husky named Jack; a miniature royal poodle named Lana, which she received at the Rostelecom Cup in recognition of her victory at the 2019 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and for landing her first triple Axel in practice; a basenji named Alita; a second miniature poodle named Cruella (nicknamed Ella); a Bichon Frisé named Selma; and most recently, a toy poodle named Smoke. Both Ella and Selma were gifts from fans in China. In August 2026, while participating in an ice show in China, Trusova and her husband adopted a dog named Tao-Tao from a local shelter.

A short biography detailing her career throughout her teenage years was published in Russian under the title Alexandra Trusova. The Girl Who Fights Gravity: And Changes the World of Women’s Figure Skating, with an English translation released in March 2021.

Trusova was in a relationship with Mark Kondratiuk, the 2022 Beijing Olympic Team Event bronze medalist, from May 2022 until the summer of 2023. In late 2023, she began a relationship with fellow Russian figure skater Makar Ignatov. On 17 June 2024, Trusova and Ignatov announced their engagement, and they were married on 17 August 2024, after which Trusova adopted the surname Ignatova.

On 22 March 2025, the couple publicly announced via Instagram that they were expecting their first child. On 6 August 2025, the couple welcomed their first child, a son, later revealing his name Mikhail. Trusova started recovery shortly after giving birth, and began regaining her jumps, currently working on triple and quadruple jumps in combinations.

In July 2026, Trusova graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University.

Career Early career Trusova began learning to skate in 2008 at the age of four. At the European Championships in Tallinn, Trusova placed third in the short program despite falling on her triple Axel attempt again. She landed two out of her four planned quads in the free skate, winning her second European bronze medal. Despite medaling, she said she was "not happy with the skate" due to the errors.

2024–2025 season: The awaited comeback

It was announced that Trusova, now Ignatova, would partake in the 2024 Russian test skates, and that she had returned to training with Plushenko at his skating academy, Angels of Plushenko.

Ignatova debuted two new programs at the 2024 Russian Test Skates, both of which were choreographed by Nikita Mikhailov. Her short program was set to the J2 and Ilza version of the song "Bésame Mucho". She cleanly landed a double axel and a triple flip, but struggled on the third jumping pass, doubling out of the second half of the intended triple-triple combination. In the free skate, Ignatova attempted one quad Lutz though the attempt was unsuccessful. She again struggled with her triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, making similar errors to the short program. Speaking to press after her free skate Ignatova said “The performance was bad, definitely, but better than in training, it was really bad in training. But before going to Novogorsk I didn't make any mistakes in the short. These are trial runs for me, I haven't decided yet whether I'll come back.”

It was announced in October 2024 that Ignatova would not make a comeback in the upcoming competitive season. An article written by RIA Novosti explained that although Ignatova would continue to train at the Angels of Plushenko Academy, she did not intend to skate competitively during the 2024–2025 season.

2025–2026 season: Return to competitive ice On 19 January 2026, five months after giving birth to her son, Ignatova was listed as a participant, alongside previous training mate Kamila Valieva, for the Russian Jumping Championship in February. The next day, Ignatova announced she had returned to training with Eteri Tutberidze. She shared in a YouTube video, "I decided to go to Eteri Georgievna because I trained with her for most of my career and it's more comfortable to practice and perform with her." She continues to say, "I want to comeback. I want to make my dream come true. Let's not say which one it is."

Ignatova participated in the Russian Jumping Championship. In the women's quarter-finals she finished in ninth place, unable to advance to the semi-finals. In the duets category she was paired with her husband Makar Ignatov; the pair finished in fifth place overall.

2026–2027 season During the off season, Ignatova collaborated with Benoît Richaud to create a new short program for the upcoming 2026–27 season.

On 30 June 2026, the International Skating Union announced that figure skaters from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at international competitions as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each of these skaters are be required to undergo an individual assessment conducted by the ISU Council to determine whether they meet the criteria for neutral status. Ignatova's application was approved, making her eligible to compete internationally as a neutral athlete.

Skating technique A jump combination of a quadruple toe loop, euler and triple salchow at the Rostelecom Cup. Trusova's skating technique is distinguished by her ability to compete with a significant repertoire of quad jumps unrivaled by other female competitors as of 2022. When asked about the training, Trusova stated that in 2021 she did train the quintuple jump using the 'fishing pole' harness apparatus used in Russia. She currently prefers to attempt the jumps without using any harnesses, which she describes as awkward and creating impediments to improving her ability to master the new jump. In the interview, Trusova stated that the quintuple jump might be approached as a priority over her trying the quad Axel (which men have already tried in competition) because she has not yet mastered the triple Axel for use in competition. including a 30-second advertisement for their "Impossible is Nothing" campaign in April 2021. She became a brand ambassador for the Japanese-produced Ajinomoto product Amino Vital in July 2020.

Programs

Records and achievements

At 13 years old, born on June 23, she is the youngest woman to win at the Junior World Championships and Junior Grand Prix Final, a distinction previously held by then 13-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya, who was born on June 5. First woman to land a quad Lutz jump in international competition. she also set the new record of highest valued combination jump by a woman.

Senior world record scores Trusova has set four world record scores.

Women's combined total Date Score Event Note 26 October 2019 241.02 2019 Skate Canada This record was later broken by Aliona Kostornaia at the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final 21 September 2019 238.69 2019 CS Nepela Memorial She broke the previous record held by Alina Zagitova by 0.26 points. Women's free skating Date Score Event Note 26 October 2019 166.62 2019 Skate Canada She became the first woman ever to achieve a technical element score (TES) above 100 points (100.20 points). Broken by Kamila Valieva at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy. 21 September 2019 163.78 2019 CS Nepela Memorial She broke the previous record held by Alina Zagitova by about 5 points.

Junior world record scores

Trusova has set six junior world record scores under the new +5/-5 GOE (Grade of Execution) system.

Junior women's combined total Date Score Event Note 6 September 2018 74.74 2018 JGP Lithuania She broke the previous record held by Anna Shcherbakova by about 1.6 points.

Historical junior world record scores

Trusova had set three junior world record scores before season 2018–19. However, because of the introduction of the new +5/-5 GOE (Grade of Execution) system to replace the previous +3/-3 GOE system, the ISU decided that all statistics would start from zero from the 2018–19 onwards and that all previous statistics would be historical.

Junior women's combined total Date Score Event Note 10 March 2018 225.52 2018 World Junior Championships Standing junior world record score until the GOE system was changed on 1 July 2018. Trusova became the first junior woman to score above 210 points and 220 points. She broke the previous record held by Alina Zagitova by about 17 points. Junior women's short program Date Score Event Note 7 December 2017 73.25 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix Final Standing junior world record score until the GOE system was changed on 1 July 2018. Trusova broke the previous record set by Alena Kostornaia, which was skated only ten minutes earlier. Junior women's free skating Date Score Event Note 10 March 2018 153.49 2018 World Junior Championships Standing junior world record score until the GOE system was changed on 1 July 2018. Trusova became the first junior woman to score above 140 points and 150 points in free skating. She broke the previous record held by Alina Zagitova by more than 15 points.

Competitive highlights

Skating as an Individual Neutral Athlete

Skating for Russia

Detailed results