Karina Akopova

Karina Tigranovna Akopova (, ; born 16 June 2003) is a Russian-Armenian pair skater who currently competes for Armenia. With her current skating partner, Nikita Rakhmanin, she is the 2026 Armenian national champion and represented Armenia at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Competing with Rakhmanin for Russia, she is the 2021 Budapest Trophy champion, 2021 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge champion, and 2022 Challenge Cup champion.

With her former partner, Maksim Shagalov, Akopova is the 2019 Volvo Open Cup silver medalist and 2020 Bavarian Open bronze medalist.

Personal life Akopova was born on 16 June 2003 in Moscow, Russia to parents with Armenian ancestry.

She previously attended Kuban University of Sport and Tourism and is able to speak Russian, Armenian, and English.

She cites 2014 Olympic champion pair team, Volosozhar/Trankov as her role models.

During the 2019–20 figure skating season, Akopova/Shagalov won the silver medal at the 2019 Volvo Open Cup, finished fourth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, and won the bronze medal at the 2020 Bavarian Open. They parted ways following the season's conclusion. They made their national championship debut at the 2021 Russian Championships, where they finished in seventh place. Due to the last-minute invitation, Akopova/Rakhmanin attended the event without their coaches. They ultimately came in sixth place.

In late January, it was announced that Akopova and Rakhmanin had been selected as the flag bearers for Armenia during the opening ceremony at the upcoming Olympics. On 6 February, about a week before the start of the Olympic pairs competition, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan raised concerns with the International Olympic Committee about Akopova and Rakhmanin's song choice for their short program, reasoning that due to the song being about "Artsakh," the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh, implies Armenia having territorial claims over land internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan despite having been contested over decades of conflict between the two countries. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan further stated their belief that using that song would introduce political messaging into Olympic competition and risk violating Olympic Charter principles requiring political neutrality at the Games. Two days later, the International Skating Union released their own statement indicating the situation between all parties involved had been resolved.

Programs Pair skating with Nikita Rakhmanin Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2020–21 Limelight Theme from Modern Times Modern Times Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Fall on Me 2021–22 The Music of the Night Saturday Night Fever Stayin' Alive How Deep Is Your Love 2022–23 After Dark Diga Diga Doo Jumpin' Jack Come Together Oh! Darling 2023–24 Donna Carmen Slumdog Millionaire Latkia's Theme Ringa Ringa Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny) 2025–26 Feeling Good Carmen 2019–20

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Nikita Rakhmanin (for Armenia)

Pair skating with Nikita Rakhmanin (for Russia)

Pair skating with Maksim Shagalov (for Russia)

Detailed results Pair skating with Nikita Rakhmanin (for Armenia)

Pair skating with Nikita Rakhmanin (for Russia)