Polish pair team building a successful partnership on their shared love of skating
In their second season together, Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak have continued their steady climb in the pairs rankings. Their 7th place at Europeans was a three-place improvement over last year. It was also the best placement for a Polish pair team since Dorota Zagorska and Marius Siudek won the bronze in 2006.
With the improvements come higher expectations. “I’ve been quite nervous today,” Ioulia said after the short program. “Last year we came in without expectations, without anything, because we’ve been such a new team, everything was just a bonus. And now we had such a good first part of the season. We showed really solid skating. It’s not even a pressure from outside. It’s just that you don’t want to go below this level. We’ve shown consistent skating and we’ve been practicing very consistently.”
“When you’re standing there, sometimes you have these itchy little thoughts, like, ‘What if now I didn’t do it?’ So we’re really glad that we showed almost all the elements as good as we could.”
Ioulia and Michal weren’t an obvious match at first. She is one of the most experienced pair skaters on the circuit, having competed at her first Worlds in 2016 (she is the only pair skater, other than Danny O’Shea, to be making a second trip to a Boston World Championship). Born in Russia and raised in Switzerland, Ioulia has represented Switzerland, Hungary, and now Poland. With her previous partner, Mark Magyar, she qualified for the 2022 Olympics but was unable to compete after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Until teaming up with Ioulia, Michal’s most prestigious competition experience was the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy with his former partner Anna Hernik, as well as his Junior Grand Prix appearances as a singles skater.
It’s not so common in pairs to have an older and more experienced woman start skating with a less-experienced male partner. Nonetheless, Ioulia and Michal’s shared love of skating and commitment to hard work have bridged their gap in experience.
The story of a partnership
After the disappointment of the 2022 season and the end of her partnership with Magyar, Ioulia suffered an injury while snowboarding. As she was recovering, she decided to find another partner and try to come back to competition.
“I thought, ‘I actually want to give it another try. I’m not done with the sport and most of all I don’t want it to end this way. It doesn’t matter if I make it to the Olympics or not. But I’m not peaceful leaving the sport the way it is.’ I started slowly getting back. Next to my studies, I was coaching children in Switzerland because I got the offer, and I slowly started skating again. Once I kinda had my jumps halfway back. I was like, ‘Okay, what are the options?’ And then actually the hard part began. Before that, with my other previous partnerships, I always had a trial that worked out and we started skating. And here I had multiple trials which, from my perspective went okay, we kind of were able to do the elements, and then for one reason or the other it ended up not working out.”
Michal reached out to Ioulia to ask for a tryout, but she didn’t immediately say yes.
“I think he texted me in May, but I already had a trial set up. I already had the tickets, everything was planned out. And, maybe that’s bad for the business, but I’m not somebody who is having a casting [call]. I know that there are people who do, and there’s nothing wrong with it. I know how hard it is to find a partner. If you’re able to do it, go for it. But for me, it’s always like I plan one, and I kind of set my mind to the fact that that should work out. So I texted him back very straightforward – because I don’t like the figure skating thing where you’re like yes, maybe, let me think about it – ‘The fact is, I have a tryout, but I might get back to you.’”
“And I was just waiting,” interjected Michal.
Ioulia’s friend and training mate Minerva Hase also had a role to play in bringing Ioulia and Michal together. “Actually, it was funny because I’d been in Türkiye in this practice camp where we had this extended trial [with the other skater]. I’ve been really good friends with Minerva for a really long time now, and we were living together [at the camp] and I was kind of upset that it didn’t work. She was like, ‘Come with me to Berlin, he’s from Poland, it’s not too far. We’re gonna let you on the ice, bring him over, we’re gonna do this trial. You can stay at my place, let’s go.’ So she kind of convinced me into this trial. I was just so done with all these hundred trials that I’ve done. So yeah, late July, Michal came to Berlin and so it began.”
Meanwhile, Michal was waiting and hoping. “My part is not that advanced. I was skating with two partners in between Anna Hernik and Ioulia, but it was never really – I don’t want to say, not professional, but without this perspective of having a really good level. I was looking for some possibilities. I was always in touch with Dima. I was in touch with our team leader, she would always try to help me with anything. She said I should text Ioulia. And I was like, ‘Okay, that’s all I can do, and hope for the best.’ I was still in shape, I was keeping myself ready for anything. I worked a lot because I had university. I didn’t like any kind of extensions or any kind of special treatment at university. I had a job. I was also skating. Very busy. And once she said yes, I threw everything and went for a tryout.”
“So then I had a trial with another skater, and first it went quite good and I kind of texted him, ‘Hey, look, it’s working quite good, so maybe not.’ I had a first trial with the other skater, and then we extended it, and then at the end of a month, he was like, ‘Probably not.’ It was already kind of July, so in the late summer, and people were running programs at this point! I was talking to Dima [Savin, her coach] and he was like, ‘You have no other options, you either retire, or you try out this guy, and if it doesn’t work you retire.’ Because I said very clearly that I’m not doing another empty season. I’d done a whole empty season juggling between studying, coaching, skating, and still kind of skating on a level that I would be ready for a trial. But that’s a lot of limbo to be in.”
Finding a home in Berlin
Ioulia and Michal quickly discovered that they could be a good fit, but it took a little longer to realize that they had also found a training base in Berlin.
They knew they wanted to work with Dmitri Savin, but training in Russia wasn’t an option.
“For four years, Dima was my main coach,” explained Ioulia. “I basically stopped my partnership with Márk and I stopped actively being in Sochi kind of simultaneously right after the Olympics and simultaneously as the war started. I have a Russian passport, and I went back to Russia after that, but while I really enjoy working with Dima and I love the whole training team environment there, I’m not a big fan of being in Russia. Let’s put it that way. I do not at all support what’s happening there. And because I have a Russian background and I understand what’s going on, I can read it, I can hear it. I understand the whole thing. If there would be no other choice, I probably would have skated there now, but I didn’t enjoy the whole political environment, although the skating environment is amazing, and I love working with the whole team. When we made the decision to switch to Poland the question came up of where we wanted to skate, because we don’t have a culture [of pairs] and we don’t have many options in Poland. They said, ‘Look Russia is not an option, skating full time in Russia is not an option, everything else, feel free.’”
“It would also be a problem to get the visa for me,” Michal added, “because from Poland, it’s not so easy.”
Ioulia already knew Nolan Seegart as a fellow competitor but didn’t immediately think of him as a coach. “Actually when we had the tryout, we kind of did it solo, we did it with Dima on video chat. Nolan wasn’t around that week and on the last day when we were about to leave from there, we already started thinking about who could coach us. We had some options on that. Canada was not an option for me because, while there is no right or wrong, there are two techniques regarding twists and throws. One is the Russian way and the other one is the American-Canadian way. Neither of them is right or wrong…but I was like, ‘I’m 28 now, and I’m not gonna switch my whole pair technique.’ We were thinking also about Italy, but there are so many teams there. I mean, it’s also great. I think they’re also a great team, but they had a lot of people to build up somebody from zero in August.”
On the last day of their tryout, Nolan was at the rink. “We started chatting and I remember he threw this sentence, I think just randomly, ‘If you need any help from my side, you have my number.’ And actually then it got in my head, I was like, ‘You know what, actually he’s coaching here now. I’m good friends with Mini. Berlin has all the opportunities, it has a good rink, has everything you need basically, because they have a big sports forum and stuff. Mini and Nikita are skating there, Dima is sometimes coming there, and he’s working with them on video as well. And Nolan is now coaching, but he used to work with Dima, they have the same approach.’”
With those thoughts in their minds, Ioulia and Michal went to Katowice to work on their own at a rink where Michal had friends and could get them ice time. “Because we didn’t have a plan, we just went to Katowice, and we worked on the stuff that we could work on,” Ioulia explained. “Death spirals, all the little stuff where you just need repetition. So we started skating there while figuring out what we were going to do next. And I remember after talking to Dima, I was like, ‘Let’s call Nolan.’ And he straight away agreed to take us. So we came to Berlin in late August in 2023, after about a month in Katowice between figuring out my release and everything.”
“Since I was absolutely green and all of that, I just let them decide what is the best for us,” Michal said. “Of course, I had to adjust for everything that would be about to come. I’m really happy and glad that we chose Berlin. Because it’s not far from my home, it’s always easy to have a small break. So it’s so fortunate with Berlin because Berlin has everything we need. It has coaches, has sparring partners, it’s still a civilized city so you can do stuff.”
Training and discovering strengths
It was a lot of hard work for Ioulia and Michal to establish their skills as a new team. “Especially it was a lot for me,” Michal noted, “because for me it was absolutely something new. That was my first tryout ever. But I was like, ‘No limitations for me.”
Michal hadn’t done triple twists with his previous partners. “Also, my technique of twists was absolutely not it. Same for throws. So I had to build myself up for throws and twists from nothing. It was hard!”
“He did such a good job!” added Ioulia. “He was just very very strong and he had a very good lift technique… I remember I called Dima the first day after the trial. I was like, ‘Look, he’s strong. And you know my enthusiasm for skating?’ He was like, ‘hell yes’. ‘Yes, [Michal] is like that, times ten.”
Physical stamina is a quality that they think can help set them apart from other teams. “We don’t die during a free skate and we are both really good in cardio,” said Ioulia. “I can’t sprint. He knows and our off-ice coaches know, I physically can’t! But I can stay in the middle tempo forever. We try to make it our strength because we have a really upbeat short program that doesn’t slow down. Also in our free skate, the fast part comes at the end and it doesn’t look like we’re dead because we can still maintain the good pace. Even Mini and Nikita, skaters who have better technique than us, they can lose their technique [when they are tired] and we are less bad than them. That makes you feel little bit comfortable.”
At the end of their short program, Ioulia’s final pose is on Michal’s shoulder. At Europeans, she stayed sitting up there to take in the audience’s applause. “It was also something that our choreographers wanted to use,” shared Michal, “Because they already knew when building it they shouldn’t make it chill or something…I get reminded after skates when others will sit there, and be like, ‘Are you even tired?”
Michal’s enthusiasm and relaxed temperament has also been a big asset for their team. “He was very very pumped and motivated, and he still is,” said Ioulia. “He’s just fun and easy to work with. I think that’s the biggest quality, that we are working hard.”
“And we aren’t making it harder for ourselves, for each other, for people around! ” Michal interjected.
“He’s super easy to work with, and comfortable because, honestly, you can’t fight with this guy. Like, it’s not possible anymore. I think there have been moments where I was being difficult and he’s just like… He’s always chill and always positive if I’m freaking out – and sometimes I am.”
“I think I’ve made progress from last season in that we’re managing to productively work a lot,” shared Ioulia. “If you take all of our practices, we have quite a good percentage of them being productive, not losing time due to fights or anything. We try to make the best out of every practice. Sometimes you have a day where an element is not working, but I think I worked quite hard on that because in my previous partnership sometimes if an element didn’t work, I was affected by it, and then you let yourself kind of throw away the practice.”
Ioulia has tried to learn from Michal’s attitude. “Because he’s so positive, I was like, ‘look actually if you just stay positive you can make this work. Yeah, there’s this one little element that didn’t work at this practice, but you can keep it positive in your head and just move on, and tomorrow it’s gonna work again – and you still worked on all the other stuff [in the practice].’”
“There’s also good planning,” added Michal. “Because if we have a plan, and we know that if we stick to the plan it’s gonna work, then you just need to keep in mind that that’s how it works. You can lose perspective because you’re slightly angry.”
“Nolan does a really good job of planning,” notes Ioulia. “He’s a very organized person. He has an excel sheet for everything.”
Nolan’s passion for the work also helps his team. “He tries to learn every day. I would say he has the best qualities for a coach because he likes to work in general. He loves skating and I think we have quite good connections, so he likes us personally. So it all comes together that we just come hang around for a few hours on practice. It’s fun, it’s easy, and at the same time, I think he’s very structured.”
Both Ioulia and Michal stress the importance of enjoying their everyday training. “We know the way we want to do it,” said Michal. “We do it for pleasure, to have the best skate we can get, always, and to work towards it. And we know what it takes. Getting angry or fighting, that’s not the way. We enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t do it.”
“After my experience,” added Ioulia,” I think my biggest takeaway from it is you never know what’s gonna happen. If you’re only doing it to have three minutes at the Olympics, yeah you should stop right now.”
Growing Pairs in Poland
It may not be the only motivation, but of course, Ioulia and Michal would like to get to the Olympics in Milano. For the citizenship process, steps are underway, and Ioulia has a residency card for Poland. “It’s pretty much on the last step and all we can do now is wait,” said Michal.
“The federation is very, very supportive of us,” added Ioulia, “and in general the Polish federation is doing such a good job. They are supporting us. Financially, mentally, they are super supportive.”
“With my experiences now,” Michal shared, “as I’m here with the big guys and talking with friends about stuff, I can tell what I like about our federation is that their people are seeing us as people. So we are friends, pretty much. We have some fun, we are absolutely natural with each other because they know we don’t go to practice like robots and they know that it’s a struggle like everybody else.”
“You know, I’ve seen different federations,” said Ioulia. “I’ve seen federations who don’t care. I’ve seen federations that care as long as you produce results. So they’re like, ‘OK, you did a good job today, so you’re worth it today. And tomorrow, if you fall, we have somebody else.”
The Polish federation has been different. “I was new to this federation last year, and you know last year for example Katya [Kurakova] had a difficult skate at the Europeans, Vova [Samoilov] had a difficult skate at the Worlds, and no one turned their backs to those people and everybody was so supportive. It made me feel very warm and very comfortable. Also, the way that I was welcomed to this federation because like, let’s face it, I’m not Polish. But they’re so supportive.”
The top-ten placement at Europeans secured a second pairs slot for Poland, but there is unfortunately not currently another team to take it. “There is a junior pair which is in his home rink,” said Ioulia, “So sometimes when we are there we see them and we try to help as much as we can.”
“I would love to have more buddies here than we have now,” added Michal. “And of course for them that would be great – I mean, I can tell, because one year ago it was for me such an experience [to be at Europeans] so I would love to have more people having the same possibility.”
Michal wants to encourage other skaters to consider pairs. “Everybody always regrets doing it too late. Once you have thought of it, just go for it. It’s absolutely worth it.”
“I mean if, as a girl, you’re crazy enough to think you might enjoy it…” added Ioulia. “I think you either love it or…I’ve seen in Russia very talented girls, with all the triples, who get lifted once and they’re like ‘Put me down, step two steps away, never touch me again,’ and then they walk home and they’re like, ‘Okay I’m gonna learn my quads because there’s no other way.’ But if, as a girl, you try it, and you love it, it’s the best thing in the world. You skate with somebody and you share experiences. Because I feel we don’t have such a lonely sport as the singles. Because you know the singles, they’re just like you’re stuck with your own head and your own kind of deal.”
“What I also like about pairs,” added Michal, “is it’s a hell of a life experience. Yeah, because you have a partner, so by definition you are for good and bad. You don’t only do it for good. If something bad happens, you fail, or you don’t fail, you always share it with somebody, you are in it together, and you need to learn how to handle it together, so that’s a life experience. You can learn it by having normal relationships, but having a partnership is already something else because you have a goal, you work, it’s hard, and you need to do it together.”
Ioulia agrees. “For example my best friend supports me, she’s glad to be here, she’s glad to see me doing what I love and what my life is, but I know, and she knows, she doesn’t understand what it is. He knows exactly, or any partner knows exactly, what it is to stand here because you’re doing it together. It’s such special moments that you don’t get otherwise. I don’t know maybe it’s only me but I haven’t found anything that gives me the same feeling as standing out there in a big competition. It’s a very…different kind of experience and to share it with somebody is really cool.”
Ioulia and Michal will finish their season at the World Championships in Boston, where they hope to secure an Olympic spot for Poland.
