Ilia Tkachenko

Ilia Alexeyevich Tkachenko (Илья Алексеевич Ткаченко, born 26 December 1986) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer.

Tkachenko was born on 26 December 1986 in Perm, Russian SFSR, the elder of two boys.

He studied municipal administration.

Tkachenko competed with Anastasia Gorshkova from 2002 to 2006, coached by her father, Alexei Gorshkov.

They won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships and four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series — two gold, one silver, one bronze.

They finished 7th at the 2006 World Junior Championships.

Gorshkova retired from competition in July 2006 due to a hip injury.

Around late August 2006, Tkachenko began training with Maria Monko in Odintsovo under Gorshkov.

They won the silver medal at the 2007 Russian Junior Championships and placed fifth at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

Monko/Tkachenko won a pair of medals on the Junior Grand Prix series and qualified for the JGP Final where they took gold.

They finished fourth at the 2008 World Junior Championships after Monko fell on twizzles in both the original and free dance.

Monko/Tkachenko received two senior Grand Prix assignments, 2008 Skate America and 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, and prepared new programs.

They withdrew, however, from both events.

After their partnership ended, Tkachenko briefly skated with Isabella Tobias in 2008.

Tobias and Tkachenko did not compete together.

In spring 2009, Tkachenko expressed interest in skating with Ekaterina Riazanova.

After a tryout, they both felt it would be a good partnership, despite her needing time to adapt to his different technique and some disapproval from the Russian skating federation.

They decided to be coached by Gorshkov at Odintsovo FSC, near Moscow.

Riazanova/Tkachenko began competing together during the 2009–2010 season.

They finished fourth at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, sixth at their sole Grand Prix event, the 2009 Cup of Russia, and fourth at the Russian Nationals.

Skating for Russia with Ekaterina Riazanova, he became the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard silver medalist, the 2012 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, and a three-time Russian national medalist.

Competing with Isabella Tobias for Israel, he won four medals on the ISU Challenger Series.

Riazanova/Tkachenko decided to scrap the free dance they had planned for the 2010–2011 season and prepare a new one.

They placed fifth at their first Grand Prix event of the season, the 2010 Skate America, and then won silver at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard.

At the 2011 Russian Nationals, they won the silver medal and their first berth to the European Championships.

At the 2011 Europeans, Riazanova/Tkachenko placed fifth in the short dance, sixth in the free dance, and sixth overall.

Russia had only two spots to the World Championships and since both Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Katsalapov had placed ahead of them at Europeans, they did not make the team, however, they continued training as first alternates and also worked on new programs until the end of May; after vacation, they resumed training for the new season on 20 June, including a three-week camp in Bulgaria.

For the 2011–2012 season, Riazanova/Tkachenko were assigned to 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Cup of Russia as their Grand Prix events.

On their free dance, which was choreographed by Sergei Petukhov, Riazanova said, "A young woman remembers her beloved, who is no longer alive. She is so deeply immersed in the memories of happy times that her dreams seem to become reality for a short while."

They had to withdraw from 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy because Tkachenko's new passport was not ready.

On 13 December 2011 Riazanova sustained a concussion and a broken nose when Tkachenko accidentally elbowed her in practice; she was released from hospital at her own risk on 20 December At the Russian Championships which began on December 25, Riazanova/Tkachenko won the bronze medal after placing third in the short dance and fourth in the free dance.

He married his wife, Ksenia, who is also from Perm, on 15 June 2012.

After deciding to compete for Israel, Tkachenko applied for Israeli citizenship.

They finished 5th overall at the 2012 European Championships but received a small bronze medal for their 3rd place in the short dance.

They finished 9th at the 2012 World Championships.

In April 2012, Tkachenko said that they would spend some time preparing for the following season in Marina Zueva and Igor Shpilband's group in the United States, however, the coaches parted ways so the skaters decided to train with Shpilband in Novi, Michigan.

In November 2017, news media reported that his application had been unsuccessful.

Tkachenko began skating at the age of four in Perm.

Initially, he was a single skater, training in Andrei Kislukhin's group, but when it dissolved he took up ice dancing.

He moved with his grandmother to Moscow at age 13.