Ksenia Stolbova

Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova (Ксе́ния Андре́евна Столбо́ва; born 7 February 1992) is a retired Russian pair skater who skated with Andrei Novoselov and Fedor Klimov.

Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova was born on 7 February 1992 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

She attended the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education in Saint Petersburg.

Stolbova became interested in skating at the age of three but did not begin skating until a few years later after badgering her family.

After a number of years in single skating, she wanted to try something different and made the switch to pair skating at the age of 14.

Stolbova's partnership with Artur Minchuk lasted three seasons, from 2006–07 to 2008–09.

They finished 11th competing on the senior level at the Russian Championships in December 2008.

In spring 2009, coach Ludmila Velikova partnered Stolbova with Fedor Klimov.

They trained in Saint Petersburg.

During their first season together, the pair placed 2nd and 7th at their two Junior Grand Prix events, and 7th at the Final.

The pair won the Russian Junior title and then bronze at Junior Worlds in 2010.

During the 2010–11 season, Stolbova/Klimov won both of their JGP events and qualified for the JGP Final.

They also debuted on the senior GP circuit, finishing 5th at Skate America.

They won silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final.

At the 2011 Russian Championships, Stolbova/Klimov finished sixth overall in their senior national debut and won their second junior national title.

They were the silver medalists at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

For the Grand Prix season, Stolbova/Klimov were assigned to 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard, where they finished 7th, and 2011 Cup of Russia, where they finished 4th.

Third in the short program and second in the long at the 2012 Russian Championships, the pair won their first senior national medal, silver.

Stolbova/Klimov were originally the first alternates for the 2012 European Championships but Alexander Smirnov had an emergency surgery and was not able to recover in time.

Replacing Kavaguti/Smirnov at the event, Stolbova/Klimov set new personal bests in their short and long program to win their first European medal, bronze.

For the 2012–13 season, Stolbova/Klimov worked on upgrading their twist to a triple.

They began their international season at the 2012 Coupe de Nice, where they took the silver.

Stolbova/Klimov won their first senior Grand Prix medal, bronze, at the 2012 Cup of China, and finished 5th at the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard.

They won the bronze medal at the 2013 Russian Championships.

First alternates for the 2013 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov were called up to replace Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov who withdrew due to Larionov's wrist injury.

After finishing sixth at Europeans in Zagreb, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Bavarian Open.

In April 2013, the pair said they wanted to move to Moscow to work with Nina Mozer, who agreed to take them in her group.

The move was opposed by Oleg Nilov, the head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, arguing against a concentration of skaters in Moscow, but was authorized by the Russian skating federation.

After relocating to Moscow, the pair focused on improving their basic skating skills.

Their training was interrupted when Klimov fell off a bicycle in late May 2013, resulting in a broken leg.

In 2013–14, Stolbova/Klimov started their Grand Prix season with a bronze medal at the 2013 Skate America.

After placing sixth in the short program and third in the free skate, they finished fourth overall at the 2013 Cup of Russia behind Canadian pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch.

Stolbova/Klimov won the gold medal at the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy and then took their first national title at the 2014 Russian Championships, scoring 0.45 more than the 2012 national champions, Bazarova/Larionov.

She is the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, the 2014 Olympic champion in the team event, the 2014 World silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (2012 bronze, 2014, 2015 silver), the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2013 Winter Universiade champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (2010 bronze, 2011 silver), and a three-time Russian national champion (2014, 2015, 2017).

At the 2014 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov placed fourth in the short, first in the free skate, and scored a total of 207.98 points to win the silver medal behind Volosozhar/Trankov and ahead of Bazarova/Larionov.

All three pairs were sent to the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Assigned to the free skate in the inaugural Olympic team event, Stolbova/Klimov placed first in their segment and Team Russia went on to win the gold medal.

In the pairs event, Stolbova/Klimov placed third in the short and advanced to second after the free skate with an overall score of 218.68 points.

They won the silver medal ahead of four-time World champions Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy who took the bronze medal.

Stolbova announced her retirement from competitions on 12 February 2020.