Luka Berulava

Luka Berulava (Лука Берулава; ლუკა ბერულავა, born 27 November 2002) is a Russian-born pair skater who currently competes for Georgia.

With current partner Anastasia Metelkina, he is the 2024 World Junior champion, 2024 European silver medalist, 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medalist.

Berulava was born on 27 November 2002 in Moscow.

He resides in Perm, where he also trains with partner Anastasiia Metelkina.

Berulava began learning to skate in 2005.

In 2019, he teamed up with Russia's Alina Butaeva to compete in pair skating.

The pair decided to train in Perm, coached by Pavel Sliusarenko and Alexei Menshikov.

The two made their debut for Georgia in September 2019, placing eighth at an ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Poland and then sixth at JGP Croatia.

Berulava first emerged on the international scene with partner Alina Butaeva, with whom he won two medals at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics − bronze in pairs and gold in the team event.

He then formed a new partnership with Karina Safina.

Safina/Berulava were the first Georgian pair medalists on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, and the first Georgians to win a World Junior title in any discipline when they won gold in 2022.

At the senior level they won a bronze medal at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, achieved notable fourth-place finishes at both the 2022 World Championships and the 2022 European Championships, and represented Georgia at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Their results earned a spot for Georgia in the pairs' event at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.

In November, they took bronze in the junior pairs' category at the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia.

In December, they won the junior event at the Golden Spin of Zagreb.

In January 2020, the pair competed at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland.

They finished third in the short program behind two pairs from Russia, then did likewise in the free skating program.

Their combined score put them in third place with a bronze medal.

This was Georgia's first medal in the Winter Youth Olympic Games, and their tenth medal in the Youth Olympic Games overall.

The pair also received a gold medal for their participation in the team event as part of Team Courage, alongside Arlet Levandi from Estonia, Ksenia Sinitsyna from Russia, and ice dancers Yoshida/Nishiyama from Japan.

Butaeva/Berulava finished the season at the 2020 World Junior Championships, where they placed seventh.

After the end of his partnership with Butaeva, Berulava formed a new partnership with Russian pair skater Karina Safina.

With international junior competition resuming following the COVID-19 pandemic causing the 2020–21 junior season to be cancelled, Safina/Berulava made their Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 JGP Slovakia.

they won the silver medal behind gold medal-winning Russian team Mukhortova/Evgenyev, and ahead of third place Russian team Kostiukovich/Briukhanov.

Their placement marked Georgia's first Junior Grand Prix medal in pair skating.

Safina/Berulava next made their senior international debut at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to attempt to qualify a berth for Georgia in the pairs event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The team set a new personal best to win the short program by a narrow margin over German team Hase/Seegert.

They fell to third in the free program after losing their forward inside death spiral and one of their lifts, and ultimately finished third overall to successfully qualify for an Olympic spot in their discipline for Georgia.

Berulava remarked afterwards, "we would like to have done it in a better, nicer way."

Their performance, along with Georgian ice dance team Kazakova/Reviya's podium placement, also qualified a spot for Georgia in the Olympic team event.

Safina/Berulava returned to the Junior Grand Prix circuit in October for their second assignment, the 2021 JGP Austria in Linz.

They placed third in both segments to finish third overall behind Russian teams Khabibullina/Knyazhuk and Mukhortova/Evgenyev.

Due to the unique qualification process for the 2021–22 season, the team did not advance to the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final, despite two podium finishes.

In December, Safina/Berulava faced domestic rivals Metelkina/Parkman for the first time in international competition at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

Safina/Berulava set a new personal best to win the short program but fell to eighth in the free program standings after errors on their side-by-side jumping passes and losing their forward inside death spiral.

The team placed seventh overall, while Metelkina/Parkman advanced onto the podium and took home the silver medal.

Metelkina/Parkman initially received the nod for the Georgian pairs berth at the 2022 European Championships; however, Safina/Berulava replaced them after they withdrew from the event on 9 January.

At Europeans, Safina/Berulava placed sixth in the short program after falling on their side-by-side triple Salchows.

They delivered a stronger performance in the free skate, albeit still struggling with their side-by-side jumps, to climb to fourth in the segment and fourth overall, the best of the non-Russian competitors.

The day after the pairs free skate at the European Championships, Safina/Berulava were officially named to the Georgian team for the 2022 Winter Olympics by the Georgian Figure Skating Federation.