Inga Gurgenidze

Inga Gurgenidze
Personal information
Native name
ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე (Georgian) Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе (Russian)
Full nameInga Zurabovna Gurgenidze
Other namesInga Nikitina
Born (2009-04-23) 23 April 2009
Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
Height1.46 m (4 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country Georgia (since 2022)
 Russia (until 2022)
CoachLiudmila Gafarova
Skating clubRSSHOR of Figure Skating

Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze (Georgian: ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე, Russian: Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе; born 23 April 2009), born Inga Zurabovna Nikitina,[1] is a Russian-born Georgian figure skater who represents Georgia in women's singles. She is the 2022 JGP Italy bronze medalist, the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial junior champion, the 2022 Bosphorus Cup junior silver medalist, and the 2023 Dragon Trophy junior champion. She finished within the top ten at the 2023 World Junior Championships. She is the twenty-third woman in history to have successfully landed a triple Axel jump in competition.[2]

Personal life

Gurgenidze was born on 23 April 2009 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia.[3] Part of her family is from Georgia, including her grandmother, who she used to visit every summer as a child.[4]

She initially competed under her mother's surname, Nikitina, until the 2021–22 season when she changed it to her father's surname, Gurgenidze.[1]

In addition, she has expressed interest in learning the English and Georgian languages.[4] Gurgenidze's figure skating idols are Yulia Lipnitskaia, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.[4]

Career

Early career

Gurgenidze began figure skating in 2013 and has been coached by Liudmila Gafarova since a very young age.[4][3]

She competed at the 2022 Russian Junior Championships, finishing in fifteenth place.[5]

2022–23 season: Debut for Georgia, JGP Medal

In August 2022, it was confirmed that Russian-born Gurgenidze would be representing Georgia in international competition, having previously skated for Russia.[1] She made her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix series. She began her season with a fourth-place finish at 2022 JGP Latvia.[6] At her second event, Gurgenidze won the bronze medal at the 2022 JGP Italy.[7]

Subsequently, Gurgenidze went onto win gold at the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, silver at the 2022 Bosphorus Cup and another gold at the 2023 Dragon Trophy.[8] She finished the season at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. After placing a disappointing nineteenth in the short program, Gurgenidze skated a solid free program, placing seventh in that segment of the competition and elevating her to finish ninth place overall.[6]

2023–24 season: Winter Youth Olympics

In her second Junior Grand Prix season, Gurgenidze came ninth at the 2023 JGP Hungary and sixth at the 2023 JGP Armenia. She defended her gold medal at the 2023 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, before going onto win gold at the 2023 Bosphorus Cup.[6]

Gurgenidze represented Georgia in the women's event at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon finishing in fifth place.[9] At the 2024 World Junior Championships, she placed twelfth.[6]

2024–25 season

During the off-season, Gurgenidze worked with Russian choreographer, Sergey Plishkin, on her free skate to music from the film, Dancer in the Dark. Regarding the program's concept, Gurgenidze explained that she plays a blind woman dancing in the dark and moving her soul while still unable to see.[4] She began the season by competing on the 2024-25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fifth at 2024 JGP Turkey.[6] At her second Junior Grand Prix event, 2024 JGP China, Gurgenidze's coach Liudmila Gafarova was unable to attend due to visa issues. Gurgenidze placed thirteenth in the short program but subsequently skated a solid free skate that included a clean triple Axel. She would finish third in that segment of the competition and finish sixth overall.[4] In late November, Gurgenidze competed on the junior level at the 2024 NRW Trophy where she took the gold medal.[10]

Finishing the season at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Gurgenidze placed second in the short program with a score of 67.47. “I feel really good,” she said after the short program. “I skated my best today and I skated with confidence. Skating at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia really helped me, and competing in Georgia was such a big pleasure. It also gave me the confidence that I can win.”[11] She received a silver small medal for the segment.[12] She struggled during the free skate, placing eleventh in that segment and dropping to sixth place overall.[13][11]

2025–26 season

Gurgenidze opened her season in October by finishing sixth at 2025 JGP United Arab Emirates.[6]

In November, Inga won the silver medal at the 2025 Bosphorus Cup. In January, she also won silver at 2026 Crystal Skate and gold at 2026 Dragon Trophy just one week later.[14]

At the 2026 World Junior Championships, Inga finished 6th overall. [15] “I feel mixed emotions about today,” she said after the free skate. “Compared to previous competitions, it was definitely better and also compared to last season it was better. So, it is mixed feelings, bittersweet.”[16]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2025–2026
[17]
  • Alchemy
  • A Little Bit Closer
    by Johnny Hollow
    choreo. by Ilona Bikmetova
2024–2025
[18][4]
  • Tango Time
    by Atomic Overture
    choreo. by Ivan Volobuev
2023–2024
[3]
  • Memphisto's Lullaby
    by Yair Albeg, Or Kribos
  • Breathing Under Water
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
    (from Frightmare)
    by Ghostwriter
    choreo. by Ilona Bikmetova
2022–2023
[19]
  • The Devil You Know
    by Kovacs
    choreo. by Ilona Bikmetova
2021–2022
[20][21]

Competitive highlights

For Georgia

Competition placements at junior level [10]
Season 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27
Winter Youth Olympics 5th
World Junior Championships 9th 12th 6th 6th
JGP Armenia C 6th
JGP China 6th
JGP Hungary 9th
JGP Italy 3rd
JGP Latvia 4th
JGP Turkey 5th TBD
JGP United Arab Emirates 6th
Bosphorus Cup 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd
Crystal Skate 2nd
Denis Ten Memorial 1st 1st
Dragon Trophy 1st 1st
Ephesus Cup 2nd
EYOF 1st
NRW Trophy 1st

For Russia

Competition placements at junior level [10]
Season 2021–22
Russian Championships 15th
Russian Cup Final 10th

Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [10]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS190.522022 JGP Italy
Short program TSS67.472025 World Junior Championships
TES38.572025 World Junior Championships
PCS28.902025 World Junior Championships
Free skating TSS128.692024 JGP China
TES74.722024 JGP China
PCS58.922022 JGP Italy

Personal best highlighted in bold.

For Georgia

Results in the 2025-26 season [10]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 8-11, 2025 Turkey 2025 JGP United Arab Emirates 7 56.26 4 111.97 6 168.23
Nov 24-30, 2025 Turkey 2025 Bosphorus Cup 3 62.52 1 111.85 2 174.37
Jan 14-19, 2026 Romania 2026 Crystal Skate of Romania 1 62.25 3 94.93 2 157.18
Jan 23-25, 2026 Slovenia 2026 Dragon Trophy 1 65.32 1 124.46 1 189.78
Mar 3-8, 2026 Estonia 2026 World Junior Championships 5 64.28 10 118.32 6 182.60
2024–25 season
Date Event SP FS Total
Feb. 25 – Mar. 2, 2025 2025 World Junior Championships 2
67.47		 11
115.57		 6
183.04
November 11–17, 2024 2024 NRW Trophy 1
65.30		 1
112.89		 1
178.19
October 9–12, 2024 2024 JGP China 13
50.45		 3
128.69		 6
179.14
September 18–21, 2024 2024 JGP Turkey 6
59.93		 5
111.03		 5
170.96
2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 2024 2024 World Junior Championships 7
62.28		 16
110.59		 12
172.87
January 28–30, 2024 2024 Winter Youth Olympics 7
57.99		 6
115.42		 5
173.41
Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 2022 2023 Bosphorus Cup 1
64.49		 1
111.83		 1
176.52
November 2–5, 2023 2023 Denis Ten Memorial 3
54.22		 1
109.54		 1
163.76
October 4–7, 2023 2023 JGP Armenia 6
55.47		 5
110.43		 6
165.90
September 20–23, 2023 2023 JGP Hungary 13
54.32		 8
105.53		 9
159.85
2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 2023 2023 World Junior Championships 19
52.02		 7
120.48		 9
172.50
February 9–12, 2023 2023 Dragon Trophy 4
53.73		 1
124.09		 1
177.82
Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 2022 2023 Bosphorus Cup 2
52.58		 1
118.47		 2
171.05
October 26–29, 2022 2022 Denis Ten Memorial 1
63.62		 1
110.56		 1
174.18
October 12–15, 2022 2022 JGP Italy 4
63.04		 3
127.48		 3
190.52
September 7–10, 2022 2022 JGP Latvia 5
58.80		 4
121.48		 4
180.28

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kuznetsov, Dmitry. "Российская фигуристка сменила гражданство. Ради карьеры она будет выступать под другой фамилией" [The Russian figure skater changed her citizenship. For the sake of her career, she will perform under a different name.]. Sport Express (in Russian). Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Dragon Trophy 2023 Judges Details Per Skater, Women's Free Program" (PDF). International Skating Union.
  3. 1 2 3 "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bagriantseva, Maya (13 October 2024). "Inga Gurgenidze: Georgia's NextGen Hopeful". Golden Skate. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "RUS-Inga GURGENIDZE". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Competition Results: Inga GURGENIDZE". International Skating Union.
  7. ↑ "Skaters grab last seven tickets for ISU Junior Grand Prix Final at JGP Egna-Neumarkt". International Skating Union. October 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Skating Scores: Latest Figure Skating Results, Scores, Rankings & Statistics". skatingscores.com. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  9. ↑ "Winter Youth Olympic Games 2024 - Women Single Skating". www.isuresults.com. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "GEO-Inga GURGENIDZE". Skating Scores.
  11. 1 2 Slater, Paula (March 1, 2025). "Mao Shimada secures historic three-peat at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  12. ↑ "Spectacular Mao Shimada (JPN) defies gravity for strong lead at ISU World Junior Championships". International Skating Union. February 27, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Incredible Mao Shimada (JPN) flies high to historic third ISU World Junior Championship title". International Skating Union. March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  14. ↑ "DRAGON TROPHY 2026 - Junior Women". drsanje.si. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  15. ↑ "ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 - Junior Women". results.isu.org. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  16. ↑ Slater, Paula (March 7, 2026). "Japan's Mao Shimada wins fourth straight Junior World title". Golden Skate.
  17. ↑ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "Девушки. Короткая программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "Девушки. Произвольная программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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