Ilia Tkachenko

Personal life

Tkachenko was born on 26 December 1986 in Perm, Russian SFSR, the elder of two boys. He studied municipal administration. He married his wife, Ksenia, who is also from Perm, on 15 June 2012.

Early career

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.

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.

2006–07 season

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.

2007–08 season

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.

2008–09 season

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.

Partnership with Riazanova

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 were coached by Gorshkov at Odintsovo FSC, near Moscow.

2009–10 season

Riazanova/Tkachenko began competing together during the 2009–10 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.

2010–11 season

Riazanova/Tkachenko decided to scrap the free dance they had planned for the 2010–11 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.

2011–12 season

For the 2011–12 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. 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.

2012–13 season

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. At a camp in Bulgaria, Tkachenko lost his balance while practicing a lift on the floor in skates and stepped on Riazanova's hand; she had surgery on her hand and recovered well. At the suggestion of Tatiana Tarasova, they decided to scrap a new free dance to Pink Floyd's Hey You and made a new one to a waltz from the Godfather films. Riazanova/Tkachenko won bronze medals at the 2012 Skate Canada and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. They repeated as bronze medalists at the 2013 Russian Championships.

2013–14 season

In the 2013–14 season, Riazanova/Tkachenko finished fourth in their two Grand Prix events, the 2013 Skate Canada and the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. They then finished fourth at the 2014 Russian Championships behind Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin. In April 2014, Tkachenko left the partnership.

Partnership with Tobias

Tkachenko and Isabella Tobias teamed up in the summer of 2014 to represent Israel. They had skated together for six months in 2008. The two sat out the 2014–15 season in order to become eligible to compete for the following season. They are coached by Igor Shpilband and Adrienne Lenda in Novi, Michigan.

2015–16 season

Tobias/Tkachenko began the 2015–16 season on the Challenger Series (CS), winning silver medals at the Finlandia Trophy and Mordovian Ornament. They placed 10th at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, and 12th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, United States.

2016–17 season

Tobias/Tkachenko ranked 4th at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International in Canada before making their Grand Prix debut as a team. After placing 6th at the 2016 Skate America and 5th at the 2016 Trophée de France, they won silver behind Elena Ilinykh / Ruslan Zhiganshin at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy.

The two placed 12th at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Israel qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix