Natalia Kaliszek

Personal life

Natalia Kaliszek was born on 17 May 1996 in Toruń, Poland. She has two siblings, Michał and Anna, both of whom have competed in figure skating.

Early career

Natalia Kaliszek competed in ladies' singles as a child. In 2007, she teamed up with her brother, Michał Kaliszek, to compete in pair skating. In 2009, they appeared at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events, placing 13th and 18th.

In 2010, the two switched to ice dancing at the suggestion of Sylwia Nowak-Trębacka. In the 2011–2012 season, the Kaliszeks received two JGP assignments, finishing 11th at both, and debuted on the senior level at the Pavel Roman Memorial, where they placed fifth. They were sent to the 2012 World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus but were eliminated after the preliminary round. They trained in Toruń and ended their partnership after the 2012–2013 season.

In 2013, Kaliszek teamed up with Russian ice dancer Yaroslav Kurbakov. The two were coached by Nowak-Trębacka and represented Poland. They placed 9th and 13th at their JGP assignments and second at the Polish Junior Championships. They parted ways at the end of the season.

2014–2015 season

In 2014, Kaliszek began competing with Ukrainian ice dancer Maksym Spodyriev for Poland, coached by Nowak-Trębacka in Toruń. The two made their international debut at the Volvo Open Cup, where they took the junior silver medal. Switching to the senior level, they placed sixth at a Challenger Series (CS) event, the Warsaw Cup, before winning gold at the Santa Claus Cup. They won the Polish national title at the Four Nationals in December 2014 and took bronze the following month at the MNNT Cup.

Kaliszek/Spodyriev were selected to represent Poland at the European Championships, held in late January 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ranked 15th in the short dance, they qualified to the free dance, where they placed 14th and rose to 14th overall. In early March, they made their second and final appearance on the junior level, competing at the World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia; they placed 10th in the short dance, 6th in the free dance, and 7th overall. Later in March, they traveled to Shanghai, China for the World Championships, but were eliminated after placing 24th in the short dance.

2015–2016 season

Kaliszek/Spodyriev competed in three 2015–16 Challenger Series competitions. After placing 7th at the Nebelhorn Trophy, they won bronze at the Mordovian Ornament and silver at the Warsaw Cup. They finished third in the Challenger Series ranking.

Kaliszek/Spodyriev placed 11th at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, having ranked 11th in both segments. At the 2016 World Championships in Boston, they placed 14th in the short dance, 16th in the free dance, and 16th overall. At the end of May 2016, it was announced that the International Skating Union had chosen the foxtrot portion of their short dance to become a pattern dance.

2016–2017 season

Starting their season on the Challenger Series, Kaliszek/Spodyriev placed 4th at the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial and 5th at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, in early October. During training in early November, they had a fall, related to poor rink conditions in Toruń, that resulted in her blade cutting two of his fingers. Later in the same month, they debuted on the Grand Prix series, having received invitations to two events. The duo finished 5th at the 2016 Cup of China and 7th at the 2016 NHK Trophy.

In January 2017, Kaliszek/Spodyriev finished 8th at the European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In March, they placed 15th in the short, 13th in the free, and 14th overall at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Poland 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