Tiffany Zahorski

Personal life

Zahorski was born on 16 August 1994 in London, England. She is an only child. Her father, Bohdan Zahorski, trained and subsequently coached at Queens Ice Skating rink in central London until he died on 15 January 2010. One of his early coaches was Gladys Hogg M.B.E. Her paternal great grandfather, Eugeniusz Zahorski, was a renowned Polish chess player and activist who lived in exile in Moscow, Russia. Her paternal grandfather, Jerzy Dominik Zahorski, was born in Moscow, Russia in 1917 and was exiled to England in the wake of World War II, in which he served as an RAF pilot. His sister, Elizabeth Maria Zahorska, was sentenced to death and shot by the Germans during the 1939 Warsaw uprising for defacing German propaganda posters in a deliberate act of defiance. As she faced the firing squad her last defiant words were "Poland has not yet perished". She was posthumously awarded the Polish "Cross of Valour".

In late 2012, Zahorski played the role of Vanessa, an ice skater in a French comedy detective film Je fais le mort directed by Jean-Paul Salome, which was released on December 11, 2013.

Zahorski became a French citizen on 19 June 2013 and a Russian citizen in April 2016. She speaks English, French, and Russian.

Early career

Zahorski began skating in 1996 at the age of two. She was taught by her father, Bohdan, in both London and Cardiff until the age of ten, when she moved to Sheffield to train with Jimmy Young. Under Young's tutelage, she became the British Novice Solo Dance Champion in 2005, the British Primary Solo Dance Silver medallist in 2006 and the Lake Placid Novice Solo Dance Bronze medallist in 2007. In September 2007, aged just 13, she relocated with her mother to France to train with Muriel Zazoui and Romain Haguenauer.

In April 2008, Zahorski became the French Novice Solo Dance champion and as a result found her first partner Paul Fieret. After only one competition together, the 2008 French Masters, Fieret retired due to injury.

Partnership with Miart

Zahorski was partnered with Alexis Miart by Zazoui in March 2009. They placed 4th at the 2011 World Junior Championships, with a second-place finish in the free dance. They elected to compete in the senior ranks the following season. In early July 2011, Miart sustained a fracture to the right malleolus. Zahorski trained alone for two and a half months while he recuperated. They consequently missed the 2011 fall season, but returned to competition in time for the 2012 French Nationals. After winning the bronze medal there, they were named to the French team to the 2012 European Championships. In the preliminary round at Europeans, an aborted lift and both skaters falling on another lift cost them almost twenty points and qualification to the short dance.

Zahorski/Miart received an assignment to the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard but withdrew. On 9 November 2012, it was confirmed that their partnership had ended and that Zahorski was searching for a new partner.

Partnership with Guerreiro

In June 2014 Zahorski began training with her partner Jonathan Guerreiro, coached by Alexander Zhulin. In July 2014, the Russian Federation asked the French Skating Federation (FFSG) to release her to skate for Russia. They placed fifth at the 2015 Russian Championships.

The FFSG released Zahorski in October 2015, three years and nine months after her last competition for France, allowing Zahorski/Guerreiro to appear for Russia internationally. The two made their international debut at the 2015 Santa Claus Cup, winning the gold medal. They finished fifth at the 2016 Russian Championships.

In the 2016–17 season, Zahorski/Guerreiro won the bronze medal at the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial after placing third in both segments and earning a new personal best total score of 165.64 points. They received another bronze medal in their next event, the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy. For the third consecutive year, they finished 5th at the Russian Championships. Zahorski competed in the free dance after developing a fever.

In mid-May 2017 Zahorski/Guerreiro changed coaches to Elena Kustarova & Svetlana Alexeeva

Competitive highlights

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

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

With Guerreiro