Oksana Domnina and Maksim Shabalin

Skaters, Olympic Medalist and Sochi 2014 Ambassadors

“This is a truly unforgettable day”

Oksana Domnina’s parents first brought her to a public skating rink at the age of 6. She was a fast learner. Only three months later Oksana was selected for choreography training on artificial ice. Two years later, she was paired up with Anton Ryabov. With her next partner, Ivan Lobanov, Oksana won 8th place in the Russian adult championship and 9th in the juniors championship. The pair broke up after that season.

In the season of 2000-2001, Oksana Domnina and her new partner Maksim Bolotin made it to the finals of the junior Grand Prix Series, and won bronze in the Russian juniors championship.

Maksim Shabalin took up skating at the age of 4 on the advice of his parents. Maksim’s first coach Oleg Sudakov first suggested figure skating when Maksim was 11. Maksim changed several partners in the next five years, but couldn’t seem to find the right one. At age 16, Maksim left Samara for Sofia, Bulgaria, to dance with Margarita Toteva, and skated for Bulgaria for the next 18 months.

Maksim paired up with Elena Khaliavina in 1999. The pair came third in the Junior World Championship of 2001, and second in 2002.

Maksim Shabalin and Oksana Domnina began skating together in 2002. They won the Junior World Championship in 2003, took 2nd place in the Russian national championship in 2004, and won their first national championship a year later.

The pair made it to the finals of the World Grand Prix Series in figure skating in the 2006/2007 season following their win in leg 3 of the championship in China and 2nd place in leg 5 in Moscow. They came third after the Bulgarian and Canadian pairs in the finals.

Maksim Shabalin and Oksana Domnina won their second national championship in 2007 and took silver in the European championship the same year. The 2007/2008 season began well for Maksim and Oksana: they won the 2007 World Grand Prix Series, and became European Champions in 2008.

In the 2008/2009 season, the pair won the Cup of China Grand Prix tournament and came second in the Cup of Russia. They won 2nd place in the Grand Prix finals, but were only 5th in the European championship. Most recently, Oksana and Maksim won Gold at the World Championship in Figure Skating in Los Angeles in March 2009.