Inga Gurgenidze
Native nameინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე (Georgian) Инга Зурабовна Гургенидзе (Russian)
FullnameInga Zurabovna Gurgenidze
AltnameInga Nikitina
Country(since 2022)
(until 2022)
Birth date23 April 2009 (age 17)
Birth placeKazan, Tatarstan, Russia
Height1.46 m (4 ft 9 in)
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 Julia 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

In August 2022, it was confirmed that Russian-born Gurgenidze would be representing Georgia in international competition, having never previously skated for Russia internationally.[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, the 2022 JGP Italy, Gurgenidze won the bronze medal.[7]

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 finishing in ninth place overall.[6]

2023–24 season

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

At the 2026 World Junior Championships, Inga finished 6th overall. [14] “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.”[15]

Programs

SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2025–2026
[16]
  • Alchemy
  • A Little Bit Closer
    by Johnny Hollow
    choreo. by Ilona Bikmetova
2024–2025
[17][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
[18]
  • The Devil You Know
    by Kovacs
    choreo. by Ilona Bikmetova
2021–2022
[19][20]

Competitive highlights

*JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series

  • TBD – Assigned
  • C – Cancelled

Detailed results

Personal best highlighted in bold.

For Georgia

2024–25 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
Feb. 25 – Mar. 2, 20252025 World Junior Championships2
67.47		11
115.57		6
183.04
November 11–17, 20242024 NRW Trophy1
65.30		1
112.89		1
178.19
October 9–12, 20242024 JGP China13
50.45		3
128.69		6
179.14
September 18–21, 20242024 JGP Turkey6
59.93		5
111.03		5
170.96
2023–24 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 20242024 World Junior Championships7
62.28		16
110.59		12
172.87
January 28–30, 20242024 Winter Youth Olympics7
57.99		6
115.42		5
173.41
Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 20222023 Bosphorus Cup1
64.49		1
111.83		1
176.52
November 2–5, 20232023 Denis Ten Memorial3
54.22		1
109.54		1
163.76
October 4–7, 20232023 JGP Armenia6
55.47		5
110.43		6
165.90
September 20–23, 20232023 JGP Hungary13
54.32		8
105.53		9
159.85
2022–23 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 20232023 World Junior Championships19
52.02		7
120.48		9
172.50
February 9–12, 20232023 Dragon Trophy4
53.73		1
124.09		1
177.82
Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 20222023 Bosphorus Cup2
52.58		1
118.47		2
171.05
October 26–29, 20222022 Denis Ten Memorial1
63.62		1
110.56		1
174.18
October 12–15, 20222022 JGP Italy4
63.04		3
127.48		3
190.52
September 7–10, 20222022 JGP Latvia5
58.80		4
121.48		4
180.28

References

  1. ^ 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.] (in Russian). Sport Express. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Dragon Trophy 2023 Judges Details Per Skater, Women's Free Program". International Skating Union
  3. ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ 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. ^ "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. ^ "GEO-Inga GURGENIDZE". Skating Scores.
  11. ^ 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. ^ "ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 - Junior Women". results.isu.org. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (March 7, 2026). "Japan’s Mao Shimada wins fourth straight Junior World title". Golden Skate
  16. ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Inga GURGENIDZE: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Девушки. Короткая программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Девушки. Произвольная программа. Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию 2021/22". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2023.