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A guy from the Volgograd region found a partner on the Internet and made a splash in world figure skating, competing for the USA . The story of how to leave home as a teenager and achieve success, from an athlete eager for popularity Ilya Malinin.
“I thought I would be left without teeth”
“I started figure skating at the age of 9,” says Artem Markelov. “Before that I went to swimming, taekwondo, ballroom dancing, and practiced kung fu for several weeks, but somehow it didn’t take root. Then a new ice skating rink was built in our city center, we were recruiting a hockey group. My mother suggested trying, but I immediately refused – I thought it was a very aggressive sport, I would be left without teeth. That’s when the idea of figure skating came up.”
But his late arrival in the sport and the realities of a small town did not prevent his talent from breaking through. Artem was born and raised in the city of Volzhsky with a population of just over 300 thousand people – intimate, cozy, but not at all sporty and certainly not “figure skating”. Unlike Moscow, where before being admitted to a sports school, a child goes through the millstone of selection, they only look at his interest.
“At that time, we had about 210 kids skating at our school,” says Markelov’s first coach, Svetlana Yaroslavtseva. “The ice is commercial, so we accepted more at the request of the children. And when a child has this desire, and Artem had a huge one, the question is , take it or leave it, it’s not worth it. He always ran to training with sparkling eyes, he tried very hard. His main quality was the desire to learn, determination. Yes, physics is good, he was always an interesting boy, but he got into the rut quite quickly thanks to him. perseverance and efficiency.”
“In single skating at competitions, in my opinion, I didn’t achieve anything special, but the great snipe jumped,” said the skater. “I also had one triple, it seemed like a Salchow. There was also a loop on the way, but it seems I cleaned it I never jumped. For a 15-year-old singles athlete, which I was then, the set was so-so, but for a doubles athlete it was just right. But in general, jumping was always a problem for me every time I had to jump in competitions. , that’s why I switched to dancing – at least there’s no need to jump.”
It was Yaroslavtseva who was the first to notice the young skater’s inclination towards pairs. At the same time, she understood that there were no specialized specialists in Volzhsky, as well as a future Markelov in these sports. There was only one way out.
“Svetlana Ivanovna is a very kind person,” recalls Artem. “She constantly supported me. It was she who helped me move to Moscow so that I could switch to pair skating. I think I was 15 years old then. She had contacts for coach Sergei Dobroskokova, to whom I went, so we can say that it was she who started this whole process, and I am very grateful to her for that.”
“By that time, taking into account both Artem’s age and skills, he had to sit with us… I didn’t see the point,” says Yaroslavtseva. “In Volzhsky there was no way to give him promotion in the same ice dancing – we don’t even have such coaches.” .
“I moved, essentially, alone,” the skater continues. “My aunt lived in Moscow, and I stayed with her while I was in the capital. My training sometimes did not intersect with her schedule , because of this, we sometimes did not see each other during the day. In Moscow, I learned to cook not only breakfast, but also lunch and dinner. I also had to learn how to plan trips to the grocery store.”
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Found a partner for victories on the Internet
After trying out in Dobroskokov’s group, Artem decided to focus on dancing. He came to Ksenia Rumyantseva’s group, where he stayed for about eight months. At first, dance training in the strict “Moscow” mode was surprising – after 2-3 hours of ice a day in his native Volzhsky, he had to train for 6-7 hours. But, according to the skater, this period hardened him and prepared him for the difficulties of big-time sports.
His first partner was Ksenia Makeeva. Markelov managed to perform with her at the international tournament “Santa Claus Trophy” in Hungary in 2019, but the guys' paths diverged quite quickly – their characters did not get along.
“And then the opportunity arose to pair up with Liya Neset,” says Artem. “We got in touch through a Russian partner search site, and it was interesting. Although, considering that our coach is Russian (Elena Dostatni, nee Khalyavina), this, in general, it’s normal. We suited each other very well – both in height and in age (Markelov is currently 20 years old, Neset is 18. I realized that this opportunity should not be missed.”
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The decision to move to the USA was not easy for Artem. The athlete’s mother Elena was also worried, because this is not just another city – now there will be a whole ocean between them. But after negotiations with his partner’s family, Artem’s mother gave the go-ahead.
“When we moved, I lived with Leah’s parents,” says Markelov. “At first we thought it would be a temporary solution, but then it turned out that way, that we were so comfortable with each other that there was no need to move. Plus it was more convenient to travel to training, because we live about 25 minutes from the skating rink. Leah’s family is excellent, she herself is a very good, kind person, the coach was very suitable for us. , so there is no reason to worry.”
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“At that moment, I didn't really think much about staying to skate for Russia,” he adds. “Everything just clicked right away – we matched on all parameters, we were a great fit. And on the second day, we decided that we needed to form a pair. So, you could say, I didn't even have time to think. The US team received me very well. They helped me with the move, with the change of sports citizenship. They took care of all the paperwork.”
The difference in cultures that people moving from Russia to other countries usually encounter did not hit Markelov too hard. According to him, the openness of the Americans allowed him to quickly get into the mainstream.
“Before moving, of course, I was afraid,” he says. “But what I immediately noticed is that in the States people are very kind. They smile constantly, they are super friendly, so it’s actually much easier to join this culture than it seems at first glance. Where- then a month after moving, I already felt at ease. I immediately noticed the difference in approaches to figure skating between Russia and the USA. This will probably sound funny, but the very first thing you notice is that it’s much warmer here at the skating rinks. directly at everyone, but at many. Plus, what comes from the American mentality is that everyone at the rink is very friendly towards you, I mean not only the coaches, but also the staff. mood, greetings.”
Programs from Dean and Morozov
The international debut of the Neset/Markelov pair came in the 2021/22 season. In terms of medals, it turned out modestly, but it was then that a series of victories at the US Junior Championships began, which has lasted for three years. With each new season, Lia and Artem progressively progressed, and the last season turned out to be phenomenal – six victories out of six possible, including the Junior Grand Prix Final and the World Championship.
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“Somewhere deep in my soul I realized that Leah and I could achieve great results, but I tried to keep it all there, deep,” Markelov modestly admits. “We have to work a lot and prove that we deserve to be where we are.” is now.”
At the same time, without undue modesty, the Neset/Markelov duo can already be considered one of the most promising in the world. The boys' coach, Elena Dostatni, created wonderful conditions for them – the training base in Colorado Springs has everything they need for fruitful work, and their programs were choreographed by such stellar choreographers as Nikolai Morozov, Christopher Dean and Caitlin Weaver.
Artem speaks with caution about Olympic prospects, as if afraid of scaring off his luck. And yet, if you ask yourself a direct question whether Russia has lost a future Olympic champion in him, the answer will most likely be positive. If not in the individual championship, then in the team championship, Markelov and Neset will have every chance of winning gold. And even if for a number of reasons it is not possible to get to the 2026 Games in Milan, the road will be open in 2030.
“Seeing his determination, I never rejected the idea that he would be able to achieve high results “, – notes Yaroslavtseva. – Even though now it’s only juniors, but this is only the beginning of his career. The current students of our school know about Artem, of course, on the stand. They say that such an athlete trained with us. He is the pride of our school.”
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