Michel Tsiba

Michel Tsiba (born 21 December 1997) is a Dutch pair skater. With his skating partner, Daria Danilova, he is the 2020 Dutch national champion and the 2020 NRW Trophy bronze medalist. They competed in the final segment at the 2020 European Championships and are the first Dutch pair to qualify for the World Championships.

Michel Tsiba
Danilova/Tsiba at the 2020 European Championships
Personal information
Country represented Netherlands
Born (1997-12-21) 21 December 1997
Groningen, Netherlands
Home townZandvoort, Netherlands
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
PartnerDaria Danilova
CoachPavel Kitashev
Knut Schubert
Yuri Larionov
Former coachViola Striegler
Susan Mason
Olga Gamaiunova
ChoreographerJoti Polizoakis
Former choreographerOlga Orlova
Paul Boll
Mark Pillay
Julie Marcotte
Susan Mason
Skating clubEkijsa Amsterdam
Training locationsBerlin, Germany
Moscow, Russia
Began skating2006
ISU personal best scores
Combined total135.71
2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
Short program47.86
2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
Free skate87.85
2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb

Personal life

Tsiba was born on 21 December 1997 in Groningen to a Russian father and an Ukrainian mother. He has an older sister.[1] Tsiba is fluent in Russian.[2]

Career

Early career

Tsiba started competing at the age of seven. He originally wanted to compete in ice hockey, but was advised to learn to skate in the figure skating club first.[1] As a child, Tsiba experienced bullying from his peers about being a figure skater, who referred to him as "a ballerina in a tutu" and often called him "gay" or other homophobic remarks.[1] Due to the relative obscurity of figure skating in the Netherlands, he admitted to being jealous of popular speed skaters like Sven Kramer when he was young.[3]

As a singles skater, Tsiba was coached by Viola Striegler and Susan Mason and is the 2014 Dutch junior national and 2018 Dutch national champion. He switched disciplines from men's singles to pair skating because he felt that he was too tall to succeed in learning quadruple jumps.[3] Tsiba had a tryout in summer 2017 that ultimately did not work out. He officially retired from singles skating after winning his first senior national title in 2018.[4]

Tsiba teamed up with Russian skater Daria Danilova for the Netherlands in May 2018. Earlier in the season, he had met one of her coaches at a seminar in Berlin and they arranged a tryout.[3] Danilova/Tsiba alternate training in Berlin and Moscow every three months due to the differences in their respective citizenships' visa requirements.[2] The pair fund over half of their training costs out of pocket via Tsiba's student finances.[1]

2018–2019 season

Danilova/Tsiba won their debut international competition, the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb on the junior level. They then placed tenth at the 2019 Bavarian Open. In February, Danilova/Tsiba won the 2019 Dutch junior national title unopposed. However, they missed achieving the minimum TES requirements for the 2019 World Junior Championships.[4]

2019–2020 season

Danilova/Tsiba competed at three Challenger Series events to open the season, finishing tenth at 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, 17th at 2019 CS Warsaw Cup, and 15th at 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

At the 2020 European Championships in January, Danilova/Tsiba became the first Dutch pair in 24 years to compete at a European Championships since Jeltje Schulten / Alcuin Schulten last represented the country at the event in 1996.[2] They qualified to the final segment and finished 16th overall. In February, they finished eighth at the Bavarian Open and tenth at the Challenge Cup; the latter event doubled as the Dutch Championships where, as the only Dutch pair, Danilova/Tsiba won their first senior national title.

At the Challenge Cup, Danilova/Tsiba earned the necessary TES minimums for the 2020 World Championships.[5] They are the first Dutch pair in history to qualify for the World Championships.[6] The event was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

2020–2021 season

Danilova/Tsiba made their season debut at the 2020 NRW Autumn Trophy in November and won their first senior international medal, bronze behind Germans Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel and Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nolan Seegert.

Programs
With Danilova
Season Short program Free skating
2020–2021
[8][9]
2019–2020
[10]
2018–2019
[11]
Men's singles
Season Short program Free skating
2017–2018
2016–2017
[12]
2015–2016
[13]

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Danilova
International[14]
Event 18–19 19–20 20–21
WorldsC
Europeans16th
CS Finlandia Trophy10th
CS Golden Spin15th
CS Warsaw Cup17th
Bavarian Open8th
Challenge Cup10thTBD
NRW Trophy3rd
International: Junior[14]
Bavarian Open10th
Golden Spin1st
National[14]
Dutch Champ.1st J1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled
Levels: J = Junior
Men's singles
International[15]
Event 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18
CS Tallinn Trophy23rd
Challenge Cup13th
Cup of Nice18th
Universiade32nd
International: Junior[15]
JGP Austria21st
JGP France21st
JGP Germany27th
JGP Latvia22nd
Bavarian Open27th10th17th
Challenge Cup8th8th8th
Crystal Skate6th
Lombardia Trophy12th10th8th
Merano Cup15th
NRW Trophy17th8th14th13th
Printemps14th9th
Skate Helena4th
Tallinn Trophy7th
Toruń Cup9th
Volvo Open Cup14th10th
World Development6th
International: Adv. novice[16]
Challenge Cup11th4th
NRW Trophy14th
Volvo Open Cup4th
National[15]
Dutch Champ.1st N3rd J1st J2nd2nd1st J1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled
Levels: J = Junior; N = Novice

References
  1. Aalbers, Dave (27 February 2019). "Welkom in het leven van een Nederlands kunstschaatstalent" [Welcome to the life of a Dutch figure skating talent] (in Dutch). Vice.
  2. "Na 24 jaar weer een Nederlands paar bij EK kunstrijden: 'We praten Russisch'" [After 24 years, a Dutch couple again at the European Figure Skating Championships: 'We speak Russian'] (in Dutch). NOS. 21 January 2020.
  3. van Lakerveld, Erik (21 January 2020). "De schoonheid van rondvliegen boven het ijs" [The beauty of flying around above the ice] (in Dutch). de Volkskrant.
  4. Veltman, Anjuli (6 November 2018). "Nieuw avontuur voor Tsiba: 'Kan het niet zonder haar'" [New adventure for Tsiba: 'Can't do it without her']. Schaatsen.nl (in Dutch).
  5. "Na Wories ook duo Danilova/Tsiba zeker van WK kunstrijden" [After Wories duo Danilova / Tsiba also sure of World Figure Skating Championships] (in Dutch). AD. 24 February 2020.
  6. "Daria Danilova/Michel Tsiba en Niki Wories naar WK Kunstrijden in Montréal (15 – 22 maart)" [Daria Danilova / Michel Tsiba and Niki Wories to World Figure Skating Championships in Montréal (15 – 22 March)]. KNSB. 24 February 2020.
  7. "WK kunstrijden in Montreal geschrapt vanwege coronavirus" [World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal canceled due to coronavirus] (in Dutch). Dagblad van het Noorden. 11 March 2020.
  8. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2020/2021". International Skating Union.
  9. Polizoakis, Joti (29 October 2020). "Finally finished choreographing both programs for these 2 cute dutchies!" (Instagram).
  10. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020.
  11. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
  12. "Michel TSIBA: 2016/2017". International Skating Union.
  13. "Michel TSIBA: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016.
  14. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  15. "Michel TSIBA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  16. "Michel Tsiba". Stats on Ice.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.