Armenia's New Hope on Ice: Akopova and Rakhmanin to Compete in Olympic Qualifying Tournament

The Figure Skating Federation of Armenia announced that the country's representatives will take part in the Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in September in Beijing. Among the declared participants are singles skater Semyon Danilyants, the ice dance duo Viktoria Azroyan – Artur Gruzdev, and the pairs team Karina Akopova – Nikita Rakhmanin.

Particular attention is drawn to the last duo, who recently joined the Armenian national team. 21-year-old Akopova and 26-year-old Rakhmanin, who trained in the Russian figure skating school, have been skating together since 2020 and train in Sochi under Olympic medalist Fedor Klimov. They have earned podium finishes at international tournaments, including victories at the Budapest Trophy and the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, as well as a silver medal at the Challenge Cup.

On May 14, 2025, the Executive Committee of the Russian Figure Skating Federation officially approved the transfer of Akopova and Rakhmanin to compete under the Armenian flag. According to Karina, she has wanted to represent her historical homeland since childhood:

“I’m Armenian, all my relatives are Armenian. Even as a child, when I was skating with Stas Morozov, he used to say, ‘You should compete for Armenia.’ Those words stayed with me forever,” the skater shared.
“They used to jokingly call me ‘Grandma Siranush,’” she added with a smile.

Singles skater Semyon Danilyants had a chance to earn Olympic qualification at the 2025 World Championships, but was not successful yet.