‘If you can survive in figure skating you can do anything’

Stefania Yakovleva discusses the difficulty of figure skating

‘To succeed, you have to put in a lot of effort and never give up’

A fantastic athlete and dedicated person, Stefania Yakovleva serves as an inspiration to young people wishing to pursue figure skating. She was born in Russia, and her family moved to Cyprus when she was ten years old. Despite her talent, she struggled greatly because Cyprus lacked an ice rink for training. She then moved to Dubai, where she now resides full-time. The young skater is making sacrifices, working hard, and setting high objectives for herself.

She qualified for the 2023 Youth Olympic Games in Toronto, Canada, representing the small island of Cyprus.

As part of its collaboration with the Cyprus  Olympic Committee, the Bank of Cyprus has awarded the athlete as a rising talent in sports under the age of 18.

Stefania opens up about her decision to take up figure skating, about the milestones on her path and the lessons she learns as an athlete in a difficult and demanding sport.

When and why did you begin skating?

I started skating when I was five years old. This is considered quite late for this sport. My mother took me to the skating rink because I was very sick, I suffered with asthma, and the doctor said that I needed to take up figure skating. This is a fairly common reason why children get into this sport.

What should someone who wants to start skating know?

In order to engage in figure skating and sports in general, a person must be efficient, stress-resistant, ambitious and disciplined. Although there is a nuance here: all this is necessary for sport, but it also hones and develops these qualities.

What does skating mean to you?

This is my life. And not because I can’t live without it (to be honest, I haven’t tried) but because I’ve been skating for as long as I can remember and I’ve never had a different life.

My journey’s milestones

Which of your journey’s milestones do you think are the most significant?

Important milestones for me are each change of coach, there haven’t been many of them, but everyone gave me a piece of themselves and invested something in me. My family moved to Cyprus in 2017 and since 2018 I have been representing Cyprus on the international stage. I also consider the decision to represent Cyprus a very important one, because it was then that the turn towards professional sports took place. My main achievement was to qualify for the 2024 Junior Olympics. In some sports, athletes do not have to qualify; they simply show up and participate. In figure skating, selection is very difficult; it takes place a year earlier at the World Championships and I managed to do it. This was the first time that Cyprus was eligible to participate there!

What do you think are the main issues or challenges you face?

My main difficulty is that in Cyprus there is no skating rink suitable for training. When I was little, I could skate at the Limassol Mall, but now it is physically impossible to do training there. The size of the skating rink does not allow it. Therefore, I am forced to live away from my family and home. I live and train in Dubai. Then came the injuries…I haven’t had a lot but this year I had a stress fracture. This is the first time I was injured on ice. Now I have almost recovered. It is also very difficult to deny myself tasty things, because it is important to maintain weight. But I understand why I make sacrifices. This is my job.

Do you get any support at all, either financially or otherwise?

I would be glad for any help. But most importantly, I know that one company is now building a skating rink in Cyprus in the Limassol region. I would really like the project to be completed and the local authorities to support the initiative, if there was a skating rink in Cyprus I could live at home.

What do you learn from sports?

You must work very hard in order to succeed and still not despair, do not give up if something doesn’t work out. Believe in yourself. At the same time, don’t be arrogant. Today you are on a pedestal , tomorrow you are nobody. Stay human. Respect others even if you are successful.

School and championship

How do you combine school with a championship?

Unfortunately, at my level it is no longer possible for me to attend a regular school. Therefore, my parents and I decided to switch to an American online school. Due to the time difference, lessons begin in the evening, and in the first half of the day I train. It is impossible to skate in the afternoon and go to school in the first half of the day because there are a lot of people at the skating rink and it is not safe. But for me and for my parents, education is very important, so we chose an academically strong online school with high requirements and yes it is very difficult. Because training starts at 8:30am to 3pm, and at 4pm the first lesson starts and until 9-10pm every day. There is no spare time at all. My one day is Sunday.

What subject are you considering studying?

This is a difficult question; I like several subjects, my parents have their own expectations. And we haven’t found common ground yet.

As an athlete, what are your experiences? And what do you take from them?

I think that sport has taught me a lot, my coach says that if you survive in figure skating, you can do anything. In training, no matter how many times you fall, every time you get up and try again. It makes you stronger.