Camille Kovalev

Camille Kovalev
Camille Kovalev and Christopher Boyadji at the 2012 World Junior Championships
Other namesCamille Mendoza
Born (1994-11-29) 29 November 1994 (age 29)
Toulouse, France
HometownAngers, France
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country France
DisciplinePair skating
PartnerPavel Kovalev (since 2014)
Christopher Boyadji (2011–12)
CoachLaurent Depouilly
Skating clubClub Olympique de Courbevoie
Began skating2000
French Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cergy-Pontoise Pairs
Gold medal – first place 2023 Rouen Pairs
Gold medal – first place 2024 Vaujany Pairs
Silver medal – second place 2016 Épinal Pairs
Silver medal – second place 2020 Dunkirk Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Caen Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Vaujany Pairs

Camille Kovalev (née Mendoza; born 29 November 1994 in Toulouse) is a French pair skater.

With Pavel Kovalev, she is a two-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, 2018 Volvo Open Cup silver medalist, 2015 International Cup of Nice bronze medalist, 2015 Lombardia Trophy bronze medalist, and is a three-time French national champion.

Earlier in her career, she skated with Christopher Boyadji and competed in the final segment at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

Personal life

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Mendoza was born on 29 November 1994 in Toulouse, France. She married her skating partner, Pavel Kovalev, in December 2017 and subsequently adopted his last name.[1]

Career

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Early career

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Kovalev began figure skating in 2000 at the age of six.[1][2] She would begin competing as a pair skater in 2011 after teaming up with Christopher Boyadji. Coached by Vivien Rolland and Diana Skotnicka, Kovalev/Boyadji represented the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.[3] They competed at the 2012 World Junior Championships, where they would finish sixteenth. Their partnership would eventually dissolve following the 2011–12 figure skating season.[4]

Partnership with Kovalev

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2014–2015 season

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In 2014, it was announced that Kovalev had teamed up with Russian pair skater, Pavel Kovalev and that they would be coached by Medhi Bouzzine and that they would represent the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.[5][6]

Their first competition as a team was at the 2014 Master's de Patinage, although they would withdraw from the event after placing third in the short program. They would subsequently compete at the 2014 NRW Trophy and the 2015 Bavarian Open, finishing fourth at both events.[7]

2015–2016 season

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The Kovalevs started the season by winning their first international medal together, a bronze at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy. They would then go on to win silver at the 2015 Master's de Patinage and bronze at the 2015 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win silver at the 2016 French Championships. They then closed the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Bavarian Open.[7]

2016–2017 season

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Beginning the season with a gold medal win at the 2016 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs would subsequently finish sixth at the 2016 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and fourth at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy.[7]

They would end the season by winning bronze at the 2017 French Championships.[7]

2017–2018 season

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The Kovalevs started the season by winning bronze at the 2017 Master's de Patinage. They would then compete at the 2017 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy, finishing eighth and fifth, respectively.[7]

2018–2019 season

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The Kovalevs began the season by winning silver at the 2018 Master's de Patinage and at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup. They then concluded the season by winning bronze at the 2019 French Championships.[7]

2019–2020 season

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Beginning the season at the 2020 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs won the gold medal. They would then go on to compete on the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series, finishing thirteenth at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup and seventeenth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win their second national silver medal at the 2020 French Championships.[7]

2020–2021 season

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The Kovalevs only competed at one event that season, the 2020 Master's de Patinage, where they won the bronze medal.[7]

2021–2022 season: First national title and World Championship debut

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In fall 2021, it was announced that the Kovalevs were now being coached by Laurent Depouilly in Courbevoie.[1] They started the season by finishing seventh at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix series debut at the 2021 Internationaux de France, the pair would come in seventh place.[7]

In December, they would win their first national title at the 2022 French Championships. With this result, the Kovalevs were selected to represent France at the European and World Championships for a first time. At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, they would come in fourteenth place.[7]

In March 2022, the International Skating Union banned athletes representing Russia from competing at international events as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send any athletes to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France.[8] Because of this, the Kovalevs finished World Championships with a strong eighth-place.[7]

2022–2023 season: First Grand Prix medal

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The Kovalevs began the season by finishing sixth at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy before going on to win gold at the 2022 Master's de Patinage.[7]

Going on to compete on the 2022–23 Grand Prix circuit, the pair won the their first Grand Prix medal, a silver, at the 2022 Grand Prix de France. They would subsequenetly finish fifth at the 2022 NHK Trophy.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs won the national title for a second consecutive time at the 2023 French Championships.Named to the European and World team, the Kovalevs would finish sixth at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland and fourteenth at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.[7]

Selected to compete for Team France in the pairs discipline at the 2023 World Team Trophy, the pair would individually place fifth and Team France would finish in fifth place overall.[7]

2023–2024 season: Second Grand Prix medal

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The Kovalevs started the season by winning gold at the 2023 John Nicks Pairs Challenge. Following a ninth-place finish at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, the pair would win gold for a fourth time at the 2023 Master's de Patinage. They would subsequently compete at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they placed fifth.[7]

Competing on the 2023–24 Grand Prix circuit, the Kovalevs won the bronze medal at the 2023 Grand Prix de France and finished fifth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.[7] In December, they would win their third national title at the 2024 French Championships.[7]

The pair then went on to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, despite Camille developing a fever two days before the event. During the short program, Camille would have a very hard fall on the throw triple flip, landing on her chest. She would then fall again on the side-by-side triple toe. As a result of these mistakes, the pair would only place fifteenth in the short program. They would end up withdrawing before the free skate due to Camille's illness.[9][10][7] The Kovalevs would subsequently compete at the 2024 International Challenge Cup, where they took the bronze medal.[7]

Weeks before the 2024 World Championships, the Kovalevs announced that they would not compete at the event due to Pavel injuring himself from a very bad fall in training.[11]

In June, the pair announced that while continuing their coaching relationship with Laurent Depouilly, that they would begin training at the ASGA Figure Skating Club.[12]

2024–2025 season

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During the off-season, Pavel dislocated his ankle and underwent surgery during the summer. He would also injure his back shortly after returning to the ice and would subsequently be forced to miss another two weeks of training. The Kovalevs, having initially been told by doctors that they would likely need to sit out of the beginning of the season, Pavel would eventually be cleared to skate at the 2024 Master's de Patinage in late September, much earlier than the couple would have expected. They would ultimately win silver at the event.[7][13][14] They would subsequently finish sixth at the 2024 Tayside Trophy.[7]

Programs

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With Pavel Kovalev

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–2025
[15]
2023–2024
[16]
2022–2023
[17]
2021–22
[1]
  • The Curse
    by Agnes Obel
    choreo. by Nathalie Depouilly
2018–19
[18]
2017–18
[18]
2016–17
[18]
2015–16
[18][5]
2014–15
[18][5]
  • Industrial Revolution, Part 2
    by Nic Raine
    choreo. by Léonie Corbin

With Christopher Boyadji

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Season Short program Free skating
2011–12
[3]

Competitive highlights

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Pair skating with Pavel Kovalev

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Competition placements at senior level [7]
Season 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Championships 8th 14th
European Championships 14th 6th WD
French Championships 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
World Team Trophy 5th
(5th)
GP Cup of China TBD
GP Finland 5th
GP France 7th 2nd 3rd 7th
GP NHK Trophy 5th
CS Autumn Classic 9th
CS Finlandia Trophy 5th
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 17th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 6th
CS Tallinn Trophy 4th 5th
CS Warsaw Cup 13th
Bavarian Open 4th 4th
Challenge Cup 3rd
Cup of Nice 3rd 6th 8th
John Nicks Challenge 1st
Lombardia Trophy 3rd 7th
Master's de Patinage WD 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 2nd
NRW Trophy 4th
Volvo Open Cup 2nd

Pair skating with Christopher Boyadji

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Competition placements at junior level [4]
Season 2011–12
World Junior Championships 16th
JGP Estonia 10th
Bavarian Open 1st
Master's de Patinage 1st

Detailed results

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Pair skating with Pavel Kovalev

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [19]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 179.85 2022 Grand Prix de France
Short program TSS 63.98 2022 Grand Prix de France
TES 36.67 2022 Grand Prix de France
PCS 29.21 2023 World Team Trophy
Free skating TSS 115.87 2022 Grand Prix de France
TES 57.30 2023 World Team Trophy
PCS 59.86 2022 Grand Prix de France
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [19]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 141.87 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy
Short program TSS 51.76 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES 29.44 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS 22.32 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy
Free skating TSS 91.11 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES 46.35 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS 45.76 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy
Results in the 2024-25 season[7]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 26-28, 2024 France 2024 Master's de Patinage 2 42.75 2 94.88 2 137.63
Oct 12–13, 2024 United Kingdom 2024 Tayside Trophy 3 52.72 6 92.61 6 145.33
Nov 1-3, 2024 France 2024 Grand Prix de France 7 54.81 6 102.23 7 157.04

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ Pomiès, Fabien (25 April 2007). "Patinage artistique. Du talent et de l'élégance dans les patins". ladepeche.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Camille MENDOZA / Christopher BOYADJI: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b "FRA-Camille Kovalev / Christopher Boyadji". SkatingScores.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Travail d'équipe..." Skate-Info. Skate-Info. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Camille MENDOZA / Pavel KOVALEV: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "FRA-Camille Kovalev / Pavel Kovalev". SkatingScores.com.
  8. ^ Campigotto, Jesse (March 22, 2022). "Get ready for a bizarre figure skating world championships". CBC Sports.
  9. ^ "LIVE - Pairs Short Program - ISU European Championships - Kaunas 2024". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Pour préserver l'intégrité physique de Camille, malade, elle et son mari Pavel Kovalev ont déclaré forfait pour le programme libre de ce jeudi". Lequipe. Lequipe. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  11. ^ Kovalev, Camille. "Juste une petite annonce, pas la plus agréable à faire mais importante..." Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  12. ^ Kovalev, Camille. "On vous annonce officiellement qu'on a décidé de rejoindre le club @asgapatinageartistique pour les saisons à venir". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  13. ^ Mathieu, Solène. "Interview Camille et Pavel Kovalev, Laurent Depouilly : cap vers Angers pour l'objectif JO". Skate-Info. Skate-Info. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  14. ^ Kovalev, Camille. "Fin des Masters 2024, Nous étions présent pour avancer dans notre préparation en vue des Grands Prix". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Camille Kovalev & Pavel Kovalev". Golden Skate.
  19. ^ a b "Couple Records Camille Kovalev / Pavel Kovalev". International Skating Union.
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Media related to Camille Mendoza at Wikimedia Commons