Liubov Ilyushechkina

Liubov Ivanovna Ilyushechkina (Russian: Любовь Ивановна Илюшечкина, born 5 November 1991) is a Russian-born Canadian pair skater.

[5] Her coach, Lubov Fedoshchenko, suggested she try pair skating and took her to Saint Petersburg to train under Natalia Pavlova in 2006.

[6] Though initially skeptical, coach Natalia Pavlova decided to work with them because she had no pairs at the time and grew impressed by their commitment.

They also competed at the senior level, winning the bronze at Russian Nationals and placing fifth at their first European Championships.

During the 2009–10 season, Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze placed third in the short program at 2009 Cup of China and achieved their personal best score of 62.54.

[7] Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze began the 2010–11 season by capturing the gold at 2010 Skate Canada, their first medal on the senior Grand Prix circuit.

After Canadian skater Dylan Moscovitch contacted Ilyushechkina via her Facebook page, the two arranged a tryout, which took place in Detroit in mid-May 2014.

[12] On June 3, 2014, a news report stated that they had decided to form a partnership coached by Lee Barkell and Bryce Davison at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

[13] The pair continued training in Detroit until Ilyushechkina received a Canadian visa, in late June.

[15][16] Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch started their career together by winning an ISU Challenger Series (CS) event, the 2014 Warsaw Cup.

After winning the 2014 Skate Canada Challenge, they qualified for the 2015 Canadian Championships where they were awarded the silver medal behind defending champions Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford.

They received two Grand Prix assignments, the 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy,[18] where they respectively placed seventh and fifth.

In April, they finished seventh at the 2016 World Championships in Boston after placing eighth in the short program and sixth in the free skate.

In October 2016, they stepped onto their first Grand Prix podium, receiving bronze at the 2016 Skate Canada International.

Both made errors in the free program, with Ilyushechkina falling on a throw triple Lutz.

Placing third in the short program and second in the free skate, they won the bronze medal, less than a point behind silver medalists Alisa Efimova / Alexander Korovin.

[31] On April 16, Bilodeau announced his retirement from the sport and Ilyushechkina stated she would be evaluating her options in coming the months.

Ilyushechkina and Maisuradze with coach Natalia Pavlova
Ilyushechkina and Maisuradze at 2008 Junior Worlds