Good things happen to those who wait, but sometimes you don’t need to wait.
Hungarian pair skaters Maria Pavlova and Alexei Svyachenko This is the second time they will be skating together in the 2023-24 season, and they garnered attention by taking podiums at both Grand Prix races and taking fourth place at the World Championships, European Championships, and Grand Prix Finals.
Expectations were high for the next season, so when the results didn’t live up to the hype, the disappointment felt even more raw.
When the curtain fell, 2025 World Figure Skating Championships In Boston, Hungary earned an Olympic berth. 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics However, the ranking dropped to 8th place, and the time had come for drastic changes.
The two returned to their training base and began recreating the identity of figure skating.
“We noticed a slight stagnation,” Sviatchenko told Olympic.com. “And when something stops working, it’s time to make a change.”
Pavlova and Svyachenko worked with two new choreographers and traveled abroad to put together the program. By the time the 2025-26 season began, they were ready to give audiences a fresh look.
A high-powered tribute to musicians prince, tom jones and queen It was gathering dust, but now it will be replaced by a softer pair of skates with a deeply personal message.
It’s a risky overhaul to undertake during the Olympic season, but so far it’s been a huge success for the Hungarian pair. Pavlova and Sviatchenko have already reached 4 podiums and are upgraded 2 personal best scoresbut most importantly, what they discovered. a new feeling of gratitude In their skates.
“We started this season from scratch,” Pavlova told Olympic.com. “We started thinking differently. We started appreciating the little things that we wouldn’t have appreciated two seasons ago, because back then we didn’t have any challenges. Everything was going well, and now we have challenges.”
“And we started appreciating each other. We started supporting each other. Our relationship as teammates became much better.”