Pulse #Figure Skating
Author: Andrii Nikitonok

Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval: How the Season Went for the Junior Grand Prix Medalists

Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval: How the Season Went for the Junior Grand Prix Medalists
Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval at the Junior World Championships. Photo: Jurij Kodrun

The Ukrainian pair won Ukraine's first Junior Grand Prix Final medal in 26 years.

Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval became Ukraine's first Junior Grand Prix Final figure skating medalists in 26 years, winning bronze in ice dance at the competition held December 6 in Nagoya, Japan.

With that, the Pidhaina-Koval pair brought Ukraine its fifth figure skating medal in Junior Grand Prix Final history. The last time this happened was with Khrystyna Kobaladze and Oleh Voiko in the 1999/2000 season — also bronze in ice dance.

Iryna and Artem have competed at the Junior Grand Prix level since 2022. Since then, they've won four stage titles, and in 2024, finished fourth in the final. How the Ukrainian duo's 2025 season went — read on in this DeTalks article.

How the 2025 Season Went for Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval

  • Iryna and Artem's 2025 began with the international EDGE Cup competition in Katowice, Poland. There, they placed first among five pairs, finishing more than 20 points ahead of second place.
  • At the 2025 Junior World Championships, held this year in Debrecen, Hungary, Pidhaina and Koval finished fourth — Ukraine's best result in 10 years. The duo fell just 5.33 points short of bronze.
  • Following the World Championships, the pair had two successful Junior Grand Prix stages — in Ankara and Gdańsk. In Turkey, the duo won both the rhythm dance and the free dance, earning a combined score of 155.14 points. In Poland, Artem and Iryna posted their best scores of the season — 65.69 (rhythm dance) and 98.44 (free dance).
Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval
Photo: ukrfsf.org.ua
  • Ahead of the Junior Grand Prix Final in Japan, Pidhaina and Koval won two international tournaments in Hungary and Bulgaria.
  • The pair began the decisive competition in Nagoya in second place in the rhythm dance, for which they received 63.43 points. Their free dance, though, proved less successful — the Ukrainians received 48.07 points for technical merit and 92.79 points overall, which ultimately placed them third among six duos.

Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval: all the figure skaters' results in the 2025 season

  • 3rd EDGE Cup 2025, Poland — 1st place (166.24 points)
  • Junior World Championships, Hungary — 4th (158.93)
  • Junior Grand Prix, Turkey — 1st (155.14)
  • Junior Grand Prix, Poland — 1st (164.13)
  • Budapest Trophy 2025, Hungary — 1st (157.64)
  • Denkova-Staviski Cup 2025, Bulgaria — 1st (162.92)
  • Junior Grand Prix Final, Japan — 3rd (156.22)

Watch DeTalks' full interview with Team Ukraine figure skating leader and 2022 Olympian Ivan Shmuratko here.

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