Inga Zurabovna Gurgenidze (Georgian: ინგა ზურაბის ასული გურგენიძე, ; born 23 April 2009), born Inga Zurabovna Nikitina, is a Russian-born Georgian figure skater who represents Georgia in women's singles. She is the 2022 JGP Italy bronze medalist, the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial junior champion, the 2022 Bosphorus Cup junior silver medalist, and the 2023 Dragon Trophy junior champion. She finished within the top ten at the 2023 World Junior Championships. She is the twenty-third woman in history to have successfully landed a triple Axel jump in competition.
Personal life Gurgenidze was born on 23 April 2009 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. Part of her family is from Georgia, including her grandmother, who she used to visit every summer as a child.
She initially competed under her mother's surname, Nikitina, until the 2021–22 season when she changed it to her father's surname, Gurgenidze.
In addition, she has expressed interest in learning the English and Georgian languages. Gurgenidze's figure skating idols are Yulia Lipnitskaia, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.
Career Early career Gurgenidze began figure skating in 2013 and has been coached by Liudmila Gafarova since a very young age.
She competed at the 2022 Russian Junior Championships, finishing in fifteenth place.
2022–23 season: Debut for Georgia, JGP Medal In August 2022, it was confirmed that Russian-born Gurgenidze would be representing Georgia in international competition, having previously skated for Russia. She made her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix series. She began her season with a fourth-place finish at 2022 JGP Latvia. At her second event, Gurgenidze won the bronze medal at the 2022 JGP Italy.
Subsequently, Gurgenidze went onto win gold at the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, silver at the 2022 Bosphorus Cup and another gold at the 2023 Dragon Trophy. She finished the season at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. After placing a disappointing nineteenth in the short program, Gurgenidze skated a solid free program, placing seventh in that segment of the competition and elevating her to finish ninth place overall.
2023–24 season: Winter Youth Olympics In her second Junior Grand Prix season, Gurgenidze came ninth at the 2023 JGP Hungary and sixth at the 2023 JGP Armenia. She defended her gold medal at the 2023 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, before going onto win gold at the 2023 Bosphorus Cup.
Gurgenidze represented Georgia in the women's event at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon finishing in fifth place. At the 2024 World Junior Championships, she placed twelfth.
2024–25 season During the off-season, Gurgenidze worked with Russian choreographer, Sergey Plishkin, on her free skate to music from the film, Dancer in the Dark. Regarding the program's concept, Gurgenidze explained that she plays a blind woman dancing in the dark and moving her soul while still unable to see. She began the season by competing on the 2024-25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fifth at 2024 JGP Turkey. At her second Junior Grand Prix event, 2024 JGP China, Gurgenidze's coach Liudmila Gafarova was unable to attend due to visa issues. Gurgenidze placed thirteenth in the short program but subsequently skated a solid free skate that included a clean triple Axel. She would finish third in that segment of the competition and finish sixth overall. In late November, Gurgenidze competed on the junior level at the 2024 NRW Trophy where she took the gold medal.
Finishing the season at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Gurgenidze placed second in the short program with a score of 67.47. “I feel really good,” she said after the short program. “I skated my best today and I skated with confidence. Skating at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia really helped me, and competing in Georgia was such a big pleasure. It also gave me the confidence that I can win.” She received a silver small medal for the segment. She struggled during the free skate, placing eleventh in that segment and dropping to sixth place overall.
2025–26 season Gurgenidze opened her season in October by finishing sixth at 2025 JGP United Arab Emirates.
In November, Inga won the silver medal at the 2025 Bosphorus Cup. In January, she also won silver at 2026 Crystal Skate and gold at 2026 Dragon Trophy just one week later.
At the 2026 World Junior Championships, Inga finished 6th overall. “I feel mixed emotions about today,” she said after the free skate. “Compared to previous competitions, it was definitely better and also compared to last season it was better. So, it is mixed feelings, bittersweet.”
2026–27 season: Senior debut Gurgenidze began her season at the Junior Grand Prix in Turkey placing fifth overall. She subsequently finished eighth at the Junior Grand Prix in Georgia.
Gurgenidze made her senior international debut at the 2026 Trialeti Trophy in Georgia. She concluded the event in sixth place overall.
Programs Season Short program Free skating Exhibition2026–2027 Life and Deathby Moby and Alexander Balanescu Vivo Tango Volverby Maxime Rodriguez 2025–2026 Dog Days Are Over Alchemy A Little Bit Closer 2024–2025 Tango Time Dancer in the Dark 107 Steps Cvalda 2023–2024 Winter Memphisto's Lullaby Breathing Under Water Dissociative Identity Disorder 2022–2023 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Temperature (DJ Kantik Club Mix) Tokyo Drift
The Devil You Know 2021–2022 Waltz Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Competitive highlights
For Georgia
For Russia
Detailed results
Personal best highlighted in bold.
For Georgia
Senior level
Junior level
2024–25 season Date Event SP FS Total Feb. 25 – Mar. 2, 2025 2025 World Junior Championships 2 67.47 11 115.57 6 183.04 November 11–17, 2024 2024 NRW Trophy 1 65.30 1 112.89 1 178.19 October 9–12, 2024 2024 JGP China 13 50.45 3 128.69 6 179.14 September 18–21, 2024 2024 JGP Turkey 6 59.93 5 111.03 5 170.96 2023–24 season Date Event SP FS Total Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 2024 2024 World Junior Championships 7 62.28 16 110.59 12 172.87 January 28–30, 2024 2024 Winter Youth Olympics 7 57.99 6 115.42 5 173.41 Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 2022 2023 Bosphorus Cup 1 64.49 1 111.83 1 176.52 November 2–5, 2023 2023 Denis Ten Memorial 3 54.22 1 109.54 1 163.76 October 4–7, 2023 2023 JGP Armenia 6 55.47 5 110.43 6 165.90 September 20–23, 2023 2023 JGP Hungary 13 54.32 8 105.53 9 159.85 2022–23 season Date Event SP FS Total Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 2023 2023 World Junior Championships 19 52.02 7 120.48 9 172.50 February 9–12, 2023 2023 Dragon Trophy 4 53.73 1 124.09 1 177.82 Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 2022 2023 Bosphorus Cup 2 52.58 1 118.47 2 171.05 October 26–29, 2022 2022 Denis Ten Memorial 1 63.62 1 110.56 1 174.18 October 12–15, 2022 2022 JGP Italy 4 63.04 3 127.48 3 190.52 September 7–10, 2022 2022 JGP Latvia 5 58.80 4 121.48 4 180.28
For Russia 2021–22 season Date Event SP FS TotalFebruary 26–March 2, 2022Russian Cup Final6 63.8211 103.6210 167.44December 22–24, 20212022 Russian Championships15 61.6314 111.8015 173.43November 8–12, 2021Russian Cup Stage 45 64.482 131.443 195.92 October 10–14, 2021 Russian Cup Stage 2 4 62.48 8 111.31 6 173.79
References
External links