Michel Tsiba

Michel Tsiba
Danilova/Tsiba at the 2020 European Championships
Born	(1997-12-21) 21 December 1997 (age 26) Groningen, Netherlands
Hometown	Zandvoort, Netherlands
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Netherlands
Partner	Daria Danilova
Coach	Dmitri Savin Fedor Klimov Pavel Kitashev Knut Schubert
Skating club	Ekijsa Amsterdam
Began skating	2006

Michel Tsiba (born 21 December 1997) is a Dutch pair skater. With his skating partner, Daria Danilova, he is the 2020 Dutch national champion and the 2020 NRW Trophy bronze medalist. They competed in the final segment at the 2020 European Championships and are the first Dutch pair to qualify for the World Championships.

Personal life

Tsiba was born on 21 December 1997 in Groningen to a Russian father and a Ukrainian mother. He has an older sister. ^[1] Tsiba is fluent in Russian. ^[2]

Career

Early career

Tsiba started competing at the age of seven. He originally wanted to compete in ice hockey, but was advised to learn to skate in the figure skating club first. ^[1] As a child, Tsiba experienced bullying from his peers about being a figure skater, who referred to him as "a ballerina in a tutu" and often called him "gay" or other homophobic remarks. ^[1] Due to the relative obscurity of figure skating in the Netherlands, he admitted to being jealous of popular speed skaters like Sven Kramer when he was young. ^[3]

As a singles skater, Tsiba was coached by Viola Striegler and Susan Mason and is the 2014 Dutch junior national and 2018 Dutch national champion. He switched disciplines from men's singles to pair skating because he felt that he was too tall to succeed in learning quadruple jumps. ^[3] Tsiba had a tryout in summer 2017 that ultimately did not work out. He officially retired from singles skating after winning his first senior national title in 2018. ^[4]

Tsiba teamed up with Russian skater Daria Danilova for the Netherlands in May 2018. Earlier in the season, he had met one of her coaches at a seminar in Berlin and they arranged a tryout. ^[3] At the start of their partnership, Danilova/Tsiba alternated training in Berlin and Moscow every three months due to the differences in their respective citizenships' visa requirements. ^[2] The pair fund over half of their training costs out of pocket via Tsiba's student finances. ^[1]

2018–2019 season

Danilova/Tsiba won their debut international competition, the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb on the junior level. They then placed tenth at the 2019 Bavarian Open. In February, Danilova/Tsiba won the 2019 Dutch junior national title unopposed. However, they missed achieving the minimum TES requirements for the 2019 World Junior Championships. ^[4]

2019–2020 season

Danilova/Tsiba competed at three Challenger Series events to open the season, finishing tenth at 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, 17th at 2019 CS Warsaw Cup, and 15th at 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

At the 2020 European Championships in January, Danilova/Tsiba became the first Dutch pair in 24 years to compete at a European Championships since Jeltje Schulten / Alcuin Schulten last represented the country at the event in 1996. ^[2] They qualified to the final segment and finished 16th overall. In February, they finished eighth at the Bavarian Open and tenth at the Challenge Cup; the latter event doubled as the Dutch Championships where, as the only Dutch pair, Danilova/Tsiba won their first senior national title.

At the Challenge Cup, Danilova/Tsiba earned the necessary TES minimums for the 2020 World Championships. ^[5] They are the first Dutch pair in history to qualify for the World Championships. ^[6] The event was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[7]

2020–2021 season

During the offseason, Tsiba underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. However, the pair did not start training together again until the end of August due to issues with Danilova's Dutch visa. ^[8] Danilova/Tsiba made their season debut at the 2020 NRW Autumn Trophy in November and won their first senior international medal, bronze behind Germans Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel and Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nolan Seegert. Making their debut at the World Championships in Stockholm, they placed twenty-second. ^[9]

2021–2022 season

Beginning the season at the 2021 Lombardia Trophy, Danilova/Tsiba placed eighth. ^[10] They competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, placing ninth and failing to qualify a place at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Their third Challenger event, the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, Danilova/Tsiba were fifteenth. They finished twenty-first at the 2022 European Championships, missing the free skate. ^[11]

Danilova/Tsiba concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, where they finished a career-best ninth in a field depleted due to Russia being banned as a result of their invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send athletes to compete in Montpellier. ^{[12] [11]}

2022–2023 season

Danilova/Tsiba decided that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not affect their training in Russia, opting to spend about half their time in Sochi, Russia, and half in Heerenveen, Netherlands. ^[13] On training in Russia, they commented: "We don't notice the war here. It's shockingly quiet." ^[14] They were unable to compete at the 2022 Skate America because Danilova's visa application was declined. ^[14]

Danilova/Tsiba began their season with a sixth-place finish at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. They finished sixth as well at the 2022 NHK Trophy, their Grand Prix debut, and then fifth at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo. ^[11] Nika Osipova / Dmitry Epstein won the Netherlands' only pair skating berth at the 2023 European Championships. ^[13] Domestic rivals Osipova/Epstein won the Netherlands' only pair skating berth at the 2023 European Championships. ^[13] However, due to Danilova/Tsiba's ninth-place finish at the prior year's World Championships, both teams were able to attend the 2023 edition in Saitama. Both Dutch teams qualified for the free skate segment, a first in the history of the event, with Danilova/Tsiba finishing thirteenth, the higher-ranked of the two. ^[15]

2023–2024 season

Danilova/Tsiba performing a pair combination spin at the 2024 World Championships

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, Danilova/Tsiba came sixth. ^[11] On the Grand Prix, they were seventh at the 2023 Skate Canada International. ^[16] At the 2023 NHK Trophy they placed fifth, equaling their prior best placement, both praising the reception from the Japanese audience. ^[17]

Danilova/Tsiba came eighth at the 2024 European Championships. ^[18] Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships, they came fourteenth. ^[19]

2024–25 season

Danilova/Tsiba started the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Tayside Trophy. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, the pair finished seventh at 2024 Skate Canada International. ^[20]

Programs

With Danilova

Season	Short program	Free skating
2024–2025 [21]	Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova	The Chain by Fleetwood Mac choreo. by Nikita Mikhailov
2023–2024 [22]	The Hunger Games Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears performed by Lorde The Hanging Tree by James Newton Howard ft. Jennifer Lawrence choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova
2022–2023 [23]		Harriet Goodbye Song by Cynthia Erivo & Terrence Blanchard Stand Up by Cynthia Erivo choreo. by Nikita Mikhailov
2020–2022 [24] [25]	Bad Guy by Billie Eilish performed by Ariana Savalas choreo. by Joti Polizoakis	All by Myself by Eric Carmen I'll Be There for You by The Rembrandts choreo. by Joti Polizoakis
2019–2020 [26]	Don't Stop Me Now by Queen choreo. by Paul Boll	Greased Lighnin' (from Grease ) performed by John Travolta Hopelessly Devoted to You (from Grease: Live ) performed by Julianne Hough You're the One That I Want (from Grease ) performed by John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John choreo. by Olga Orlova
2018–2019 [27]	Secrets by OneRepublic choreo. by Olga Orlova

Men's singles

Season	Short program	Free skating
2016–2017 [28]	Cool (from West Side Story ) by Leonard Bernstein performed by Cody Green choreo. by Mark Pillay	James Brown medley by James Brown choreo. by Paul Boll
2015–2016 [29]	Grease by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, John Farrar choreo. by Susan Mason	The Passion of the Christ by John Debney choreo. by Julie Marcotte

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Pairs with Danilova

International [11]
Event	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22	22–23	23–24	24–25
Worlds		C	22nd	9th	13th	14th
Europeans		16th		21st		8th
GP Finland					5th
GP NHK Trophy					6th	5th	TBD
GP Skate Canada						7th	7th
CS Finlandia Trophy		10th			6th
CS Golden Spin		15th		WD	8th
CS Lombardia Trophy						6th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy				9th
CS Warsaw Cup		17th		15th			TBD
Bavarian Open		8th			2nd	1st
Budapest Trophy						3rd
Challenge Cup		10th	7th	2nd	5th
Lombardia Trophy				8th
NRW Trophy			3rd	1st
Tayside Trophy							4th
International: Junior [11]
Bavarian Open	10th
Golden Spin	1st
National [11]
Dutch Champ.	1st J	1st	2nd	1st	2nd
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled Levels: J = Junior

Men's singles

International [30]
Event	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18
CS Tallinn Trophy							23rd
Challenge Cup							13th
Cup of Nice							18th
Universiade						32nd
International: Junior [30]
JGP Austria					21st
JGP France						21st
JGP Germany						27th
JGP Latvia					22nd
Bavarian Open			27th	10th	17th
Challenge Cup			8th	8th		8th
Crystal Skate				6th
Lombardia Trophy			12th	10th		8th
Merano Cup						15th
NRW Trophy			17th	8th	14th	13th
Printemps			14th	9th
Skate Helena					4th
Tallinn Trophy						7th
Toruń Cup				9th
Volvo Open Cup			14th		10th
World Development					6th
International: Adv. novice [31]
Challenge Cup	11th	4th
NRW Trophy	14th
Volvo Open Cup		4th
National [30]
Dutch Champ.	1st N	3rd J	1st J	2nd	2nd	1st J	1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled Levels: J = Junior; N = Novice

Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System  ^[32]

Segment	Type	Score	Event
Total	TSS	177.54	2023 NHK Trophy
Short program	TSS	61.24	2023 World Championships
	TES	35.21	2023 World Championships
	PCS	27.36	2023 NHK Trophy
Free skating	TSS	118.93	2023 NHK Trophy
	TES	64.71	2023 NHK Trophy
	PCS	55.22	2023 NHK Trophy

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

With Danilova

2024–2025 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 8–10, 2024	2024 NHK Trophy	6 58.90	TBD	TBD
October 25–27, 2024	2024 Skate Canada International	7 58.78	7 112.24	7 171.02
October 12–13, 2024	2024 Tayside Trophy	4 52.69	5 94.55	4 147.24
2023–24 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 18–24, 2024	2024 World Championships	17 59.07	12 113.17	14 172.24
January 8–14, 2024	2024 European Championships	10 53.95	8 113.37	8 167.32
November 24–26, 2023	2023 NHK Trophy	6 58.61	5 118.93	5 177.54
October 27–29, 2023	2023 Skate Canada International	6 57.17	6 107.84	7 165.01
October 13–15, 2023	2023 Budapest Trophy	3 61.66	4 107.73	3 169.39
September 8–10, 2023	2023 CS Lombardia Trophy	8 53.58	6 106.89	6 160.47
2022–23 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 20–26, 2023	2023 World Championships	12 61.24	12 112.61	13 173.85
February 23–26, 2023	2023 International Challenge Cup	5 57.28	5 100.50	5 157.78
Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, 2023	2023 Bavarian Open	1 66.00	2 101.49	2 167.49
November 25–27, 2022	2022 Grand Prix of Espoo	5 56.41	6 89.74	5 146.15
November 17–20, 2022	2022 NHK Trophy	6 54.46	6 101.38	6 155.84
October 4–9, 2022	2022 CS Finlandia Trophy	6 56.27	5 102.65	6 158.92
2021–22 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 21–27, 2022	2022 World Championships	11 49.52	9 99.03	9 148.55
February 24–27, 2022	2022 International Challenge Cup	2 53.57	2 95.83	2 149.40
January 10–16, 2022	2022 European Championships	21 36.86	–	21 36.86
November 17–20, 2021	2021 CS Warsaw Cup	14 55.45	15 89.28	15 144.73
November 4–7, 2021	2021 NRW Trophy	1 50.61	1 101.85	1 152.46
September 22–25, 2021	2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	8 55.39	9 89.87	9 145.26
September 10–12, 2021	2021 Lombardia Trophy	7 45.14	8 88.73	8 133.87
2020–21 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 22–28, 2021	2021 World Championships	22 43.12	–	22 43.12
February 26–28, 2021	2021 International Challenge Cup	8 48.87	6 88.23	7 137.10
November 26–29, 2020	2020 NRW Trophy	3 43.86	4 70.88	3 114.74
2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 20–23, 2020	2020 International Challenge Cup	5 51.81	10 85.92	10 137.73
February 3–9, 2020	2020 Bavarian Open	8 46.92	9 83.91	8 130.83
January 20–26, 2020	2020 European Championships	16 46.10	16 70.20	16 116.30
December 4–7, 2019	2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	13 47.86	16 87.85	15 135.71
November 14–17, 2019	2019 CS Warsaw Cup	18 38.90	18 80.54	17 119.44
October 11–13, 2019	2019 CS Finlandia Trophy	9 43.56	10 75.34	10 118.90

Junior results

2018–19 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
February 21–24, 2019	2019 Dutch Junior Championships	Junior	1 43.33	1 74.44	1 117.77
February 5–10, 2019	2019 Bavarian Open	Junior	12 36.74	10 73.18	10 109.92
December 5–8, 2018	2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb	Junior	1 37.67	1 76.33	1 114.00

References

1. Aalbers, Dave (27 February 2019). "Welkom in het leven van een Nederlands kunstschaatstalent" [Welcome to the life of a Dutch figure skating talent] (in Dutch). Vice.
2. "Na 24 jaar weer een Nederlands paar bij EK kunstrijden: 'We praten Russisch'" [After 24 years, a Dutch couple again at the European Figure Skating Championships: 'We speak Russian'] (in Dutch). NOS. 21 January 2020.
3. van Lakerveld, Erik (21 January 2020). "De schoonheid van rondvliegen boven het ijs" [The beauty of flying around above the ice] (in Dutch). de Volkskrant.
4. Veltman, Anjuli (6 November 2018). "Nieuw avontuur voor Tsiba: 'Kan het niet zonder haar'" [New adventure for Tsiba: 'Can't do it without her']. Schaatsen.nl (in Dutch).
5. "Na Wories ook duo Danilova/Tsiba zeker van WK kunstrijden" [After Wories duo Danilova / Tsiba also sure of World Figure Skating Championships] (in Dutch). AD. 24 February 2020.
6. "Daria Danilova/Michel Tsiba en Niki Wories naar WK Kunstrijden in Montréal (15 – 22 maart)" [Daria Danilova / Michel Tsiba and Niki Wories to World Figure Skating Championships in Montréal (15 – 22 March)]. KNSB. 24 February 2020.
7. "WK kunstrijden in Montreal geschrapt vanwege coronavirus" [World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal canceled due to coronavirus] (in Dutch). Dagblad van het Noorden. 11 March 2020.
8. "Nederlandse kunstschaatsers over afgelasting EK: 'Dit zat eraan te komen'" [Dutch figure skaters about the cancellation of the European Championship: 'this was coming']. Schaatsen.nl (in Dutch). 11 December 2020.
9. "ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 Results – Pairs". International Skating Union.
10. "Lombardia Trophy 2021". Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio.
11. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
12. Campigotto, Jesse (March 22, 2022). "Get ready for a bizarre figure skating world championships". CBC Sports .
13. de Schutter, Margriet (22 February 2023). "Challenge Cup & NK goede generale voor kunstrijparen". schaatsen.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 10 March 2023.
14. van der Eijk, Lisanne (1 December 2022). "Voor Michel Tsiba staat liefde voor kunstrijden los van oorlog". schaatsen.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 December 2022.
15. "Nederlandse duo's worden dertiende en twintigste in finale vrije" [Dutch duos finish thirteenth and twentieth in the free skate final]. Eurosport (in Dutch). March 23, 2023.
16. Slater, Paula (October 29, 2023). "Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate pairs at Skate Canada". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
17. Slater, Paula (November 25, 2023). "Hase and Volodin dominate pairs at NHK Trophy in debut season". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
18. Slater, Paula (January 11, 2024). "Beccari and Guarise clinch unexpected gold at 2024 Europeans". Golden Skate. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
19. "Zandvoorters Daria Danilova en Michel Tsiba veertiende op WK, veertigjarige oudste wereldkampioen" [Zandvoort players Daria Danilova and Michel Tsiba fourteenth at the World Championships, forty-year-old oldest world champion]. Haarlems Dagblad (in Dutch). March 22, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
20. Slater, Paula (October 27, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps defend Skate Canada title". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
21. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
22. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
23. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
24. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021.
25. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021.
26. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020.
27. "Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
28. "Michel TSIBA: 2016/2017". International Skating Union.
29. "Michel TSIBA: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016.
30. "Michel TSIBA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
31. "Michel Tsiba". Stats on Ice.
32. "NED-Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA". Skating Scores.

External links

• Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA at the International Skating Union
• Michel TSIBA at the International Skating Union
• Official website