“When I looked at the entry list before the competition, it was stacked with a strong field, so this result was completely unexpected for me.” Aleksandr Selevko on winning silver at Skate Canada 2025
Aleksandr Selevko Makes History with Silver at Skate Canada
original source: sport.err.ee dd. November 3d 2025 by Anu Saarits
Aleksandr Selevko made history as the first Estonian men’s singles figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Grand Prix event, claiming silver at Skate Canada with a new national record and boosted confidence for future competitions. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on ERR.
Standing on the podium behind two-time world champion Ilia Malinin (USA), Selevko admitted that his second-place finish was a complete surprise. “When I came here, I didn’t expect a podium finish at all. I came to compete, enjoy my performance, and show my programs to the judges and the audience, hoping they would appreciate them. I was just here to do my job. When I looked at the entry list before the competition, it was stacked with a strong field, so this result was completely unexpected for me,” Selevko shared with ERR after the event.
Selevko earned a combined score of 257.21 points, setting a new Estonian national record. He surpassed his previous national record, set in January 2024 when he won silver at the European Championships in Kaunas, by 0.22 points.
“I’m very happy to have achieved this result. I hope things continue to move upward from here. There were so many factors that contributed to this outcome. I want to thank the Estonian Skating Union, my club Kristalluisk in Tallinn, and Boston Skating Club in the United States – they’ve believed in me and supported me so much. I also want to thank my coaches and family. I’m very satisfied with this competition,” said Selevko, reflecting on his hard-earned accomplishment.
After training in Boston with coaches Alexei Letov and Olga Ganicheva following his 9th-place finish at the European Championships in Tallinn earlier this year, Selevko has spent most of the year training overseas. His progress is also closely monitored by Irina Kononova, who continues to guide his training sessions in Estonia.
“I’m very pleased that I executed all the planned quads cleanly over these two days. Right now, I’m training quads intensively, and my coaches are even asking me to do fewer. Typically, thinking about quads at competitions creates stress and leads to mistakes, but this time I didn’t focus on scores or rankings before competing. I was clear in my objective – to focus on delivering two good programs on the ice,” Selevko explained.
In Saskatoon, Selevko scored 165.93 points for the free skate, just 1.01 points short of his personal best set at the European Championships in Kaunas. While his triple axel had a failed landing that cost him more than seven points, Selevko remained positive: “There’s still a lot of work to be done in my overall skating, especially with the triple axel. We’ll focus on that in practice. But leaving aside that axel, I did everything we planned over these two days. I’m very happy with the competition, and my entire team is as well – it was a smooth event for us here in Canada.”
After finishing ninth with 208.14 points at the ISU Challenger Series in Tbilisi earlier this October, Selevko made adjustments to his training plan in preparation for Skate Canada. “Ahead of this event, I altered my routines because my performances in Georgia didn’t go as expected. We evaluated our mistakes and changed the approach, which clearly worked,” he said.
Unlike his earlier focus on maximizing his jump and full-program repetitions, this time, the emphasis was on mental preparation rather than strictly physical workload. “This time I decided to do fewer jumps before the competition and reduced full program run-throughs. Instead, we focused more on mental preparation because I’m already in excellent physical shape,” Selevko noted.
With his stellar showing in Canada, Selevko has likely secured a spot at the European Championships, scheduled to begin in Sheffield on January 14. “I don’t want to make any predictions until my spot is officially confirmed. But I truly want to skate at the European Championships. It’s too early to talk about the Olympics, but I hope I can keep moving forward just as well as I have now,” Selevko said.
After his breakout performance at the 2024 European Championships, where he earned silver, Selevko faced the challenge of managing elevated expectations. However, training in new environments, including Boston under coaches Alexei Letov and Olga Ganicheva, has revitalized his confidence and motivation.
“This result gives me a lot of self-belief and sparks my motivation to keep working hard in training and improving in every aspect of my figure skating. I hope I can achieve even better results in major competitions going forward,” said Selevko.
Selevko now heads back to Boston for a few weeks of training before competing again at the ISU Tallinn Trophy, held on November 27–28, and at the Estonian Championships on December 13–14 in the Tondiraba Ice Hall.
Related topics: Aleksandr Selevko, Skate Canada
Leave a Reply