Ksenia Stolbova

2.2.1. Junior Years (2009-2011)

In their debut season together, 2009-10, Stolbova and Klimov competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, placing second and seventh at their two events, which earned them a spot in the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they finished seventh. They went on to win the Russian Junior title before securing a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

During the 2010-11 season, the pair continued their success on the junior circuit, winning both of their 2010-11 ISU Junior Grand Prix events in Austria and the United Kingdom. This qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they earned a silver medal, improving upon their previous season's standing. They also made their debut on the senior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fifth at Skate America. At the 2011 Russian Championships, they placed sixth in their senior national debut while simultaneously winning their second junior national title. Their junior career culminated with a silver medal at the 2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they notably outscored the previous year's junior champions, Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran.

2.2.2. Senior Transition and First Medals (2011-2013)

The 2011-12 season marked their full transition to the senior level. Stolbova and Klimov were assigned to two Grand Prix events: 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard, where they finished seventh, and 2011 Cup of Russia, where they placed fourth. At the 2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, they secured their first senior national medal, a silver, after placing third in the short program and second in the free skate. Although initially first alternates for the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships, they were called up to replace an injured pair. Capitalizing on this opportunity, they set new personal bests in both segments to earn their first European medal, a bronze, contributing to a Russian podium sweep.

For the 2012-13 season, Stolbova and Klimov focused on upgrading their twist element to a triple. Their international season began with a silver medal at the 2012 Coupe Internationale de Nice. They then earned their first senior Grand Prix medal, a bronze, at the 2012 Cup of China, and finished fifth at the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. They claimed their second consecutive senior national medal, a bronze, at the 2013 Russian Figure Skating Championships. Once again, they were called up as alternates for the 2013 European Figure Skating Championships, where they finished sixth in Zagreb. Following Europeans, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Bavarian Open. In April 2013, the pair decided to move to Moscow to train with Nina Mozer's coaching group, which included Vladislav Zhovnirski, Stanislav Morozov, Maxim Trankov, Pavel Sliusarenko, and Inna Utkina. Despite opposition from Oleg Nilov, head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, the move was approved by the Russian skating federation. Their training was briefly interrupted when Klimov sustained a broken leg after falling off a bicycle in late May 2013.

2.2.3. Olympic and World Championship Success (2013-2015)

The 2013-14 season proved to be a pivotal period for Stolbova and Klimov. They began their Grand Prix season with a bronze medal at 2013 Skate America. They then placed fourth overall at the 2013 Cup of Russia, despite a strong free skate that marked their first score above 130 points. The pair secured a gold medal at the Figure skating at the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy, followed by their first national title at the 2014 Russian Figure Skating Championships, narrowly outscoring the 2012 national champions. At the 2014 European Figure Skating Championships, they achieved a total score exceeding 200 points for the first time, earning a silver medal.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Stolbova and Klimov were assigned to the free skate in the inaugural Olympic team event. They placed first in their segment, contributing to Team Russia's gold medal victory. In the individual pairs event, they delivered strong performances, placing third in the short program and second in the free skate, resulting in an overall silver medal. This achievement saw them finish ahead of four-time World champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. In their first appearance at the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships, they continued their impressive season by winning a silver medal.

For the 2014-15 season, Stolbova and Klimov won both of their Grand Prix assignments, the 2014 Rostelecom Cup and 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard. Their free skate at the latter event was performed to a French vocal version, and they adapted it to a Spanish vocal version for the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, where they claimed silver behind Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. They secured their second consecutive national title at the 2015 Russian Figure Skating Championships and went on to win silver at the 2015 European Figure Skating Championships, despite leading the short program but dropping to second due to a mistake on their final element in the free skate. The pair made a strategic decision not to compete at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, China, opting instead to focus on mastering new throw jumps, including a quadruple throw.

2.2.4. Later Senior Career and Injuries (2015-2017)

The 2015-16 season began with a gold medal at the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy. At their first Grand Prix event, 2015 Skate America, they finished fourth after a challenging short program, but in the free skate, they became the first pair in history to land a clean side-by-side triple toe loop-triple toe loop-double toe loop combination jump. They rebounded to win gold at their second Grand Prix, the 2015 Rostelecom Cup. At the 2015-16 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Barcelona, they dominated both segments, scoring NaN Q 154.60 points in the free skate, just NaN Q 0.06 points shy of the then-world record, to win the gold medal with a total of NaN Q 229.44 points. However, their season was impacted by injuries; they withdrew from the 2016 Russian Figure Skating Championships due to an allergic reaction sustained by Klimov from a therapeutic massage, and subsequently from the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships because of a nerve problem affecting Klimov's arm and shoulder muscles. Despite these setbacks, they competed at the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, finishing fourth overall.

The 2016-17 season presented further injury challenges. In mid-July 2016, Stolbova developed severe inflammation in her left ankle caused by a nerve problem that arose after a change in her skating boots. This injury forced them to withdraw from both of their Grand Prix assignments. They made their return to competition in late December, winning gold at the 2017 Russian Figure Skating Championships by a narrow margin. In January 2017, they competed at the 2017 European Figure Skating Championships, placing fourth. Two months later, at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships, they finished fifth after a disappointing 13th place in the short program, but a strong third place in the free skate allowed them to recover some ground.

2.2.5. 2018 PyeongChang Olympics Exclusion (2017-2018)

In the 2017-18 Grand Prix season, Stolbova and Klimov earned two silver medals at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup and 2017 NHK Trophy, which qualified them for the 2017-18 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, where they placed fourth. They continued to earn silver medals at the 2018 Russian Figure Skating Championships and the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships, consistently performing at a high level and cementing their qualification for the upcoming Olympic Games.

However, on 23 January 2018, the Russian Figure Skating Federation announced that Stolbova was not invited to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics by the IOC. This decision was highly controversial, as the IOC did not provide a specific explanation for her exclusion, despite her clear qualification based on competitive results. This unexpected exclusion effectively closed her path to the Olympic Games, a significant blow for an athlete who had met all sporting criteria. The lack of transparency surrounding the decision raised questions about fairness and individual athlete rights, underscoring the broader geopolitical tensions impacting Russian athletes at the time. Following this, Stolbova and Klimov withdrew from the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships as Stolbova had suffered a right ankle ligament tear.

5.1.1. International: Junior

5.2.1. National: Junior Singles