Daniel Samohin

Daniel Samohin (Hebrew: דניאל סמוכין; born 12 March 1998) is a retired Israeli figure skater. He is the 2016 World Junior champion, and has won two ISU Challenger Series medals, including a gold medal at the 2015 U.S. International Classic. Samohin is one of the few skaters to have landed two quad jumps in a short program, three quads in a free program, and five quads in one competition. He was a member of the Israeli delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Daniel Samohin
Samohin at the 2019 Internationaux de France
Born	(1998-03-12) March 12, 1998 (age 25) Tel Aviv, Israel
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Israel
Coach	Igor Samohin
Skating club	Israel ISF
Began skating	2003
Medal record Representing  Israel Figure skating: Men's singles World Junior Championships 2016 Debrecen Men's singles

Personal life

Samohin was born on March 12, 1998, in Tel Aviv, Israel, is Jewish, and speaks two languages. ^[1][2] His parents – Irina, a former rhythmic gymnast, and Igor Samohin, a former figure skater who had competed internationally in pairs for the Soviet Union and who as a figure skating coach coached Israel's national team for five years in the 1990s – had arrived in Israel from Russia in 1996.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} He has a grandfather who lives in Russia, and a grandmother who lives in Israel.^[6] His brother, Stanislav, is 7+1⁄2 years older and competed in figure skating for both Russia and Israel.^[8] When he was 3+1⁄2 years old, Samohin moved with his mother to California in the United States, joining the rest of the family, who had moved earlier.^[3][5] His hometown is San Diego, California.^[9]

Skating career

Samohin began skating in 2003.^[1] His club is Ice Holon Israel.^[5] His father is his coach, and his mother has worked as his choreographer, as have Olga Volozhinskaia and Nikolai Morozov.^[5]

2013–14 season

Samohin made his international debut in September 2013 at an ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Mexico. He ranked sixth in the short program, and placed third in the free skate and was awarded the bronze medal, outscoring Canada's Nam Nguyen by 1.85 points. He finished fourth at his second JGP assignment, in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In March 2014, he finished 12th at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, having placed 17th in the short program and 10th in the free.

2014–15 season

During the 2014 JGP series, Samohin placed 8th in Ljubljana, Slovenia and 16th in Zagreb, Croatia. In September 2014, he debuted on the senior international level, finishing 11th at the Nebelhorn Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series (CS) event. After placing fourth at another CS event, the Volvo Open Cup, he took silver at a regular senior international, the Tallinn Trophy, behind fellow Israeli Oleksii Bychenko. Ranked 12th in the short and 5th in the free, he finished 8th overall at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

2015–16 season

Samohin withdrew from a senior Grand Prix event, the 2015 Cup of China, in order to continue competing on the junior level. Competing in September at the Junior Grand Prix in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he placed 7th in the short and second in the free; he won the silver medal, finishing almost 30 points behind Nathan Chen of the United States and 3.49 ahead of Japan's Sota Yamamoto. Later that month, he won his first CS medal, outscoring Keiji Tanaka by 11.33 points to take gold at the U.S. International Classic.

After winning a silver medal at his second JGP event in Logroño, Spain, Samohin qualified for the JGP Final. His second CS medal, silver, came in October at the 2015 Mordovian Ornament, where he scored 1.24 points less than Maxim Kovtun. Samohin finished fifth at the JGP Final. His next event was the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships, where he set a new personal best in the short program and finished 7th overall.

In March, Samohin won a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, winning the Single Skating Championship.^[10] He ranked 9th in the short program, but moved up to win the title after a personal-best free skate in which he landed three quadruple jumps. Samohin was the first Israeli skater to medal at Junior Worlds, and the first to win an ISU championship.^[11][12]

2016–17 season

Samohin started his season off at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International. he placed sixth overall. He then competed at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy where he finished thirteenth. Making his Grand Prix debut, Samohin placed 5th at the 2016 Skate Canada International and 8th at the 2016 Cup of China. In December, he won the silver medal behind Oleksii Bychenko at the 2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, having ranked first in the short program and 7th in the free skate.

Samohin's luggage containing his skates was mislaid by the airline and did not arrive with him at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, so he tried a borrowed new pair of skates four hours before the short program.^[13][14][15] He placed 33rd in the short, and did not advance to the free skate. His skates were found two and a half weeks later.^[13] He ranked 16th in the short program, second in the free skate, and sixth overall at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. He said that he was working on additional quads – loop, flip, and Lutz – but that they were not yet consistent for him.^[13]

In March 2017 he won the bronze medal at the Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck, Austria.^[9] He also won a bronze medal in the ISU CS Minsk Arena Ice Star 2017, in Minsk, Belarus.^[9]

2017–18 season

Samohin withdrew from the 2017 Skate America in November 2017, after dislocating his left shoulder when he fell on a quad Salchow.^[16]

He competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Men's Singles Figure Skating in Pyeongchang, South Korea, at the age of 19.^[17] He came in 13th, with 251.44 points, additionally setting a personal best score of 170.75 in the free skate.^[18]

He finished 20th at Worlds after scoring 20th in the short program and 18th in the free skate.

2018–19 season

Samohin started his season off at the 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy. Placing 7th in the short program and 6th in the free skate, he placed 6th overall, He then competed at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy where he finished 6th. He withdrew from the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. In his Grand Prix events, he placed 8th at 2018 Skate Canada International and 10th at 2018 Internationaux de France.^{[citation needed]}

2019–20 season

Samohin began the season with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, before placing tenth at the 2019 Internationaux de France. Samohin withdrew from the 2019 Rostelecom Cup after placing eleventh in the short program, citing injury.^[19] He won the silver medal at the Israeli championships, concluding his season.

2020–21 season

With the coronavirus pandemic leading to the ISU assigning Grand Prix events based primarily on training location, Samohin was assigned to the 2020 Skate America following the withdrawal of Stephen Gogolev.^[20] He placed twelfth of twelve skaters at the event.^[21]

2021–22 season

Samohin began the international season with two minor events, a fifth place finish at the Skating Club of Boston's Cranberry Cup before coming in seventh at the 2021 U.S. International Classic. On the Challenger series, he placed eighteenth at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria and twenty-third at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[22]

Records and achievements

• Set the junior-level men's record for the free program to 165.38 points at the 2016 Junior Worlds, previously held by Shoma Uno.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2021-2022	L'immensità by Johnny Dorelli performed by Il Volo choreo. by Irina Samohina	Dawn of Faith by Eternal Eclipse choreo. by Irina Samohina
2020–2021 ^[23]	Natural by Imagine Dragons	Sarajevo Chase Files Train (from The Peacemaker) by Hans Zimmer
2019–2020 ^[24]	Fastidious Horses (from White Night) by Vladimir Vysocki
2018–2019 ^[25]	Senza Parole by Il Divo	Once Upon a Time in Mexico by Robert Rodriguez
2017–2018 ^[26]	L'immensità by Johnny Dorelli performed by Il Volo It's a Man's Man's Man's World performed by Seal	Two Angels by Sergei Erdenko, performed by Loyko [ru]	Tennessee Whiskey performed by Chris Stapleton
2016–2017 ^[1]	Delilah by Tom Jones	The Illusionist by Maxime Rodriguez	Crazy Santa
2015–2016 ^[27]^[4]	Still Loving You by The Scorpions choreo. by Irina Samohina	Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer choreo. by Irina Samohina
2014–2015 ^[28]	Still Loving You by The Scorpions choreo. by Irina Samohina	Once Upon a Time in Mexico by Robert Rodriguez choreo. by Irina Samohina
2013–2014 ^[29]	Road of the Gypsies by Nikolai Erdenko choreo. by Irina Samohina	Hip Hop Tango by DJ choreo. by Irina Samohina

Competitive highlights

For Israel

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

International^[22]
Event	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22
Olympics					13th
Worlds					20th	24th
Europeans		10th	7th	33rd	26th	13th
GP Cup of China			WD	8th
GP France						10th	10th
GP Rostelecom Cup					12th		WD
GP Skate America					WD			12th
GP Skate Canada				5th		8th
CS Autumn Classic				6th
CS Cup of Austria									18th
CS Denis Ten MC									WD
CS Finlandia				13th		WD
CS Golden Spin				2nd		4th	15th		23rd
CS Ice Star					3rd
CS Mordovian			2nd
CS Nebelhorn		11th				6th	5th
CS Ondrej Nepela						6th
CS Volvo Cup		4th
CS U.S. Classic			1st		10th
CS Warsaw Cup									WD
Challenge Cup							9th	WD
Cranberry Cup									5th
Cup of Tyrol				3rd
Open Ice Mall						1st
Philadelphia			1st
Tallinn Trophy		2nd
U.S. Classic									7th
International: Junior^[22]
Junior Worlds	12th	8th	1st	6th
JGP Final			5th
JGP Croatia		16th
JGP Czech Republic	4th
JGP Mexico	3rd
JGP Slovenia		8th
JGP Spain			2nd
JGP U.S.			2nd
Bavarian Open	2nd J
Toruń Cup	1st J
National
Israeli Champ.		1st	2nd	2nd		1st	2nd		3rd
Levels: N = Novice, J = Junior TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

For the United States

National^[30]
Event	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13
U.S. Championships	9th V	8th V	1st V	4th I		4th N
Pacific Coast						1st N
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

2021–22 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
December 9–11, 2021	2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	23 56.85	18 126.12	23 182.97
November 11–14, 2021	2021 CS Cup of Austria	16 66.33	20 118.18	18 184.51
September 14–17, 2021	2021 U.S. International Classic	7 66.54	5 140.82	7 207.36
2020–21 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
October 23–24, 2020	2020 Skate America	12 61.60	12 122.94	12 184.54
2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 20–23, 2020	2020 Challenge Cup	9 66.54	6 126.20	9 192.74
December 4–7, 2019	2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	11 71.45	20 115.90	15 187.35
November 15–17, 2019	2019 Rostelecom Cup	11 56.94	WD	–
November 1–3, 2019	2019 Internationaux de France	8 70.84	10 122.82	10 193.66
September 25–28, 2019	2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	3 69.52	5 135.59	5 205.11
2018–19 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	15 82.00	24 123.28	24 205.28
20–23 February 2019	2019 Open Ice Mall Cup	1 91.32	2 147.29	1 238.61
21–27 January 2019	2019 European Championships	6 86.48	14 130.69	13 217.17
December 5–8, 2018	2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	4 85.10	6 145.44	4 230.54
November 23–25, 2018	2018 Internationaux de France	10 72.33	9 133.66	10 205.99
October 26–28, 2018	2018 Skate Canada International	5 84.90	9 140.99	8 225.89
September 26–29, 2018	2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	4 71.60	6 117.43	6 189.04
19–22 September 2018	2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy	7 70.93	6 126.87	6 197.80
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
19–25 March 2018	2018 World Championships	20 72.78	18 141.23	20 214.01
16–17 February 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	18 80.69	11 170.75	13 251.44
15–21 January 2018	2018 European Championships	26 59.18	–	26 59.18
24–26 November 2017	2017 Skate America	5 82.28	WD	–
26–29 October 2017	2017 CS Minsk-Arena Ice Star	6 72.76	4 146.99	3 219.75
20–22 October 2017	2017 Rostelecom Cup	12 62.02	12 121.77	12 183.79
13–17 September 2017	2017 CS U.S. International Classic	11 64.74	9 126.46	10 191.20
2016–17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
25–29 January 2017	2017 European Championships	33 50.33	–	33 50.33
7–10 December 2016	2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 82.35	7 143.77	2 226.12
18–20 November 2016	2016 Cup of China	2 83.47	10 130.04	8 213.51
28–30 October 2016	2016 Skate Canada	5 74.62	7 152.91	5 226.53
6–10 October 2016	2016 CS Finlandia Trophy	14 52.03	13 108.94	13 160.97
29 Sept. – 1 Oct. 2016	2016 CS Autumn Classic International	7 60.81	7 129.09	6 189.90

Junior level

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Previous ISU world best highlighted in bold.

 

Samohin at the 2015–16 JGP Final

2016–17 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
15–19 March 2017	2017 World Junior Championships	Junior	16 67.00	2 165.63	6 232.63
2015–16 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
14–20 March 2016	2016 World Junior Championships	Junior	9 71.27	1 165.38	1 236.65
26–31 January 2016	2016 European Championships	Senior	5 82.73	8 149.35	7 232.08
9–13 December 2015	2015 JGP Final	Junior	5 69.48	5 115.20	5 184.68
16–19 October 2015	2015 Mordovian Ornament	Senior	1 79.66	2 155.48	2 235.14
30 Sept. – 3 Oct. 2015	2015 JGP Spain	Junior	2 67.96	1 159.23	2 227.19
16–20 September 2015	2015 CS U.S. Classic	Senior	3 71.52	2 152.15	1 223.67
2–5 September 2015	2015 JGP United States	Junior	7 58.53	2 148.64	2 207.17
3–5 August 2017	2015 Philadelphia Summer International	Senior	3 63.41	1 125.36	1 188.77
2014–15 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
2–8 March 2015	2015 World Junior Championships	Junior	12 67.00	5 135.39	8 202.39
26 Jan. – 1 Feb. 2015	2015 European Championships	Senior	8 72.65	9 137.28	10 209.93
3–7 December 2014	2014 Tallinn Trophy	Senior	2 60.40	2 124.54	2 184.94
5–9 November 2014	2014 CS Volvo Open Cup	Senior	3 61.91	4 121.56	4 183.47
9–10 October 2014	2014 JGP Croatia	Junior	16 50.04	16 95.88	16 145.92
24–27 September 2014	2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	Senior	11 49.67	14 94.86	11 144.53
2013–14 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
10–16 March 2014	2014 World Junior Championships	Junior	17 58.84	10 120.64	12 179.48
29 January – February 2 2014	2014 Bavarian Open	Junior	2 60.09	2 105.57	2 165.66
8 January – January 11 2014	2014 Toruń Cup	Junior	1 65.24	1 125.19	1 190.43
2–5 October 2013	2013 JGP Czech Skate	Junior	9 51.80	4 117.18	4 168.98
Sept. 4–8, 2013	2013 JGP Mexico	Junior	6 59.36	3 123.53	3 182.89

• Personal best highlighted in bold.

References

1. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. "2018 Winter Olympics," Jewish Sports Review, March/April 2018, Vol. 11, No. 6, Issue 126, page 2.
3. Flade, Tatjana (August 5, 2016). "Making history good starting point for Israel's Daniel Samohin". Golden Skate.
4. Rutherford, Lynn (July 20, 2015). "In every sense of the word, Samohin emulates Chan". IceNetwork.com.
5. Figure Skating | Athlete Profile: Daniel SAMOHIN - Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
6. Daniel Samohin: “It’s Easier To Do Quads Than Triples” | europeonice.com
7. "Daniel Samohin: 'I take risks because I skate for Israel'; One of figure skating's most powerful jumpers, the 19-year-old could steal the show in Pyeongchang."
8. "Stanislav SAMOHIN". International Skating Union.
9. "Daniel SAMOHIN, ISR, Biography"
10. Flade, Tatjana (19 March 2016). "Samohin catapults to gold; makes history for Israel". Golden Skate.
11. "Samohin wins Israel's first-ever world junior title". IceNetwork.com. March 18, 2016.
12. Bőd, Titanilla (October 28, 2016). "Daniel Samohin - climbing to the top". Absolute Skating.
13. Olenina, H.; Yoshida, Hiro (17 March 2017). "Daniel Samohin Finds Strength in Adversity". Europe on Ice.
14. Berlot, Jean-Christophe (January 28, 2017). "Czech guláš: Samohin battles on borrowed blades". IceNetwork.com.
15. Bőd, Titanilla (January 28, 2017). "Europeans 2017, Ostrava, day three: Medvedeva's world record". Absolute Skating.
16. Leamy, Liz (November 26, 2017). "2017 Skate America - Men's Free Skate". iceskatingintnl.com.
17. "Israelis Bychenko, Samohin dazzle in Pyeongchang ice rink," The Jerusalem Post.
18. "Israeli figure skaters finish 11th, 13th at Winter Olympics"
19. Slater, Paula (November 16, 2019). "Alexander Samarin wins gold in Russian sweep at Rostelecom Cup". Golden Skate.
20. "2020 Skate America". International Figure Skating. October 20, 2020.
21. "ISU GP 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America". U.S. Figure Skating.
22. "Competition Results: Daniel SAMOHIN". International Skating Union.
23. "Daniel SAMOHIN: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. from the original on October 20, 2020.
24. "Daniel SAMOHIN: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. from the original on October 31, 2019.
25. "Daniel SAMOHIN: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. from the original on December 15, 2018.
26. "Daniel SAMOHIN: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. from the original on October 22, 2017.
27. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
28. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
29. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
30. "USA – Daniel SAMOHIN". Skating Scores. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

External links

  Media related to Daniel Samohin at Wikimedia Commons

• Daniel Samohin at the International Skating Union 
• Daniel Samohin at Olympics.com 
• Daniel Samohin at Olympedia 
• Daniel Samohin on Instagram