Camille Kovalev
Camille Kovalev
Camille and Pavel Kovalev at the 2025 World Championships
Personal information
Other namesCamille Mendoza
Born (1994-11-29) 29 November 1994
Toulouse, France
Home townAngers, France
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country France
DisciplinePair skating
PartnerPavel Kovalev (since 2014)Christopher Boyadji(2011–12)
CoachBruno Massot
Skating clubClub Olympique de Courbevoie
Began skating2000
Medal record
French Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Cergy-PontoisePairs
Gold medal – first place2023 RouenPairs
Gold medal – first place2024 VaujanyPairs
Gold medal – first place2025 AnnecyPairs
Gold medal – first place2026 BrianconPairs
Silver medal – second place2016 ÉpinalPairs
Silver medal – second place2020 DunkirkPairs
Bronze medal – third place2017 CaenPairs
Bronze medal – third place2019 VaujanyPairs

Camille Kovalev (néeMendoza; born 29 November 1994 in Toulouse) is a French pair skater.

With Pavel Kovalev, she is a two-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, 2018 Volvo Open Cup silver medalist, 2015 International Cup of Nice bronze medalist, 2015 Lombardia Trophy bronze medalist, and is a five-time French national champion (2022-26).

Earlier in her career, she skated with Christopher Boyadji and competed in the final segment at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

Personal life

Kovalev was born on 29 November 1994 in Toulouse, France. She married her skating partner, Pavel Kovalev, in December 2017 and subsequently adopted his last name.[1]

Career

Early career

Camille Kovalev and Christopher Boyadji at the 2012 World Junior Championships

Kovalev began figure skating in 2000 at the age of six.[1][2] She would begin competing as a pair skater in 2011 after teaming up with Christopher Boyadji. Coached by Vivien Rolland and Diana Skotnicka, Kovalev/Boyadji represented the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.[3] They competed at the 2012 World Junior Championships, where they would finish sixteenth. Their partnership would eventually dissolve following the 2011–12 figure skating season.[4]

Pair skating with Pavel Kovalev

2014–2015 season

In 2014, it was announced that Kovalev had teamed up with Russian pair skater, Pavel Kovalev and that they would be coached by Medhi Bouzzine and that they would represent the Club Olympique de Courbevoie.[5][6]

Their first competition as a team was at the 2014 Master's de Patinage, although they would withdraw from the event after placing third in the short program. They would subsequently compete at the 2014 NRW Trophy and the 2015 Bavarian Open, finishing fourth at both events.[7]

2015–2016 season

The Kovalevs started the season by winning their first international medal together, a bronze at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy. They would then go on to win silver at the 2015 Master's de Patinage and bronze at the 2015 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win silver at the 2016 French Championships. They then closed the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Bavarian Open.[7]

2016–2017 season

Beginning the season with a gold medal win at the 2016 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs would subsequently finish sixth at the 2016 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and fourth at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy.[7]

They would end the season by winning bronze at the 2017 French Championships.[7]

2017–2018 season

The Kovalevs started the season by winning bronze at the 2017 Master's de Patinage. They would then compete at the 2017 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy, finishing eighth and fifth, respectively.[7]

2018–2019 season

The Kovalevs began the season by winning silver at the 2018 Master's de Patinage and at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup. They then concluded the season by winning bronze at the 2019 French Championships.[7]

2019–2020 season

Beginning the season at the 2020 Master's de Patinage, the Kovalevs won the gold medal. They would then go on to compete on the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series, finishing thirteenth at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup and seventeenth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs would win their second national silver medal at the 2020 French Championships.[7]

2020–2021 season

The Kovalevs only competed at one event that season, the 2020 Master's de Patinage, where they won the bronze medal.[7]

2021–2022 season: First national title and World Championship debut

In fall 2021, it was announced that the Kovalevs were now being coached by Laurent Depouilly in Courbevoie.[1] They started the season by finishing seventh at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix series debut at the 2021 Internationaux de France, the pair would come in seventh place.[7]

In December, they would win their first national title at the 2022 French Championships. With this result, the Kovalevs were selected to represent France at the European and World Championships for a first time. At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, they would come in fourteenth place.[7]

In March 2022, the International Skating Union banned athletes representing Russia from competing at international events as a result of their invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send any athletes to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France.[8] Because of this, the Kovalevs finished World Championships with a strong eighth-place.[7]

2022–2023 season: First Grand Prix medal

The Kovalevs began the season by finishing sixth at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy before going on to win gold at the 2022 Master's de Patinage.[7]

Going on to compete on the 2022–23 Grand Prix circuit, the pair won their first Grand Prix medal, a silver, at the 2022 Grand Prix de France. They would subsequently finish fifth at the 2022 NHK Trophy.[7]

In December, the Kovalevs won the national title for a second consecutive time at the 2023 French Championships. Named to the European and World team, the Kovalevs would finish sixth at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland and fourteenth at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.[7]

Selected to compete for Team France in the pairs discipline at the 2023 World Team Trophy, the pair would individually place fifth and Team France would finish in fifth place overall.[7]

2023–2024 season: Second Grand Prix medal

The Kovalevs started the season by winning gold at the 2023 John Nicks Pairs Challenge. Following a ninth-place finish at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, the pair would win gold for a fourth time at the 2023 Master's de Patinage. They would subsequently compete at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they placed fifth.[7]

Competing on the 2023–24 Grand Prix circuit, the Kovalevs won the bronze medal at the 2023 Grand Prix de France. “We are so happy,” said Camille. “We came here with the goal to win a medal and we did it. We fought until the end to get it!”[9] They went on to finish fifth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.[7] In December, they would win their third national title at the 2024 French Championships.[7]

The pair then went on to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, despite Camille developing a fever two days before the event. During the short program, Camille would have a very hard fall on the throw triple flip, landing on her chest. She would then fall again on the side-by-side triple toe. As a result of these mistakes, the pair would only place fifteenth in the short program. They would end up withdrawing before the free skate due to Camille's illness.[10][11][7] The Kovalevs would subsequently compete at the 2024 International Challenge Cup, where they took the bronze medal.[7]

Weeks before the 2024 World Championships, the Kovalevs announced that they would not compete at the event due to Pavel injuring himself from a very bad fall in training.[12]

In June, the pair announced that while continuing their coaching relationship with Laurent Depouilly, that they would begin training at the ASGA Figure Skating Club.[13]

2024–2025 season

During the off-season, Pavel dislocated his ankle and underwent surgery during the summer. He would also injure his back shortly after returning to the ice and would subsequently be forced to miss another two weeks of training. The Kovalevs, having initially been told by doctors that they would likely need to sit out of the beginning of the season, Pavel would eventually be cleared to skate at the 2024 Master's de Patinage in late September, much earlier than the couple would have expected. They would ultimately win silver at the event.[7][14][15] They would subsequently finish sixth at the 2024 Tayside Trophy.[7]

Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, the Kovalevs finished seventh at the 2024 Grand Prix de France and sixth at the 2024 Cup of China.[7]

In late December, the Kovalevs won their fourth national title at the 2025 French Championships.[7]

The Kovalevs then competed at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they finished ninth overall. They subsequently finished fourth at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.[7]

Selected to compete at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, the Kovalevs placed twenty-first in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment. They then closed the season by competing for Team France at the 2025 World Team Trophy, placing sixth in all segments of the pairs event and Team France finished fourth overall.[7][16][17]

2025–2026 season

In June, the Kovalevs announced that they had made a coaching change from Laurent Depouilly to Bruno Massot.[18]

They opened the season by winning gold at the 2025 Master's de Patinage. They then competed at the 2025 Skate to Milano, the final Olympic qualifying event. At the event, the Kovalevs placed second in the short program and fifth in the free skate, placing fourth overall.[7] Due to this placement, Team France was given the first alternate spot for pair skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[19]

Going on to compete on the 2025–26 Grand Prix series, the Kovalevs finished sixth at the 2025 Grand Prix de France.[7] They went on to compete at the 2025 NHK Trophy, however, Camille sustained a shoulder injury following a fall on their side-by-side triple toe attempt in the short program. As a result, the team was forced to withdraw. According to their coach, Bruno Massot, the injury involved a dislocation, but the available three-minute injury recovery period was insufficient for her to resume skating. Kovalev did not require immediate hospital treatment and was expected to undergo further evaluation upon returning home.[20]

In December, the Kovalevs competed at the 2026 French Championships, where they won their fifth national title.[7] They were subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team to compete in the figure skating team event.[21] The following month, the Kovalevs competed at the 2026 European Championships in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom, where they finished in tenth place.[7]

Less than two weeks before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, it was announced that the Winter Sports Association of Uzbekistan had reliquinshed their sole Olympic pair skating spot. As the first alternates, the Kovalevs were selected to compete in the Games' individual pair event.[22]

Programs

With Pavel Kovalev

Season Short programFree skatingExhibition
2025–2026[23]
  • Maison by Emilio Piano & Lucie
2024–2025[24]
2023–2024[25]
2022–2023[26]
2021–22[1]
  • The Curseby Agnes Obelchoreo. by Nathalie Depouilly
2018–19[27]
2017–18[27]
2016–17[27]
2015–16[27][5]
2014–15[27][5]
  • Industrial Revolution, Part 2 by Nic Raine choreo. by Léonie Corbin

With Christopher Boyadji

Season Short programFree skating
2011–12 [3]

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Pavel Kovalev

Competition placements at senior level [7]
Season 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Winter OlympicsTBD
Winter Olympics (Team event)TBD
World Championships8th 14th 21st
European Championships14th 6th WD 9th 10th
French Championships2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
World Team Trophy5th (5th) 4th (6th)
GPCup of China6th
GPFinland5th
GPFrance7th 2nd 3rd 7th 6th
GPNHK Trophy5th WD
CSAutumn Classic9th
CSFinlandia Trophy5th
CSGolden Spin of Zagreb17th 6th
CSNebelhorn Trophy6th
CSTallinn Trophy4th 5th
CSWarsaw Cup13th
Bavarian Open4th 4th
Challenge Cup3rd
Cup of Nice3rd 6th 8th
John Nicks Challenge1st
Lombardia Trophy3rd 7th
Master's de PatinageWD 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 2nd 1st
NRW Trophy4th
Road to 26 Trophy 4th
Skate to Milano4th
Tayside Trophy6th
Volvo Open Cup2nd

Pair skating with Christopher Boyadji

Competition placements at junior level [4]
Season 2011–12
World Junior Championships16th
JGPEstonia10th
Bavarian Open1st
Master's de Patinage1st

Detailed results

Pair skating with Pavel Kovalev

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [7]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS179.852022 Grand Prix de France
Short programTSS64.282025 Skate to Milano
TES36.672022 Grand Prix de France
PCS29.212023 World Team Trophy
Free skatingTSS115.872022 Grand Prix de France
TES57.302023 World Team Trophy
PCS59.862022 Grand Prix de France
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [7]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS141.872016 CS Tallinn Trophy
Short programTSS51.762017 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES29.442017 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS22.322017 CS Tallinn Trophy
Free skatingTSS91.112016 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES46.352016 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS45.762016 CS Tallinn Trophy
Results in the 2024–25 season[7]
Date Event SPFSTotal
PScore PScore PScore
Sep 26–28, 2024 France2024 Master's de Patinage2 42.75 2 94.88 2 137.63
Oct 12–13, 2024 United Kingdom2024 Tayside Trophy3 52.72 6 92.61 6 145.33
Nov 1–3, 2024 France2024 Grand Prix de France7 54.81 6 102.23 7 157.04
Nov 22–24, 2024 China2024 Cup of China6 54.01 6 103.10 6 157.11
Dec 4–7, 2024 Croatia2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb5 54.52 5 103.93 6 158.45
Dec 20–21, 2024 France2025 French Championships1 65.93 1 112.82 1 178.75
Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 Estonia2025 European Championships8 57.13 9 110.50 9 167.63
Feb 18–20, 2025 Italy Road to 26 Trophy 8 48.68 4 106.17 4 154.85
Mar 25–30, 2025 United States2025 World Championships21 54.07 N/aN/a21 54.07
Apr 17–20, 2025 Japan2025 World Team Trophy6 54.74 6 107.45 4 (6) 162.19
Results in the 2025–26 season[7]
Date Event SPFSTotal
PScore PScore PScore
Aug 28–30, 2025 France2025 Master's de Patinage1 65.41 1 112.93 1 178.34
Sep 18–21, 2025 China2025 Skate to Milano2 64.28 5 107.30 4 171.58
Oct 17–19, 2025 France2025 Grand Prix de France6 59.00 6 101.62 6 160.62
Dec 18–20, 2025 France2026 French Championships1 63.79 1 113.27 1 177.06
Jan 13–18, 2026 United Kingdom2026 European Championships8 58.25 10 106.84 10 165.09

References

  1. ^ abcd"Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022.
  2. ^Pomiès, Fabien (25 April 2007). "Patinage artistique. Du talent et de l'élégance dans les patins". ladepeche.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  3. ^ ab"Camille MENDOZA / Christopher BOYADJI: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
  4. ^ ab"FRA-Camille Kovalev / Christopher Boyadji". SkatingScores.com.
  5. ^ abc"Travail d'équipe..."Skate-Info. Skate-Info. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  6. ^"Camille MENDOZA / Pavel KOVALEV: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajak"FRA-Camille Kovalev / Pavel Kovalev". SkatingScores.com.
  8. ^Campigotto, Jesse (March 22, 2022). "Get ready for a bizarre figure skating world championships". CBC Sports.
  9. ^Slater, Paula (November 4, 2023). "Pereira and Michaud take Pairs title at Grand Prix de France". Golden Skate.
  10. ^"LIVE - Pairs Short Program - ISU European Championships - Kaunas 2024". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  11. ^"Pour préserver l'intégrité physique de Camille, malade, elle et son mari Pavel Kovalev ont déclaré forfait pour le programme libre de ce jeudi". Lequipe. Lequipe. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  12. ^Kovalev, Camille. "Juste une petite annonce, pas la plus agréable à faire mais importante..."Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  13. ^Kovalev, Camille. "On vous annonce officiellement qu'on a décidé de rejoindre le club @asgapatinageartistique pour les saisons à venir". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  14. ^Mathieu, Solène. "Interview Camille et Pavel Kovalev, Laurent Depouilly : cap vers Angers pour l'objectif JO". Skate-Info. Skate-Info. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  15. ^Kovalev, Camille. "Fin des Masters 2024, Nous étions présent pour avancer dans notre préparation en vue des Grands Prix". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  16. ^Slater, Paula (April 18, 2025). "Team USA maintains lead at 2025 World Team Trophy". Golden Skate.
  17. ^Slater, Paula (April 19, 2025). "Team USA secures sixth title at World Team Trophy". Golden Skate.
  18. ^"✨ Nouveau coach ✨". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  19. ^"Communication No. 2741 - OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 2026 ENTRIES/PARTICIPATION SINGLE & PAIR SKATING AND ICE DANCE"(PDF). International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  20. ^Slater, Paula (November 8, 2025). "Italian Pair Conti and Macii triumph at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
  21. ^"🚨 SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE 🚨 𝗘𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻-𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲". Instagram. Equipe de France. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  22. ^Penicaud, Céline. "JO de Milano Cortina 2026 : Camille et Pavel Kovalev participeront aussi à l'épreuve de couples en patinage artistique". Olympics.com. Olympics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  23. ^"Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 August 2025.
  24. ^"Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024.
  25. ^"Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024.
  26. ^"Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  27. ^ abcde"Camille Kovalev & Pavel Kovalev". Golden Skate.

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