_by_Sandro_Halank%25E2%2580%2593021.jpg) Luka Berulava at the2020 Winter Youth Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | ლუკა ბერულავა |
| Born | (2002-11-27)27 November 2002 (age 22) |
| Home town | Perm, Russia |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Georgia |
| Discipline | Pair skating |
| Partner | Anastasiia Metelkina (since 2023) Karina Safina (2021–22) Alina Butaeva (2019–20) |
| Coach | Pavel Sliusarenko Egor Zukroev |
| Began skating | 2005 |
| Medal record | |
Luka Berulava (Russian:Лука Берулава;Georgian:ლუკა ბერულავა; born 27 November 2002) is a Russian-bornpair skater who currently competes for Georgia. With current partnerAnastasia Metelkina, he is a two-timeEuropean Championship medalist,2024–25 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a three-timeGrand Prix medalist. On the junior level, Metelkina/Berulava are two-timeWorld Junior champions (2024,2025), the2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a two-timeISU Junior Grand Prix gold medalist.
Berulava first emerged on the international scene with partnerAlina Butaeva, with whom he won two medals at the2020 Winter Youth Olympics − bronze in pairs and gold in the team event. He then formed a new partnership withKarina Safina. Safina/Berulava were the first Georgian pair medalists on theISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, and the first Georgians to win aWorld Junior title in any discipline when they won gold in2022.[1] At the senior level they won a bronze medal at the2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, achieved notable fourth-place finishes at both the2022 World Championships and the2022 European Championships, and represented Georgia at the2022 Winter Olympics.
Berulava was born on 27 November 2002 inMoscow.[2][3] He is of Georgian descent but was born in Russia after his family decided to relocate due to war-related concerns.[4]
He resides inPerm, where he also trains with partnerAnastasiia Metelkina.[2][5]
Berulava began learning to skate in 2005.[2] In 2019, he teamed up with Russia'sAlina Butaeva to compete inpair skating. The pair decided to train inPerm, coached by Pavel Sliusarenko and Alexei Menshikov.[2]
The two made their debut for Georgia in September 2019, placing eighth at anISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event inPoland[6] and then sixth atJGP Croatia.[7] Their results earned a spot for Georgia in the pairs' event at the2020 Winter Youth Olympics.[8] In November, they took bronze in the junior pairs' category at theVolvo Open Cup inRiga, Latvia.[9] In December, they won the junior event at theGolden Spin of Zagreb.[10]
In January 2020, the pair competed at the2020 Winter Youth Olympics inLausanne, Switzerland. They finished third in the short program behind two pairs from Russia,[11] then did likewise in the free skating program. Their combined score put them in third place with a bronze medal.[12] This was Georgia's first medal in theWinter Youth Olympic Games, and their tenth medal in theYouth Olympic Games overall.[13] The pair also received a gold medal for their participation in theteam event as part of Team Courage, alongsideArlet Levandi from Estonia,Ksenia Sinitsyna from Russia, and ice dancersYoshida/Nishiyama from Japan.[14] Butaeva/Berulava finished the season at the2020 World Junior Championships, where they placed seventh.[15]
After the end of his partnership with Butaeva, Berulava formed a new partnership with Russian pair skaterKarina Safina. With international junior competition resuming following theCOVID-19 pandemic causing the 2020–21 junior season to be cancelled, Safina/Berulava made theirJunior Grand Prix debut at the2021 JGP Slovakia. they won the silver medal behind gold medal-winning Russian teamMukhortova/Evgenyev, and ahead of third place Russian teamKostiukovich/Briukhanov. Their placement marked Georgia's firstJunior Grand Prix medal in pair skating.[1]
Safina/Berulava next made their senior international debut at the2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to attempt toqualify a berth for Georgia in the pairs event at the2022 Winter Olympics. The team set a new personal best to win the short program by a narrow margin over German teamHase/Seegert. They fell to third in the free program after losing their forward inside death spiral and one of their lifts, and ultimately finished third overall to successfully qualify for an Olympic spot in their discipline for Georgia. Berulava remarked afterwards, "we would like to have done it in a better, nicer way."[16] Their performance, along with Georgian ice dance teamKazakova/Reviya's podium placement, also qualified a spot for Georgia in the Olympic team event.
Safina/Berulava returned to the Junior Grand Prix circuit in October for their second assignment, the2021 JGP Austria inLinz. They placed third in both segments to finish third overall behind Russian teamsKhabibullina/Knyazhuk and Mukhortova/Evgenyev. Due to the unique qualification process for the 2021–22 season, the team did not advance to the2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final, despite two podium finishes.[17]
In December, Safina/Berulava faced domestic rivalsMetelkina/Parkman for the first time in international competition at the2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. Safina/Berulava set a new personal best to win the short program but fell to eighth in the free program standings after errors on their side-by-side jumping passes and losing their forward inside death spiral. The team placed seventh overall, while Metelkina/Parkman advanced onto the podium and took home the silver medal.[17] Metelkina/Parkman initially received the nod for the Georgian pairs berth at the2022 European Championships; however, Safina/Berulava replaced them after they withdrew from the event on 9 January. At Europeans, Safina/Berulava placed sixth in the short program after falling on their side-by-side triple Salchows. They delivered a stronger performance in the free skate, albeit still struggling with their side-by-side jumps, to climb to fourth in the segment and fourth overall, the best of the non-Russian competitors.[18]
The day after the pairs free skate at the European Championships, Safina/Berulava were officially named to theGeorgian team for the2022 Winter Olympics by the Georgian Figure Skating Federation.[19] Safina/Berulava made their Olympic debut in theteam event before the opening ceremony on February 3. They cleanly skated their short program to place sixth in the segment out of nine and earn five points towards Team Georgia's combined score.[20] However, despite scoring 22 team points overall to tie for fifth place with Team China going into the free skate, Team Georgia lost the tie-breaker and did not advance.[21] In thepairs event, Safina/Berulava were ninth in the short program and eighth in the free skate, for ninth overall.[22][23]
Days after the Olympics concluded,Vladimir Putin ordered aninvasion of Ukraine, as a result of which theInternational Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian skaters from competing at the2022 World Championships. As well, theChinese Skating Association opted not to send athletes to compete inMontpellier. As those countries' athletes comprised the entirety of the top five pairs at the Olympics, this greatly impacted the field.[24] Safina and Berulava relocated to train in Italy. They placed fourth in the short program at the World Championships with a clean skate.[25] They were fourth in the free skate to finish fourth overall, the only error in the latter segment being Safina doubling out on a triple Salchow attempt.[26]
Due to the pandemic, theWorld Junior Championships could not be held in their scheduled location ofSofia, and as a result, they were moved toTallinn and held in mid-April, rather than their traditional early March timeframe.[27] As Russian pair teams were also banned from attending this event, Safina/Berulava entered as heavy favourites for the gold medal.[28][29] They won the short program with a clean skate and a 67.77 score.[30] They also won the free skate, taking the title by a margin of almost twenty points. Berulava reflected that "it was a long and busy season with many competitions and to end it with a gold medal is really nice."[31]
Safina and Berulava were assigned to make their seniorGrand Prix debut in the fall. Despite dealing with an injury in the lead-up to their first event, the2022 Grand Prix de France, they placed third in the short program, with Safina saying, "I am more pleased than not pleased with our performance today because nothing really worked in practice for me. We have still a lot of work ahead of us, and I think I've done the maximum of what I can do at the moment."[32] They struggled in the free skate, placing sixth in that segment and dropping to fifth overall.[33] The team later withdrew from their second assignment, the2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.
After missing most of the season, Safina/Berulava returned to compete at the2023 World Championships, but struggled at the event and came nineteenth.[17] The following month, Safina announced that Berulava had opted to end their partnership.[34] He subsequently confirmed this, expressing "deep gratitude to Karina."[35]
On June 5, it was announced by the Georgian Federation that Berulava had teamed up withAnastasia Metelkina.[36] Metelkina/Berulava opted to make their competitive debut on theJunior Grand Prix, winning the gold medal at the2023 JGP Turkey inIstanbul. Despite two falls in their free skate, their margin of victory over American silver medalistsFlores/Wang was almost 27 points.[37] Two weeks later they earned the gold at their second event, the2023 JGP Hungary inBudapest, despite difficulties on their jump elements. Metelkina/Berulava's results qualified them to theJunior Grand Prix Final in December; they said they planned on getting senior-level experience in the meantime.[38]
Metelkina/Berulava made their senior debut at theWarsaw Cup, winning the gold medal.[39] They then entered the Junior Grand Prix Final as heavy favourites to take the title, and won by a 34-point margin over Canadian silver medalistsKemp/Elizarov. They were the first Georgian pair team to win the Junior Grand Prix Final gold.[40]
Entering the2024 European Championships inKaunas as among the favourites, Metelkina/Berulava took first place in the short program, winning a gold small medal. Metelkina erred on both of her jump sequences in the free skate, and they came fifth in that segment, dropping to second place overall. Berulava remarked that "not everything worked out. But it's only our first season together and silver is also a medal."[41]
Having medaled at a senior championship event before returning to juniors, Metelkina/Berulava were heavy favourites at the2024 World Junior Championships inTaipei, and won the short program by a margin of 9.20 points. They struggled in the free skate, with errors on all four jumping elements, but still finished first in that segment as well, and claimed the gold medal. Both vowed to work harder in training after the difficulties in the free program.[42]
Making their seniorWorld Championship debut as a team at the2024 edition inMontreal, Metelkina/Berulava were fifth in the short program. They were only 0.08 points behind fourth-place GermansHase/Volodin, thus narrowly missing participation in the final flight of the free skate. In that segment, they struggled with several errors, including an aborted lift, which saw them come tenth in the free skate and drop to seventh overall. Speaking afterward, a "despondent" Berulava said: "Right now, I don't have words to comment on this performance."[43]
Metelkina and Berulava did not compete on theChallenger circuit at the start of the season, as he explained their belief that they had begun the prior season "too early," as a result of which "we ended up feeling exhausted by the time the most important tournaments came by."[4] They began theGrand Prix at the2024 Skate America, where they came third in the short program but dropped to fourth overall after a fourth-place free skate that featured multiple jump errors and a fall in their death spiral element. They missed the bronze medal by a fraction of a point, but Metelkina said that the "short margin to the bronze medal is not what really matters. The mistakes are what we have to improve and work on."[44] At their second event, the2024 NHK Trophy, Metelkina/Berulava won the gold medal, defeating reigning World championsMiura/Kihara in the process. This was the first Grand Prix medal of any colour for a Georgian pair team, of which Berulava said they were "just so proud."[45] Shortly afterward, they competed at and won the2024 CS Warsaw Cup.[39]
The team's results at their Grand Prix events qualified them for theGrand Prix Final inGrenoble. They were third in the short program with a new personal best score of 72.26 points. They were second in the free skate with the lone error being an underrotated jump by Metelkina, remaining third overall and taking the bronze medal.[46] The following month at2025 European Championships, Metelkina/Berulava entered as podium favourites, but came ninth in the short program after multiple errors, including an invalid death spiral. They rebounded in the free skate, coming third in that segment and rising to third overall for their second bronze medal at a major event of the season.[47]
Metelkina/Berulava opted to return to the junior level to compete at the2025 World Junior Championships inDebrecen, for which they were subject to some criticism in skating circles. Berulava defended the decision, noting that it was allowed by the ISU's rules, and citing a desire to gain competitive experience andWorld Standing points.[47] They won both segments of the competition by a wide margin, taking their second consecutive World Junior title (and Berulava's third) by a margin of almost 27 points.[48]
At the2025 World Championships, they finished fourth in the short program, sixth in the free skate, and fourth overall.[49] "Actually, we’re happy with the fourth place, considering what we did," said Berulava. "It was a long season, but due to the good preparation by our coaches, we are not feeling tired and exhausted. We still feel ready to go, and we’re actually really hoping to make the World Team Trophy.”[49]
The team capped off the season with2025 World Team Trophy where they placed third in both the short program and free skate, with Team Georgia taking sixth place overall. At this event, they earned a new personal best for both the short program and total score.[50][51] “It feels easier to skate in this event as there is so much support,” said Metelkina. “We hope to get into the Olympic team event and this competition was a good practice. It was very important for us to be here.”[51]
Metelkina and Berulava opened the 2025-26 season in September at2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup where they earned the silver medal. The following month, they took gold at2025 CS Trialeti Trophy.
Two weeks later, the team competed at2025 Cup of China where they won their second individual Grand Prix gold.[52] "Today was a rather difficult day," said Berulava after the free skate. "I'm glad we fought for this gold medal and didn't give up after the mistake on the jump."[52]
The following month, Metelkina and Berulava took silver at2025 Skate America.[53] They placed first in the short program, but made costly mistakes in the free skate where they finished fourth. “Unfortunately, our performance today did not work out, but we will work hard,” said Berulava. “We want to improve, and we also will work on the mental side." After medaling in both Grand Prix events, they qualified for the 2025-26Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. “Now we will take a deep breath after this, and we will work on our mistakes,” Metelkina summed up. “And I’m also very pleased that the Final is in Japan. We always skate very well in Japan."[53]
| Season | Short program | Free skate | Exhibition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 |
|
|
| [5] |
| 2024–25 |
|
|
| [54][55] |
| ||||
| 2025–26 |
|
| [56][57] |
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [58] |
| ||
| 2021–2022 [59] |
|
|
|
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–2020 [2] |
|
|
| Season | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 7th | 4th | |
| European Championships | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Grand Prix Final | 3rd | TBD | |
| World Team Trophy | 6th (3rd) | ||
| GPCup of China | 1st | ||
| GPNHK Trophy | 1st | ||
| GPSkate America | 4th | 2nd | |
| CSKinoshita Group Cup | 2nd | ||
| CSTrialeti Trophy | 1st | ||
| CSWarsaw Cup | 1st | 1st | |
| Challenge Cup | 1st |
| Season | 2023–24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 1st | 1st |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 1st | |
| JGPHungary | 1st | |
| JGPTurkey | 1st |
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 9th | |
| Winter Olympics (Team event) | 6th | |
| World Championships | 4th | 19th |
| European Championships | 4th | |
| GPFrance | 5th | |
| CSGolden Spin of Zagreb | 7th | |
| CSNebelhorn Trophy | 3rd |
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 1st |
| JGPAustria | 3rd |
| JGPSlovakia | 2nd |
| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Winter Youth Olympics | 3rd |
| Winter Youth Olympics (Team event) | 1st |
| World Junior Championships | 7th |
| JGPCroatia | 6th |
| JGPPoland | 8th |
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | 1st |
| Volvo Open Cup | 3rd |
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 225.20 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 78.83 | 2025 Skate America |
| TES | 44.44 | 2025 Skate America | |
| PCS | 34.39 | 2025 Skate America | |
| Free skating | TSS | 148.07 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy |
| TES | 77.98 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy | |
| PCS | 70.09 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 16–19, 2023 |  2023 Warsaw Cup | 1 | 66.93 | 1 | 137.08 | 1 | 204.01 |
| Jan 8–14, 2024 |  2024 European Championships | 1 | 71.30 | 5 | 124.84 | 2 | 196.14 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 |  2024 World Championships | 5 | 72.02 | 10 | 117.28 | 7 | 189.30 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 18–20, 2024 |  2024 Skate America | 3 | 68.64 | 4 | 122.79 | 4 | 191.43 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 |  2024 NHK Trophy | 2 | 70.28 | 1 | 142.77 | 1 | 213.05 |
| Nov 20–24, 2024 | 2024 CS Warsaw Cup | 1 | 67.17 | 1 | 134.86 | 1 | 202.03 |
| Dec 5–8, 2024 |  2024–25 Grand Prix Final | 3 | 72.26 | 2 | 133.52 | 3 | 205.78 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 |  2025 European Championships | 9 | 57.03 | 3 | 134.85 | 3 | 191.88 |
| Feb 13–16, 2025 |  2025 Challenge Cup | 1 | 70.58 | 1 | 133.34 | 1 | 203.92 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 | 2025 World Championships | 4 | 71.68 | 6 | 130.53 | 4 (3) | 202.21 |
| Apr 17–20, 2025 | 2025 World Team Trophy | 3 | 73.67 | 3 | 139.96 | 6 | 213.63 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 5–7, 2025 | 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 2 | 75.32 | 2 | 137.58 | 2 | 212.90 |
| Oct 8–11, 2025 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy | 1 | 77.13 | 1 | 148.07 | 1 | 225.20 |
| Oct 24–26, 2025 |  2025 Cup of China | 1 | 77.77 | 1 | 139.47 | 1 | 217.24 |
| Nov 14–16, 2025 | 2025 Skate America | 1 | 78.83 | 4 | 116.90 | 2 | 195.73 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 6–9, 2023 |  2023 JGP Turkey | 1 | 67.92 | 1 | 113.45 | 1 | 181.37 |
| Sep 20–23, 2023 |  2023 JGP Hungary | 1 | 69.94 | 1 | 120.51 | 1 | 190.45 |
| Dec 7–10, 2023 | 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final | 1 | 70.48 | 1 | 131.63 | 1 | 202.11 |
| Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024 |  2024 World Junior Championships | 1 | 71.53 | 1 | 107.79 | 1 | 179.32 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships | 1 | 69.18 | 1 | 121.83 | 1 | 191.01 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 5-7, 2025 | 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 2 | 75.32 | 2 | 137.58 | 2 | 212.90 |
| 2022–2023 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 14 60.98 | 20 86.01 | 19 146.99 |
| November 4–6, 2022 | 2022 Grand Prix de France | 3 61.55 | 6 100.99 | 5 162.44 |
| 2021–2022 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 21–27, 2022 | 2022 World Championships | 4 67.36 | 4 124.38 | 4 191.74 |
| February 18–19, 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics | 9 66.11 | 8 126.33 | 9 192.44 |
| February 4–7, 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics – Team event | 6 64.79 | — | 6T |
| January 10–16, 2022 | 2022 European Championships | 6 61.93 | 4 122.12 | 4 184.05 |
| December 9–11, 2021 | 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 1 66.95 | 8 112.38 | 7 179.33 |
| September 22–25, 2021 | 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 66.46 | 3 111.70 | 3 178.16 |
| 2021–2022 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 1 67.77 | 1 120.35 | 1 188.12 |
| October 6–9, 2021 | 2021 JGP Austria | 3 63.04 | 3 116.23 | 3 179.27 |
| September 1–4, 2021 | 2021 JGP Slovakia | 3 57.64 | 2 110.62 | 2 168.26 |
| 2019–2020 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–8 March 2020 | 2020 World Junior Championships | 7 55.96 | 8 97.21 | 7 153.17 |
| 10–15 January 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Team | - | 3 100.70 | 1T/3P |
| 10–15 January 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | 3 59.14 | 3 98.15 | 3 157.29 |
| 4–7 December 2019 | 2019 Golden Spin | 3 51.32 | 1 91.22 | 1 142.54 |
| 5–10 November 2019 | 2019 Volvo Open Cup | 3 55.92 | 3 100.62 | 3 156.54 |
| 25–28 September 2019 | 2019 JGP Croatia | 6 51.27 | 5 90.78 | 6 142.05 |
| 18–21 September 2019 | 2019 JGP Poland | 8 45.29 | 9 80.73 | 8 126.02 |
Media related toLuka Berulava at Wikimedia Commons
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