Maxim Staviski

Maxim Staviski at the2011 Worlds.
Personal information
Born	(1977-11-16)16 November 1977 (age 48) Rostov-on-Don,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Bulgaria
Partner	Albena Denkova
Skating club	SC Ice Dance Denkova/Staviski
Began skating	1981
Retired	2007
Medal record Figure skating Ice dancing Representing Bulgaria World Championships 2007 Tokyo Ice dancing 2006 Calgary Ice dancing 2004 Dortmund Ice dancing 2003 Washington, D.C. Ice dancing European Championships 2007 Warsaw Ice dancing 2004 Budapest Ice dancing 2003 Malmö Ice dancing Grand Prix Final 2006–07 St. Petersburg Ice dancing 2004–05 Beijing Ice dancing 2003–04 Colorado Springs Ice dancing 2002–03 St. Petersburg Ice dancing

Maxim Staviski (Bulgarian:Максим Стависки, born 16 November 1977) is a Russian-bornnaturalizedBulgarianice dancer. With partner andfiancéeAlbena Denkova, he is a two-time (2006–2007) World champion, a two-time (2003–2004) European silver medalist, and the2006 Grand Prix Final champion. Denkova and Staviski are the first Bulgarians to medal at theWorld Figure Skating Championships.

Staviski began skating at the age of four because his parents wanted to improve his health.^[1][2] He was initially a singles skater but at the age of 11 or 12, he broke his leg and his jumping ability declined. His coach recommended him toNatalia Dubova'sice dancing group.^[1] He originally competed for Russia with Anastasia Belova, with whom he appeared as the third Russian team at the1996 Junior Worlds but they split up at the end of the season. In 1996,^[3] Staviski had a successful tryout withAlbena Denkova in Moscow and he moved toSofia to compete for Bulgaria.^[1] They soon became a couple off-ice, as well. Staviski received Bulgariancitizenship, allowing him to compete with Denkova at the 1998 Olympics. In September 2000, Denkova / Staviski began dividing their time between Sofia andOdintsovo, near Moscow, Russia where they worked with coachAlexei Gorshkov and choreographer Sergei Petukhov.^[1][3][4]

Denkova / Staviski withdrew from the2000 European Championships after Staviski fell ill with pneumonia.^[1] During the last practice session before the free dance at the2000 World Championships,Peter Tchernyshev's blade slashed Denkova's leg above her boot, severing two tendons and a muscle and leaving her unable to walk for three months.^[1][3] She eventually returned to training but suffered swelling in her leg. After she asked theU.S. Figure Skating Association if Tchernyshev had insurance to help cover her medical expenses, the organizers withdrew Denkova / Staviski's invitation to2000 Skate America.^[1] Both Denkova and Staviski fell ill with the flu before the2001 European Championships and she suffered more swelling but they competed at the event and finished 8th, their best result to that date.^[1]

Denkova / Staviski took the silver medal at the2003 European Championships, becoming the first skaters to medal for Bulgaria at an ISU Championships.^[5] They then became the first Bulgarians to medal at Worlds, winning bronze at the2003 World Championships.^[6] The following season, they repeated as silver medalists atEuropeans and went on to becomeWorld silver medalists.

In 2004–05, Denkova / Staviski withdrew from Europeans and finished 5th atWorlds. At the end of the season, they parted ways with Gorshkov and moved toNewark, Delaware, U.S., to train withNatalia Linichuk andGennadi Karponosov.^[7][8] They finished 5th at their third Olympics. At the2006 World Championships, they became the first Bulgarians to win World gold in figure skating.

In 2006–07, Denkova / Staviski won gold at theGrand Prix Final, bronze atEuropeans, and gold once again atWorlds. On 10 April 2007, they were awarded the Stara Planina Order, Bulgaria's highest award.^[9] On 19 April 2007, they received a star on Bulgaria's Walk of Fame.^[10]

On 18 October 2007, after being put on trial for adrunk driving case which left one person dead and his wife in coma, Staviski announced he would end his competitive career.^[11] Denkova / Staviski continued to skate in shows around the world and have also done choreography, working withBrian Joubert a few times.^[12][13] Staviski has also worked withNelli Zhiganshina /Alexander Gazsi.^[14] The couple have a skating school inSofia called SC Ice Dance Denkova/Staviski.^[15] Staviski coaches occasionally in Moscow.^[16] He and Denkova have also participated in the Russian television showIce Age.^[13]

Staviski is Jewish. His surname is sometimes writtenStaviyski.^[3] Denkova and Staviski are engaged to marry.^[17] Their son Daniel was born on 30 January 2011.^[18]

On 5 August 2007, Maxim Staviski caused a car accident inPrimorsko, Bulgaria, which killed 24-year-old Petar Petrov and left Petrov's fiancée, 18-year-old Manuela Gorsova, in a coma.^[19][20][21] Staviski had ablood alcohol content of 1.1‰ while the legal limit in Bulgaria is 0.5‰.^[22] Staviski's Hummer collided into the victims' Honda at a speed of 100 km/h. He had been pulled over and issued a police warning a few minutes earlier.^[23]

On 30 January 2008, Staviski received a suspended sentence of two years and six months, with a five-year probation period, after pleading guilty on all counts.^[24] Staviski could have gone to prison for up to ten years.^[25] In February 2008, the parents of one of the victims, Manuela Gorsova, said they would appeal both the suspended sentence and the damages awarded by the court.^[26] In early January 2009, the Burgas Appellate Court reversed the suspension of his sentence and ordered Staviski to serve two-and-a-half years in prison. They also increased the amount of money Staviski was ordered to pay to his victims' families—BGN 120,000 to Petrov's parents (increased from BGN 90,000), and BGN 150,000 to Gorsova's family (up from BGN 80,000).^[27] In May 2009, the Supreme Court of Cassation issued a final ruling in the case, which overturned the jail sentence and reduced the fines Staviski was to pay to 100,000 leva to the Petrovs and 90,000 to Gorsova's family.^[28]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMaxim Staviski.

• Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski at theInternational Skating Union
• Official Denkova & Staviski web site

• 1977 births
• Living people
• Bulgarian male ice dancers
• Russian male ice dancers
• Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics
• Olympic figure skaters for Bulgaria
• Sportspeople from Rostov-on-Don
• Jewish Russian sportspeople
• Bulgarian Jews
• Russian emigrants to Bulgaria
• Russian expatriates in Bulgaria
• Naturalised citizens of Bulgaria
• World Figure Skating Championships medalists
• European Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Season-end world number one figure skaters
• 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen
• 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen
• 20th-century Russian sportsmen

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