Alexei Bychenko
Alexei Bychenko at the2018 European Championships
Native name	אלכסיי ביצ'נקו
Other names	Oleksii[1][2]/Alexey[3] Bychenko
Born	(1988-02-05)5 February 1988 (age 37) Kyiv, Ukraine, Soviet Union
Height	1.74 m (5 ft8+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Israel (2011–22)  Ukraine (2002–10)
Discipline	Men's singles
Began skating	1993
Retired	2022
HighestWS	7th (2017–18)
Medal record
Representing Israel European Championships 2016 Bratislava Singles Israeli Championships 2016 Holon Singles 2017 Holon Singles 2018 Holon Singles 2015 Holon Singles 2019 Holon Singles 2022 Holon Singles 2020 Holon Singles Representing Ukraine Ukrainian Championships 2007 Kyiv Singles 2008 Kyiv Singles 2010 Dnipropetrovsk Singles

Alexei Bychenko (Hebrew:אלכסיי ביצ'נקו;Ukrainian:Олексій Юрійович Биченко; born 5 February 1988) is a retiredUkrainian-bornIsraelifigure skater. He represented Ukraine through 2009 and Israel after that. He is the2016 European Figure Skating Championships silver medalist and2016 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist. He is the first Israeli skater to medal at the European Championships. He placed fourth at2018 Worlds. Bychenko competed for Israel at the2014,2018, and2022 Winter Olympics.

Bychenko was born inKyiv,Ukraine, and is Jewish.^[4][5] He studied atNational Pedagogical Dragomanov University, in Kyiv.^[4] His mother is ofJewish descent, and he became anIsraeli citizen and in 2010 began representing Israel in competitions.^[4]

Bychenko began skating in 1993.^[4]

Representing Ukraine, Bychenko debuted on theISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in the 2003–04 season. His senior international debut took place in late September 2005 atSkate Israel, but he continued occasionally appearing on the junior level. He achieved his best JGP result, 8th, in October 2006 inTaipei, at his final junior event.

Bychenko became a two-time (2007, 2008)Ukrainian national silver medalist on the senior level. His final international appearance for Ukraine came in late November 2009 at theCrystal Skate of Romania.

His coaches areRoman Serov,Nikolai Morozov, andGalit Chait Moracci, and his choreographer is Galit Chait Moracci.^[4] He trains inHackensack, New Jersey.^[4]

Bychenko first appeared internationally for Israel at theGolden Spin of Zagreb in December 2011. He qualified for the final segment at the2012 European Championships inSheffield and went on to finish 22nd overall. At the2012 World Championships inNice, he did not advance past the short program.

At the2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, Bychenko qualified a spot for Israel in the men's event at the2014 Winter Olympics.

He finished 21st competing forIsrael at the 2014 Winter Olympics inSochi, Russia.^[6]

Bychenko received his firstGrand Prix invitations in the2014–15 season. He finished fourth at the2015 European Championships inStockholm after placing seventh in the short program and fourth in the free skate.

At the2016 European Championships inBratislava, Bychenko placed fourth in both segments and edged out Russia'sMaxim Kovtun for a silver medal by a margin of 0.35. It was Israel's first European figure skating medal.^[7][8]

In the 2016–17 season, Bychenko won bronze at aGrand Prix assignment, the2016 Rostelecom Cup, and gold at aChallenger Series event, theGolden Spin of Zagreb. He ranked third in the short program, 9th in the free skate, and 5th overall at the2017 European Championships inOstrava, Czech Republic. In March, he placed 11th in the short, 12th in the free, and 10th overall at the2017 World Championships inHelsinki, Finland.^[4] Due to his result, Israelqualified two spots in the men's event at the2018 Winter Olympics inPyeongchang, South Korea.

Bychenko competed forIsrael at the 2018 Winter Olympics inMen's Single Figure Skating inPyeongchang, South Korea, and served asIsrael's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies.^[4] Bychenko finished the men’s figure skating competition in 11th place overall, Israel's best result at the Games, bettering Israeli figure skaterMichael Shmerkin’s 16th-place finish 24 years prior.^[9][10] He also came in second in the Men's Single Short Program, as part of theteam event, as the Israeli team came in 8th.^[11][4]

Bychenko was named toIsraeli team for the2022 Winter Olympics, and finished twenty-sixth in themen's event.^[12]

It was announced that Bychenko had decided to retire from competition on May 24, 2022.^[13]

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

Media related toAlexei Bychenko at Wikimedia Commons

• Alexei Bychenko at theInternational Skating Union
• Alexei Bychenko atOlympics.com
• Alexei Bychenko atOlympedia
• Alexei Bychenko onInstagram

• Israeli male single skaters
• Ukrainian male single skaters
• Figure skaters at the 2007 Winter Universiade
• Living people
• 1988 births
• 21st-century Israeli Jews
• Figure skaters from Kyiv
• Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• Ukrainian emigrants to Israel
• Ukrainian people of Israeli descent
• Naturalized citizens of Israel
• Olympic figure skaters for Israel
• Figure skaters from Hackensack, New Jersey
• Jewish Israeli sportspeople
• Jewish Ukrainian sportspeople
• European Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
• 21st-century Israeli sportsmen

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• Articles with short description
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