Georgia’s Metelkina and Berulava build momentum
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava
Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, the 2024 Junior World champions and 2024 European silver medalists, are building momentum and are set to chase top podium spots this season.
This is their second year together; they teamed up last summer and now train in Perm, Russia, with Pavel Slusarenko.
Anastasiia and Luka are not competing at any of the early season Challenger events this year. They’re taking their time and won’t kick off their competitive calendar until the Grand Prix series.
“Last year we jumped into the season too early,” explained Berulava. “After a great off-season we were ready to fight. But it backfired, and we ended up feeling exhausted by the time the most important tournaments came by. Maybe it was a lack of experience; we competed at both the junior and senior levels, so our season began in August and didn’t wrap up until late March.”
Overall, the team is quite happy with how their first season went.
“We just wish we had skated clean at every competition,” Berulava lamented. “But that’s a goal for the future,”
Finding that pair chemistry took some extra effort as well. Being experienced pair skaters doesn’t automatically make you a perfect team. For context, Metelkina competed at Worlds with Daniel Parkman in 2021, and Berulava is the 2022 Junior World champion with Karina Safina.
“Usually, skaters focus on specific areas during the off-season, but last summer, we had to work on everything,” Metelkina laughed. “And we kept building on that throughout the season, so yeah, by the end, we were exhausted.”
This year the strategy is different.
“We’ll kick off at Skate America and might add some Challengers after our two Grand Prix events,” they shared. “We know we need to boost our ISU standings to catch up with the teams that have been together longer than us.”
The only junior event the pair is considering is Junior Worlds in Debrecen, Hungary.
“We’ll decide later in the season. Obviously, a lot will depend on our physical condition,” Berulava said. “But with the ISU raising the age limit for juniors, it’s now an option for us, so why not?”
Georgia: more than a flag; a second home
After every major competition, Metelkina and Berulava head to Georgia. Sometimes it’s for medical reasons, other times to take part in official events or handle paperwork, but mostly just to relax and get some good rest.
“My grandma and aunt live in Georgia, and I have an apartment in Tbilisi, so I love going back there,” explained Berulava. “I was born in Moscow because my family had to leave Georgia during the war, but we always spoke Georgian at home. It’s my first language.”
The most exciting trips to Georgia are definitely the skiing ones. Berulava and Nika Egadze, also a member of Team Georgia, are big fans of alpine skiing. They both know how to snowboard but prefer skiing.
“I think it’s important to enjoy other things in life, not just focus everything on figure skating,” Berulava pointed out. “Besides skiing, I absolutely love soccer and both lawn and table tennis.”
Berulava and Egadze are best friends.
“At competitions we speak Georgian to each other so no one would understand us; it’s our secret language,” Berulava shared with a smile. Last season the two often sat together in the kiss and cry corner after Egadze’s skates.
“I’m not his coach. I’m his friend, and I’m there to support him,” said Berulava. “It was his idea, and I’m happy to be by his side. Although I do see myself coaching in the future, and I’m sure I’ll stay involved in the sport once I’m done competing.”
His partner is more interested in pursuing a career in choreography.
“I’ve always wanted to be a choreographer, and I even have a bit of experience,” said Metelkina. “I help some young kids with their programs. I see this as my future, but even if it ends up being something else, I’m sure I’ll stay in the sports industry. Hopefully in Georgia once they finish building the first skating rink there, I might settle down and coach.
“Georgia is such an amazing country!” she continued. “I feel at home there, and I really feel like they’ve accepted me. I wasn’t born there, but I’ve been competing under its flag for five years now and it and it holds a special place in my heart. Georgia made my skating career possible, and I will be forever grateful.”
New programs and new challenges
For the 2024-25 season, Metelkina and Berulava have chosen to continue working with Sergey Plishkin, the choreographer they’ve been collaborating with since the beginning of their partnership.
“He really understands us and our skating style. But more importantly, he not only knows what we’re capable of, he’s always ready to push us and help us grow. We trust him completely and are so grateful for everything he does for us,” said Berulava.
For their short program, the skaters are diving into the 80s, choosing the super energetic track “Why?” by Bronski Beat.
“We knew we wanted to keep the fun vibe from our last short program,” Metelkina explained. “It feels like people are already expecting something cool and entertaining from us. We see our strength in combining solid technical elements while also putting on a show on the ice.”
“At first, we actually considered keeping our short program from last season,” Berulava revealed. “It was really well received by both the judges and the audience. We felt a strong connection to it and ended up nailing it in almost every competition we skated in.”
Changing the short was Plishkin’s idea, Metelkina offered.
“Sergey brought us this new track and insisted that we give it a listen,” she said. “I have to admit, we were a bit unsure if it was the right choice. At first, it seemed almost impossible to skate to. The tempo is super-fast, with no slow parts, so there’s no chance to catch our breath or regroup. But then we decided to give it a shot, and to our surprise, it went really well! We absolutely love the music, and it turns out the fast tempo actually helps us and pushes us through the program.”
“Now it’s just a matter of practicing and getting used to being supercharged in the short,” Berulava laughed. “But all our run-throughs have been clean so far.”
The costumes will also be a lot of fun: Metelkina will be rocking classic 80s sportswear with a bright neon leotard and leggings, while Berulava opted for something less extravagant, sticking to a good old 80s street style.
They chose not to reveal their free program until their first competition in October but shared that it’s completely different from the short.
“Our long program has a lot of meaning and feels more like telling a story,” offered Metelkina. “The music isn’t super-fast or high-energy, but it’s not too slow either. The idea behind it is pretty complex, and we really want to make sure we express it clearly. We’ve also got a little costume trick planned that we hope will add some extra meaning to the performance.”
They’ve also prepared a new jump for the free skate this season: a side-by-side triple Salchow-double Axel-double Axel sequence. As for quads in the twists and throws, the team remains a bit skeptical.
“With the current rules, there’s no point in attempting quads,” reflected Berulava. “The risk isn’t worth it. In theory, I think we could try a quad Salchow throw. Our coach suggests starting with the twist, but I prefer the idea of going for the throw first.
Metelkina agrees.
“I’m not afraid of throws, even quadruple ones,” she said. “It’s only scary the first time, but you get over it and just keep going. I tried a quad twist with my old partner, and it didn’t go well. I hurt my shoulder. So, I don’t think the twist is a great idea, especially since it doesn’t score many points.”
Skating inspirations and life goals
Both Metelkina and Berulava have great respect for 2014 Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.
“I really admire Maxim as a partner,” Berulava explained. “He wasn’t just a great skater, but he also knew how to put on a fantastic performance. Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès were also always fascinating to watch.”
Metelkina names Alyona Savchenko as one of her skating inspirations.
“I never really had an idol, but I admire Savchenko’s determination,” she shared. “Since I was a kid, people told me I looked a bit like her, so I started following her career. She chased Olympic gold, and she finally got it. That’s my ultimate goal too: I want to stand on top of that Olympic podium. People who don’t give up and keep pushing for their dreams really inspire me. It shows me that I can do it too!”
Metelkina also has great respect for Deanna Stellato-Dudek, admiring her dedication and talent in the sport.
“She’s 40, and it’s so inspiring to see how much she loves figure skating, said Metelkina, who is 19. “The way she skates and presents herself on the ice, doing it all at the highest level…it definitely deserves a lot of credit!”
Are they ready to skate for that long? Metelkina is positive.
“I promised myself I won’t stop until I get my Olympic gold if my health lets me,” she said. “I know it sounds ambitious, and there are always people who say it’s impossible, that only one in a million wins that medal. But this is why I skate, and I won’t give up.”
Berulava is on board but adds with a smile: “I just really hope our Olympic podium comes sooner than 2034.”
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