Darya Grimm

Darya Grimm (born 13 November 2006) is a German ice dancer. With her skating partner, Michail Savitskiy, she is the 2024 Junior World bronze medalist, 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medalist, and a three-time German junior national champion (2022–2024).

Personal life
Grimm was born on 13 November 2006 in Wuppertal, Germany.

Early career
Grimm competed initially in women's singles figure skating, twice standing on the German national novice podium with bronze in 2018 and silver in 2019. However, by the end of the 2018–19 season, she found herself losing interest in the discipline, later saying "I didn't really have the feeling for singles anymore and girls started doing quads. I said right away, 'I'm not doing this' and a lot of people told me I should do ice dance."

In September 2019, Grimm formed an ice dance partnership with Michail Savitskiy. They began training in Oberstdorf, coached by former Soviet ice dancers Rostislav Sinicyn and Natalia Karamysheva.

2021–22 season
With the onset of COVID-19 pandemic having cancelled international junior competitions in the 2020–21 season, Grimm/Savitskiy had the opportunity to make their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut in the fall of 2021. Given two assignments, they placed sixth at both the 2021 JGP France in Courchevel and the 2021 JGP Austria in Linz. They went on to place fourth at both the Ice Challenge and the Egna Dance Trophy, and won the German junior national title.

Their national title earned Grimm/Savitskiy the German berth at the 2022 World Junior Championships. The championships could not be held as scheduled in Sofia in early March, and as a result were rescheduled for Tallinn in mid-April. The championships were further upended when Vladimir Putin ordered a Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result of the invasion, the International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions, which had a significant impact on the junior dance field. In the leadup, Grimm briefly tested positive for COVID, but only lost a few training days. Competing in Tallinn, Grimm/Savitskiy placed an unexpected fourth in the rhythm dance. Seventh in the free dance, they were fifth overall. Reflecting on their result, Savitskiy noted "I don't think many people expected that and it was a surprise for us as well, but of course we are very happy."

2022–23 season
Beginning the Junior Grand Prix at the 2022 JGP Latvia in Riga, Grimm/Savitskiy were the pre-event favourites in light of their Junior World result, but were narrowly second in the rhythm dance. They decisively overtook Canadians Gauthier/Thieren in the free dance, taking the gold medal. This was their first international win, and the first Junior Grand Prix gold for a German dance team since 2002. At their second event in Gdańsk, they took the silver medal behind reigning World bronze medalists Bashynska/Beaumont, despite Grimm falling in the free dance. Their results qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final. They finished fifth in both segments and overall at the Final.

After winning their second German junior title, Grimm/Savitskiy won the gold medal at the Bavarian Open's junior event. Both dealt with illness in the leadup to the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary. They finished narrowly sixth in the rhythm dance with a new personal best score of 65.67, 0.14 behind the fifth-place French team Fradji/Fourneaux. However, they had to withdraw before the free dance, citing Grimm having come down with suspected food poisoning. She said that they were "really upset, but we don't want to risk our health," and so "with an amazing rhythm dance and a sixth-place, we are finishing our season."

2023–24 season
Grimm and Savitskiy encountered difficulties in the leadup to the beginning of the Junior Grand Prix, with him falling ill shortly before the 2023 JGP Austria. Despite this, they won both segments of the competition and took the gold medal. They competed next at the 2023 JGP Poland, facing off against the Ukrainian team Pinchuk/Pogorielov, who had also won a gold medal at their prior event. Shortly prior to departing for the event in Gdańsk, Savitskiy cut his hand in practice, impeding their performance ability. Both they and the Ukrainians struggled in the free dance, with Grimm/Savitskiy coming third in that segment, but their first-place in the rhythm dance secured them another gold medal and a second consecutive Junior Grand Prix Final. Grimm said they were "relieved" by the result.

At the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing, Grimm/Savitskiy finished third in both segments and won the bronze medal. They were the third German competitors to medal at the Final on the junior level, after fellow dance team Steinel/Tsvetkov and men's singles skater Stefan Lindemann, and this was the first medal win in 22 years. Savitskiy said the result was an "honour."

After winning a third consecutive German junior title, Grimm/Savitskiy traveled to Taipei to compete at the 2024 World Junior Championships. They were second in the rhythm dance, 0.23 points ahead of Israelis Tkachenko/Kiliakov, and won a silver small medal for the segment. In the free dance, both lost levels on their twizzles, and as a result they were third in that segment, 0.78 points behind Tkachenko/Kiliakov, who overtook them for the overall silver medal. Despite this, both said it was "great" to win a bronze medal at the championship. Savitskiy suggested that while they would compete junior in the next season, they might consider trying senior events as well, adding "we aren't entirely sure yet."

Competitive highlights
JGP: Junior Grand Prix