Lubov Ilyushechkina

Lubov Ivanovna Ilyushechkina (Russian: Любовь Ивановна Илюшечкина, born 5 November 1991) is a Russian-born pair skater who competes with Dylan Moscovitch for Canada since 2014. They are two-time Canadian national medalists.
With former partner Nodari Maisuradze, she is the 2010 Skate Canada International champion, 2011 Winter Universiade champion, 2009 World Junior champion, 2008 World Junior silver medalist, and 2009 Russian national bronze medalist.

Ilyushechkina began skating at the age of four or five in Moscow. Her coach, Lubov Fedoshchenko, suggested she try pair skating and took her to Saint Petersburg to train under Natalia Pavlova in 2006.

Ilyushechkina began skating with Nodari Maisuradze in April 2006. Though initially skeptical, coach Natalia Pavlova decided to work with them because she had no pairs at the time and grew impressed by their commitment. In September of that year, Pavlova moved to Moscow and the pair followed her.

During the 2007–08 season, Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze took silver at the 2008 Junior Worlds and placed 4th at the senior Russian Nationals.

During the 2008–09 season, they won the World Junior title, along with gold at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also competed at the senior level, winning the bronze at Russian Nationals and placing 5th at their first European Championships. They earned a berth to 2009 Worlds but were forced to withdraw due to an injury to Maisuradze. He injured ligaments in his hand in a skiing accident. They were replaced by Ksenia Ozerova / Alexander Enbert.

During the 2009–10 season, Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze placed third in the short program at 2009 Cup of China and achieved their personal best score of 62.54. However, they struggled in the long program, finishing seventh in that segment, and fifth overall. At Russian Nationals, they also struggled and finished in fourth. After the difficult season, they made some adjustments in training.

Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze began the 2010–11 season by capturing the gold at 2010 Skate Canada, their first medal on the senior Grand Prix circuit. Only a week later, they competed at the 2010 Cup of China and placed 4th. Their results qualified them for their first Grand Prix Final at the senior level. They finished fourth, setting new personal bests in the long program (117.38) and combined total (177.44). At the 2011 Russian Nationals, they placed sixth in the short program and fourth in the long, to finish fifth overall. They were named to the 2011 Winter Universiade team but missed the European and World teams. Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze won the gold medal at the Winter Universiade.

In the 2011–12 season, Ilyushechkina/Maisuradze competed at 2011 Skate Canada, where they placed 5th, and 2011 NHK Trophy, where they finished 6th. They were 6th at the 2012 Russian Championships. In March 2012, their coach, Natalia Pavlova, confirmed that their partnership had ended.

Ilyushechkina contacted French pair skater Yannick Kocon after learning he was available. In May 2012, it was reported that they hoped to skate for France but the Russian skating federation was unwilling to release her. Their partnership ended without any international appearances.

After Canadian skater Dylan Moscovitch contacted Ilyushechkina via her Facebook page, the two arranged a tryout, which took place in Detroit in mid-May 2014. On June 3, 2014, a news report stated that they had decided to form a partnership coached by Lee Barkell and Bryce Davison at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The pair continued training in Detroit until Ilyushechkina received a Canadian visa, in late June. Moscovitch stated, "We have different lifts and different throw and twist techniques. [...] We are still ironing everything out to see what works best for both of us as a team." In mid-October 2014, the Russian Skating Federation announced that they had released Ilyushechkina.

2014–15 season

Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch started their career together by winning an ISU Challenger Series (CS) event, the 2014 Warsaw Cup. After winning the 2014 Skate Canada Challenge, they qualified for the 2015 Canadian Championships where they were awarded the silver medal behind defending champions Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford. They were named in Canada's team to the 2015 Four Continents, where they finished 7th, and the 2015 World Championships, where they came in 13th.

2015–16 season

Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch's first assignment of the 2015–16 season was the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, a CS event, where they finished 4th. They received two Grand Prix assignments, the 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy, where they respectively placed 7th and 5th. They won the bronze medal at the 2016 Canadian Championships.

In February, Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch placed fifth at the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei, having ranked fifth in both segments. In April, they finished 7th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston after placing 8th in the short program and 6th in the free skate.

With Moscovitch

With Maisuradze

Ilyushechkina and Maisuradze with coach Natalia Pavlova

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

With Moscovitch for Canada

With Maisuradze for Russia

Ilyushechkina and Maisuradze at 2008 Junior Worlds