\n<\/p>\n
When University of Toronto student Gogolev takes to the ice at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games as Canada\u2019s lone representative in men\u2019s singles, it will represent a triumph over back problems that nearly derailed his skating career. But with a recent win at the national championships and a berth at the Olympics, the St. Michael\u2019s College<\/a> student is now vying for a medal at Milano Cortina.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m quite relieved, because this whole season has been leading up to this point,\u201d says Gogolev, a political science major. \u201cAnd I\u2019m happy that I made it, it\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Born into an athletic family \u2014 his parents were gymnasts and his brother a competitive kayaker \u2014 Gogolev started skating at age six, although downhill skiing was his first love.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was much younger, I had to make a choice to focus on one thing rather than both,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I picked figure skating, which is a bit ironic because I was actually having more success in skiing. But I remember I was always obsessed with jumping, which I wasn\u2019t really able to do when I was skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n A prodigy, he landed a notoriously difficult triple axel at age 10. By 13, he became the youngest skater and first Canadian to land a quadruple lutz in competition, as well as the first Canadian to land three different quadruple jumps.<\/p>\n But a growth spurt at 15 saw him rapidly grow a foot in height, which triggered recurring back injuries that almost dashed his dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Olympic Games were the biggest reason why I kept going and had hope,\u201d he says. \u201cIn the past few years, when I was dealing with injuries, I thought I was at the end. But I always had that Olympic goal in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n With an eye on life after skating, Gogolev is equally focused on his political science studies. \u201cI believed political science would give me broader opportunities after graduation,\u201d he says, leading perhaps to a career in law or business. Last year, a U of T course entitled Principles of Economics for Non-Specialists<\/a> opened his eyes to further ambitions. \u201cI really liked it, and it\u2019s made me want to pursue economics as a second major.\u201d<\/p>\n Gogolev admits that balancing his studies with the rigorous demands of skating, as well as other beloved pastimes such as mountain biking and tennis, can be overwhelming \u2014 \u201cespecially now, because I\u2019ll be missing some tests and midterms while I\u2019m away at the Games,\u201d he says. \u201cOverall though, I think I\u2019ve been able to find a good balance.\u201d<\/p>\n Following in the skate tracks of such household names as Kurt Browning, Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko, Gogolev is a star of the \u201cquad revolution\u201d \u2014 the athletic mastery of ever-more difficult quadruple jumps in competition.<\/p>\n But his artistry is also evident: whether in his free skate program set to Rachmaninoff\u2019s Piano Concerto 2, or his short program where he dresses as a prohibition-era gangster. For this Gogolev credits his choreographer, Benoit Richaud.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s been the biggest turning point so far in my skating career,\u201d he says. \u201cEver since I started working with him, I\u2019ve been able to bring out more of myself. I really enjoy his style of choreography, and the way he\u2019s able to bring emotions out of every skater he works with.\u201d<\/p>\n Gogolev says that while performing, he enters a zone of concentration that\u2019s so pervasive it\u2019s hard to remember routines after he\u2019s completed them. Nonetheless, the support of crowds both at the skating arena and watching at home are part of what\u2019s motivated him to keep competing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd support definitely gives you more energy to perform, compared to when you\u2019re just training by yourself,\u201d he says. After several difficult years, the warm public response after his win at this year\u2019s national championships, which were also the Olympic trials, was all the more fulfilling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was quite an amazing feeling, and one of the most special moments I\u2019ve had.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n Most undergraduates need grit and perseverance to get them through tough times. In recent years, figure skater Stephen Gogolev has shown impressive displays of both. When University of Toronto student Gogolev takes to the ice at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games as Canada\u2019s lone representative in men\u2019s singles, it will represent a triumph over back … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Political-science-student-Stephen-Gogolev-skates-for-gold-in-Milano.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19735,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19733\/revisions\/19735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"