A dream was born in Madrid, Spain, when young Sofia Val watched figure skating with her mother. Maybe, one day, it would be her on that stage. A dream was also born in St. Petersburg, Russia, when Asaf Kazimov trained in the famous Figure Skating Academy and became an Ice Dancer when he was 11. His path would lead him first to Germany and then to Spain where he found his perfect partner. And now Sofia Val & Asaf Kazimov’s common dream comes true. They qualified a historic second Olympic Ice Dance spot for Spain at the ISU Skate to Milan Qualifying Competition and are set to take the biggest stage sport can offer at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. 

“Honestly, I would have never imagined to be here when we started,” Val, 21, shared. “We have grown so much in so little time, as a couple, as a team overall, at home in Madrid. Just everything has developed so, so much.”

"I would say it was destiny" 

The ice dancers started their path that eventually would get them together several thousand of kilometers apart from each other. 

Kazimov moved with his family from Russia to Germany when he was 12. He continued his ice dance career first with Lara Luft and then with Viktoriia Lopuseva. “In September 2022, my previous dance partner and I split up and Maurizio Margaglio (coach) connected me with Sara Hurtado. Sara wrote to me and said that Sofia is looking for a dance partner and I flew to Madrid for a week for a tryout. It was perfect right away and most of all, I could see that all four of us – Sara, Kirill (Khaliavin, coach), Sofia and myself had this spark in our eyes. On my way back home, I already knew that I will move to Madrid to train with Sofia. I would say it was destiny.”

Sofia Val & Asaf Kazimov (ESP) started their path together in 2022 Photo © ISU

Val, who is from Madrid, was a single skater until she was 13 and switched to ice dance, skating first with Linus Colmor Jepsen and then with Nikita Vitryanyuk. 

“I've always liked to watch events at home,” she recalled. “I love watching other skaters, it inspires me a lot and I really like to kind of see what I want to take from each skater for myself. I like to kind of take the best qualities out of everyone so I can adapt them to myself, to my own skating. I've always been very interested in watching ice dance and also single skating actually.” 

Val & Kazimov felt right away that they are a good match. “We realized it clearly when we started to train and to compete together,” he noted. “We were very focused in training and we are working well together. We understand each other well and we can tell each other where we can help each other. We are working very hard for our goals and our coaches support us as much as they can.

“For me, we have in our team the perfect mechanism of support, trust and hard work,” the 25-year-old added. “At the same time we are able to come across as confident in competition which is the most important as we are still a young couple and want to gather as much experience as possible. When we got the minimum scores for Worlds at our very first competition Challenge Cup 2023, I felt that something could come out of it.”

Olympic memories 

Watching skating with her mother is Sofia’s first Olympic memory. “I watched always with my mom at home on the couch,” she recalled. “We watched the full event and we were always discussing.”

Sofia Val & Asaf Kazimov (ESP) look up to Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN) Photo © ISU

For Asaf, it was watching the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. “For me it was Vancouver, Tessa (Virtue) and Scott (Moir), the Spanish Flamenco. I'm still rewatching it, probably every week actually,” he shared. 

“I just think the connection between both of them on the ice was very unique,” he continued. “You don't see that so often and it's just amazing to watch any of their dances, any of their styles because they were very different. They could perform in one way, then the other way and absolutely different programs, so it's really, really entertaining.”

Val agreed. “I love Tessa and Scott so much. They inspire me a lot. I love their charisma and the energy they have between them. I also look up to a lot of other skaters, obviously to our coaches Sara and Kirill who teach us every day. I loved them before they were my coaches. I’ve always loved Gabriella (Papadakis) and Guillaume (Cizeron) as well.  I think they are extraordinary.”

Making history for Spanish Figure Skating 

Val & Kazimov made a little bit of history by earning that second quota place at the Olympic qualifying competition for Spain. Spain never had two Olympic spots in Ice Dance. By the way, Val & Kazimov’s coach Sara Hurtado and her partner at the time, Adrian Diaz, became the first Spanish Ice Dance couple to compete at the Olympic Games in 2014. 

The tension in Beijing at the Skate to Milan qualifier last September was high with only four spots available. Val & Kazimov were fifth in the Rhythm Dance but they made it by pulling up to third in the Free Dance. This bronze was the most beautiful medal they have earned so far.

 Sofia Val & Asaf Kazimov (ESP) qualified a historic second Olympic spot for Spanish Ice Dance by taking bronze at the qualifying event Photo © ISU

“It (the wait for the result) felt very long because obviously we came fifth in the Rhythm so we knew we had to really fight in the Free Dance and we still know we can do better actually,” Val said. “We're very proud of how we performed under pressure because this is not just any competition. Even though we tried to take it as one, we know it isn't. But when we got the spot, honestly I couldn't believe it. I was crying so much. I was so happy and speechless.

“It's a huge accomplishment and I'm so proud to represent Spain,” she continued.  “We're so grateful for all the support we got from everyone, from our teammates and also from our federation which was pushing us all the way through.” 

Kazimov felt the same. “It's absolutely amazing. I think it's also a very big thing for the country, for the sport itself, for the development of the sport in Spain.”

Kazimov received Spanish citizenship in the fall, which was necessary for him to be eligible for the Olympic Games. 

Following the successful qualification, the team competed in ISU Challenger events and just stuck to their plan, practicing and working as usual. “We don't really change our routine whether it's for a bigger competition or a smaller competition,” Val explained. “We try to be a hundred percent ready for everything.”

This is only the beginning for this team that has been skating together since 2022. “Honestly, this is just another step in our path,” Val pointed out. “We have so many big goals and so many wishes for us that I'm just really excited for what's to come for us.”