Four and a half years without international competitions, childbirth, motherhood, a new last name. This weekend, Alexandra Ignatova, known worldwide as Trusova, proved that returning to professional sport after giving birth is not a fairy tale, but a very real scenario.
At the Kinoshita Group Cup Challenger Series tournament in Tokyo, the 22-year-old Russian won silver, scoring 221.06 points in her two routines. The victory was won by Japanese Mao Shimada (231.32), and bronze was taken by another Russian, Anna Frolova (207.86).
After the performance, Trusova admitted: she was so nervous that she couldn’t force herself to eat after the training session.
I thought that I didn’t know how to jump at all and had never done it, she said.
What Trusova did in the free program, no other figure skater in the world has managed: to perform a quadruple jump at an international competition after giving birth to a child. She became the first in history, earning 146.14 points from the judges.
For context: Trusova’s last international performance before Tokyo was the Olympic tournament in Beijing in February 2022 – 1661 days ago. Since then, she has not appeared on the international ice. During this time, Trusova became only the second figure skater in ladies’ singles skating in the 21st century to return to the international arena after motherhood. The first was Japanese Miki Ando at the Nebelhorn Trophy in 2013. But Ando did not jump quadruples after her return.
As a reminder, in the more than four years without competition, Alexandra’s life has changed beyond recognition. In August 2024, she married figure skater Makar Ignatov and took his last name. On August 6, 2025, she gave birth to a son, Mikhail, at the Lapino Clinic in Moscow. Just two months later, she showed off a triple Lutz on social media. In January 2026, she competed at the Russian Jumping Championships. In June, she returned to full training with Eteri Tutberidze.
Trusova herself says she doesn’t try to compare herself to the past:
The girl I was will never be the same again. Comparing myself to the past is pointless,” she added that her main goal for the season is to skate her programs cleanly.
The tournament in Tokyo was the first major international competition for Russian figure skaters after the ISU’s decision to admit them as neutrals. Eighteen athletes from Russia came to the competition in all four disciplines.
