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Meda Variakojytė

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Meda Variakojytė (born 3 May 2007) is a Lithuanian figure skater. She is the 2024 EduSport Trophy champion, the 2023 Kaunas Ice Autumn Cup champion, and a three-time Lithuanian national champion (2024–26). At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Variakojytė became the first Lithuanian figure skater to compete in the women's singles event.[1]

Meda Variakojytė
Meda Variakojytė during her free skate at the 2025 World Championships
Personal information
Born (2007-05-03) 3 May 2007 (age 19)
Kaunas, Lithuania
Home townKaunas
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
Country Lithuania
DisciplineWomen's singles
CoachRaimo Reinsalu
Olga Kovalkova
Skating clubStartas, Kaunas, Lithuania
Began skating2012
Medal record
Lithuanian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Kaunas Singles
Gold medal – first place 2025 Kaunas Singles
Gold medal – first place 2026 Kaunas Singles

Variakojytė is the 2023 Lithuanian junior national champion and the 2022 Lithuanian junior national silver medalist.

Career

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Variakojytė began figure skating in 2012 in her hometown, Kaunas.[2] Her first coach was Indrė Paulaitienė, before Dmitrij Kozlov became her head coach in 2023.[3][4]

She won the silver medal at the Lithuanian Junior Championships in 2022 and gold in 2023.[4]

2023–24 season: First National title, World Championship debut

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Variakojytė with coach, Dmitrij Kozlov, at the 2024 World Championships

Variakojytė began the season by finishing fifteenth at the 2023 Junior Grand Prix Turkey.[5] She then competed at the 2023 Jelgava Cup in the senior level and won the silver medal with a score of 155.95. Additionally, she met the technical elements score requirement to compete at the 2024 World Championships.[6] At the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, she finished ninth and scored a personal best in the free skate.[7][8] She then placed fourth at the senior 2023 Volvo Open Cup.[9] She won a silver medal at the 2023 Bosphorus Cup behind Ting Tzu-Han.[10]

Variakojytė won her first senior national title at the 2024 Lithuanian Championships.[11] She competed at the 2024 World Junior Championships and finished thirty-ninth in the short program with a score of 43.57, failing to advance to the free skate segment.[12] She also competed at the senior-level World Championships and finished thirty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.[13]

2024–25 season 

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Variakojytė finishing her short program at the 2025 World Championships

Variakojytė started the season at the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Poland and finished seventeenth.[14] She then finished sixth at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial,[15] earning new personal bests in the short program and total.[8] At the 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy, she finished thirteenth.[16] She then successfully defended her Lithuanian national title.[17] She won another gold medal at the 2024 EduSport Trophy,[18] and she won a silver medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup.[19] She then finished fourth at the 2025 Tallink Hotels Cup.[20]

Variakojytė competed at the 2025 World Championships and scored 50.98 points. She finished twenty-fourth in the short program and advanced to the free skate by only 0.01 points. As a result, Lithuania received a quota for the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking the first time Lithuania qualified a skater for the Olympics in women's singles.[21] She went on to finish twenty-fourth overall.[22]

2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics

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In July, it was announced that Variakojytė had made a coaching change from Dmitrj Kozlov to Kirill Khaliavin and Jūlija Tepliha.[23] She was one of three Lithuanian woman competing for the Lithuanian Olympic quota she had won; the Lithuanian federation announced the decision would be based on their results on the ISU Challenger Series as well as at the Lithuanian Championships in December.[24] Variakojytė later alleged that communication from the Lithuanian Skating Federation about this process was poor and that her family had to pay for her to attend the Challenger competitions.[25]

At the Volvo Open Cup in November, she scored just over 60 points in her short program, which was a Lithuanian national record.[24]

In December, Variakojytė was ill and competed at the 2026 Lithuanian Championships with a fever. Despite this, she won the event and was awarded the 2026 Winter Olympic spot.[26] The following month, it was announced that Variakojytė had moved her training to Riga, Latvia, with Raimo Reinsalu and Olga Kovalkova acting as her new coaches.[27]

According to Lilija Vanagienė, a previous president of the Lithuanian Skating Federation, Variakojytė should have been selected for the 2026 European Championships after winning the Lithuanian national title, according to criteria established beforehand. However, Jogailė Aglinskytė was sent instead, allegedly at the decision of the Federation president, Vytautas Jasuctis. Variakojytė said that she was not notified and only learned she would not be attending the European Championships from the news shortly before the competition started. Vanagienė also alleged that Variakojytė was afraid to ask the reasoning behind the decision in case she would be removed from the Olympic team. Jasuctis said that Variakojytė was not sent because she would lose valuable training time for the Olympics.[25]

Variakojytė at the 2026 Winter Olympics

On 7 February, 2026, Reinsalu's accreditation for the Olympics was revoked by the Latvian Olympic Committee after the International Skating Union suspended him following accusations of abuse. Variakojytė indicated that she had not experienced abusive behavior from him herself.[28] She was accompanied at the Olympics by the director of the Lithuanian Skating Federation instead, in addition to Kolvakova. Reinsalu filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which was denied.[29] Ice dancer Saulius Ambrulevičius also accompanied her after he finished competing.[30]

During the 2026 Olympic women's singles short program, Variakojytė placed twenty-seventh in that segment and did not advance to the free skate.[8] Despite this, she expressed joy at the opportunity of getting to compete at the Olympics. "It was amazing. I stepped onto the ice and it was so, so exciting. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable," she said following her short program... I’m really satisfied with my performance. I made a small mistake... But overall I’m very happy with how I skated."[31]

Variakojytė was subsequently selected to be a flag bearer for Lithuania during the Olympic closing ceremony, along with cross-country skier Modestas Vaičiulis.[32]

At the 2026 World Championships, she finished 31st in the short program segment and did not qualify for the free skate.[33] She competed without either of her coaches, as neither were allowed to attend the World Championships while they were under investigation.[34]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating
2025–2026
[23][35]
  • Should It Be This Hard?
    by Evelyn Bates
  • Maison
    by Emilio Piano ft. Lucie
    choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin
2024–2025
[2]
2023–2024
[4]
2022–2023
[36]
2021–2022
[3]
  • Maybe I Maybe You
    by Scorpions
    choreo. by Regvita Janavičiūtė

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [8]
Season 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Winter Olympics 27th
World Championships 35th 24th 31st
Lithuanian Championships 1st 1st 1st
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 15th
CS Nepela Memorial 9th 6th
CS Tallinn Trophy 13th
CS Trialeti Trophy 16th
CS Warsaw Cup 5th
Bosphorus Cup 2nd
EduSport Trophy 4th 1st
Jelgava Cup 2nd
Kaunas Cup 1st
Latvia Trophy 7th
Tallink Hotels Cup 4th
Volvo Open Cup[a] 14th 4th 3rd
Volvo Open Cup[b] 8th 2nd 2nd
Wolmar Cup 3rd
  1. ↑ Volvo Open Cup Fall
  2. ↑ Volvo Open Cup Spring
Competition placements at junior level [8]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Junior Championships 39th
Lithuanian Championships 2nd 1st
JGP Italy 27th
JGP Latvia 19th
JGP Poland 17th
JGP Turkey 15th
Dragon Trophy 11th 5th
Volvo Open Cup 13th 3rd

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [8]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS157.172025 CS Warsaw Cup
Short program TSS54.812024 CS Nepela Memorial
TES31.102025 CS Warsaw Cup
PCS24.092026 Winter Olympics
Free skating TSS103.862025 CS Warsaw Cup
TES56.472025 CS Warsaw Cup
PCS47.792024 CS Nepela Memorial

Senior level

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Results in the 2022–23 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 3–4, 2022 Latvia 2022 Volvo Open Cup (Fall) 15 28.88 11 82.59 14 111.47
Dec 16–18, 2022 Latvia 2022 Latvia Trophy 4 53.86 7 85.70 7 142.53
Jan 11–15, 2023 Romania 2023 EduSport Trophy 4 50.20 4 93.01 4 143.21
Jan 19–22, 2023 Latvia 2023 Volvo Open Cup (Winter) 9 43.95 8 85.41 8 129.36
Apr 7–9, 2023 Latvia 2023 Wolmar Cup 3 41.73 3 88.91 3 130.64
Results in the 2023–24 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 16–17, 2023 Latvia 2023 Jelgava Cup 5 48.49 2 107.46 2 155.95
Sep 28–30, 2023 Slovakia 2023 CS Nepela Memorial 10 50.34 9 102.24 9 152.58
Oct 20–22, 2023 Lithuania 2023 Kaunas Cup 2 51.36 1 105.89 1 157.25
Nov 2–5, 2023 Latvia 2023 Volvo Open Cup 6 50.33 5 101.31 4 151.64
Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2023 Turkey 2023 Bosphorus Cup 5 48.86 1 114.46 2 163.32
Dec 16–17, 2023 Lithuania 2024 Lithuanian Championships 1 53.94 1 106.03 1 159.97
Mar 18–24, 2024 Canada 2024 World Championships 35 40.04 N/a N/a 35 40.04
Results in the 2024–25 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 25–27, 2024 Slovakia 2024 CS Nepela Memorial 4 54.81 7 98.20 6 153.01
Nov 12–17, 2024 Estonia 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy 9 49.61 14 82.69 13 132.30
Nov 30 – Dec 1, 2024 Lithuania 2025 Lithuanian Championships 1 51.30 1 102.68 1 153.98
Dec 12–15, 2024 Romania 2024 EduSport Trophy 1 54.45 1 101.23 1 155.68
Jan 16–19, 2025 Latvia 2025 Volvo Open Cup 2 51.42 2 102.89 2 154.31
Feb 13–16, 2025 Estonia 2025 Tallink Hotels Cup 4 53.45 5 95.19 4 148.64
Mar 24–30, 2025 United States 2025 World Championships 24 50.98 24 88.83 24 139.81
Results in the 2025–26 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 8–11, 2025 Georgia (country) 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy 18 47.95 14 98.99 16 146.94
Nov 5–9, 2025 Latvia 2025 Volvo Open Cup 2 60.03 4 100.97 3 161.00
Nov 19–23, 2025 Poland 2025 CS Warsaw Cup 7 53.31 5 103.86 5 157.17
Dec 3–6, 2025 Croatia 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 25 42.31 12 99.72 15 142.03
Dec 13–14, 2025 Lithuania 2026 Lithuanian Championships 1 53.62 1 114.37 1 167.99
Jan 22–25, 2026 Latvia 2026 Volvo Open Cup 4 55.83 2 109.34 2 165.17
Feb 17–19, 2026 Italy 2026 Winter Olympics 27 53.86 N/a N/a 27 53.86
Mar 24–29, 2026 Czech Republic 2026 World Championships 31 45.47 N/a N/a 31 45.47

Junior level

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Results in the 2021–22 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 3–7, 2021 Latvia 2021 Volvo Open Cup 15 35.51 13 63.65 13 99.16
Dec 3–5, 2021 Lithuania 2023 Lithuanian Junior Championships 4 37.75 2 71.38 2 109.13
Feb 10–13, 2022 Slovenia 2022 Dragon Trophy 12 38.95 10 72.39 11 111.34
Results in the 2022–23 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sept 7–10, 2022 Latvia 2022 JGP Latvia 16 43.42 22 75.27 19 118.69
Oct 11–15, 2022 Italy 2022 JGP Italy 38 32.17 21 83.05 27 115.22
Nov 26–27, 2022 Lithuania 2023 Lithuanian Junior Championships 1 37.78 1 77.98 1 115.76
Results in the 2023–24 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 6–9, 2023 Turkey 2023 JGP Turkey 25 33.37 11 87.14 15 120.51
Jan 18–21, 2024 Latvia 2024 Volvo Open Cup 4 53.05 3 101.08 3 154.13
Feb 8–11, 2024 Slovenia 2024 Dragon Trophy 1 53.86 8 80.24 5 134.10
24 Feb – 3 Mar, 2024 Chinese Taipei 2024 World Junior Championships 39 43.57 N/a N/a 39 43.57
Results in the 2024–25 season [8]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 25–28, 2024 Poland 2024 JGP Poland 19 44.94 16 88.86 17 133.80

References

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  1. ↑ "Medos Variakojytės olimpinis debiutas Milane: istorinis šokis ir trenerio diskvalifikacijos šešėlis" [Meda Variakojytė's Olympic debut in Milan: a historic dance and the shadow of her coach's disqualification (1)]. ve.lt (in Lithuanian). 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
  2. 1 2 "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "ISU JGP Istanbul 2023 - Junior Women". International Skating Union. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  6. ↑ "Čiuožėja Meda Variakojytė trokšta atstovauti Lietuvai Kaune: mano tikslas yra užsidirbti šią garbę" [Figure skater Meda Variakojytė aspires to represent Lithuania in Kaunas: my goal is to earn this honor] (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian National Radio and Television. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  7. ↑ "ISU CS Nepela Memorial 2023 Women Final Results". International Skating Union. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "LTU – Meda VARIAKOJYTE". SkatingScores.com. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  9. ↑ "Volvo Open Cup 50th Women Result". Kristal Ice Skating Club. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "2023 Bosphorus Cup". Turkish Ice Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "2024 Lithuanian Nationals Women Final Results". Skating Scores. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  12. ↑ "ISU World Junior Championships 2024 Junior Women Final Results". International Skating Union. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  13. ↑ "ISU World Championships 2024 - Women". International Skating Union. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  14. ↑ "ISU JGP Solidarity Cup 2024 Junior Women Final Results". International Skating Union. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  15. ↑ "ISU CS Nepela Memorial 2024 Women Final Results". International Skating Union. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  16. ↑ "ISU CS Tallinn Trophy 2024 Women Final Results". International Skating Union. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  17. ↑ "2025 Lithuanian Nationals Womens Final Results". Skating Scores. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  18. ↑ "Dvigubas Lietuvos čiuožėjų triumfas Rumunijoje – auksą iškovojo Meda Variakojytė bei Paulinos Ramanauskaitės ir Deivido Kizalos duetas" [Double triumph of Lithuanian skaters in Romania – Meda Variakojytė and the duo of Paulina Ramanauskaitė and Deividas Kizala won gold]. Sportas24 (in Lithuanian). 15 December 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  19. ↑ "Volvo Open Cup 54th Women Result". Kristal Ice Skating Club. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  20. ↑ "Čiuožėja Meda Variakojytė varžybose Estijoje rikiuojasi ketvirta" [Figure skater Meda Variakojytė ranks fourth in Estonia]. Sportas24 (in Lithuanian). 14 February 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  21. ↑ Jakilaitė, Barbora (27 March 2025). "Naują Lietuvos dailiojo čiuožimo istorijos puslapį atvertusi Variakojytė: negaliu patikėti" [Variakojytė, who opened a new page in the history of Lithuanian figure skating: I can't believe it] (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
  22. ↑ "Pasaulio čempionato finale debiutavusi Meda Variakojytė: „Olimpinis kelialapis – sunkaus darbo rezultatas"" [Meda Variakojytė, who made her debut in the World Championship final: "The Olympic ticket is the result of hard work"]. Sportas24 (in Lithuanian). 29 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  23. 1 2 "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 July 2025.
  24. 1 2 Jakilaitė, Barbora (2025-11-16). "Šalies rekordą pasiekusi Variakojytė svajoja kaitinti Milano ledą: tai pagrindinis tikslas" [Variakojytė, who set a national record, dreams of heating up the ice in Milan: this is her main goal]. lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  25. 1 2 Jakilaitė, Barbora (2026-04-23). "Jasučio elgesiu olimpietės atžvilgiu pasipiktinusi Vanagienė: tai – spaudimas ir mobingas" [Vanagienė is outraged by Jasutis' behavior towards the Olympian: this is pressure and mobbing]. LRT (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  26. ↑ Jakilaitė, Barbora (2025-12-14). "Sirgdama karjeros rekordą gerinusi Variakojytė užsitikrino vietą Milane: tiesiog nerealu" [Variakojytė, who improved her career record while sick, secured a place in Milan: it's simply unreal]. lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  27. ↑ "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2025/2026 (New Coaches)". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  28. ↑ "LTOK: gavus neigiamą ISU išvadą, stabdoma čiuožėjos trenerio akreditacija" [LTOC: After receiving a negative conclusion from the ISU, the accreditation of the skater's coach is suspended]. ltok.lt (in Lithuanian). 2026-02-07. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  29. ↑ Kellar, Anna (2026-02-13). "Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds provisional suspension of coach accused of abuse". Anything GOES. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  30. ↑ "Ačiū, Meda: nors aplodismentų nestigo, lietuvės pasirodymas olimpiadoje – baigtas" [Thank you, Meda: although there was no shortage of applause, the Lithuanian's performance at the Olympics is over]. Lrytas (in Lithuanian). 2026-02-17. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  31. ↑ "Meda Variakojyte 🇱🇹 53.86". X. Golden Skate. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  32. ↑ "Legendiniame senovės Romos laikų amfiteatre, pastatytame 30-aisiais mūsų eros metais, vyksta iškilminga XXV Milano ir Kortinos žiemos olimpinių žaidynių uždarymo ceremonija❄️🏔️". Instagram. Lietuvos tautinio olimpinio komiteto. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  33. ↑ "ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 - Women". results.isu.org. Retrieved 2026-03-25.
  34. ↑ Tamulionis, Aurimas (2026-03-25). "Be savo trenerių vėl čiuošiančios 18-metės laukia pokyčiai: „Maža tikimybė, kad liks ten, kur yra"" [Changes await the 18-year-old skating again without her coaches: "There's little chance she'll stay where she is"]. 15min.lt/sportas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  35. ↑ "Meda Variakojyte". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  36. ↑ "Meda VARIAKOJYTE: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023.
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