The son of an international skater, Daniel Martynov is charting his own path: ‘I’m really in tune with my process’
The 17-year-old was formerly coached by his father, Yevgeny, but has made a move to Florida and is (mostly) injury-free. The American heads to this weekend’s Junior Grand Prix Final.
Figure Skating
To say Daniel Martynov grew up in a figure skating household is an understatement.
Son of a skater-turned-coach father and ballet-dancer-turned-choreographer mother, Daniel was on the ice by age three, with the family sure not to miss any skating on TV, either.
“I had no choice,” laughs Martynov, who is now 17. “Absolutely no choice. But after I started, I stuck with it. I wouldn’t change it at all.”
This weekend (7-10 December), the American teenager heads to Beijing for the junior competition at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023, where the top six skaters or teams in each of the sport’s four disciplines will compete at both the junior and senior level.
“It’s definitely going to be really cool to be at a competition with someone like Shoma Uno, who I've been watching for who knows how long,” Martynov explains with a smile. “And in an Olympic venue? I didn’t even know that, to be honest.”
The National Indoor Stadium in Beijing (the skating venue for last year's 2022 Winter Olympic Games) plays host to the Final, an event that Martynov surely didn’t envision himself qualifying for when he received a single assignment at the start of the Junior Grand Prix Series.
But a bronze medal in Japan meant a call up to go to Armenia, where the Chicago-area native knew he needed a top-tier finish for the chance to punch a ticket to the Final.
It was a crash course in facing competitive pressures. He would go on to win the event in Yerevan, Armenia - pumping his fist in elation as his scores came through.
“I’d rather that [pressure] than just being there,” Martynov says. “I just tried to skate clean and not worry or think about the result. I was able to get into my groove. I've been more trusting in myself [recently].
“I'm really in tune with my process.”
The family Martynov: Roots in skating
Yevgeny Martynov competed in the mid- and late-1990s for Ukraine, placing fifth at World Juniors in 1995 and winning medals at a pair of mid-level (now ISU Challenger Series) events, Nebelhorn Trophy (silver) and Golden Spin (gold) in 1998.
After settling the family in Naperville, Illinois, (the hometown of 2010 Olympic champion, Evan Lysacek), Yevgeny had Daniel on the ice at a young age: “My dad taught me how to skate,” the 17-year old Martynov says, then adding: “I like to think I’m a little better than him now... just have to throw that out there.”
His mother, Marina Gromova, has some 30 years of experience as a choreographer, crafting programs for a host of skaters, including – at one point – 1994 Olympic champion Oksana Baiul.
As Martynov’s success grew as a junior, the double duty of parents-as-coaches created hurdles for the family, who turned to renowned coach and choreographer Nikolai Morozov for help.
Daniel made the move to Florida in August of 2022 to train with Morozov full time.
“We needed just to change something up,” Martynov said of his move away from home. “Now it's a little bit easier because we have an understanding where it's like, When I'm in Chicago, I'm visiting. So it's just a little different.”
Living on his own in Florida has forced Martynov to grow up – fast. He learned quickly that no one was going to make him dinner at the end of a hard day of training except for himself.
His go-to: “Chicken breast, quinoa and fried green beans with lemon and soy sauce.”
“[The move] has forced me to mature faster,” Martynov admits. “I love having my schedule to myself; I can really focus on skating.”
Daniel Martynov: Injuries challenge quad progress
The Grand Prix Final arrives as a sort of reward to Martynov after an especially challenging couple of years, which has seen him suffer through a myriad of injuries, including tendonitis in his knee, a stress fracture in his back and a growth spurt that saw him grow nine inches over a matter of months in 2021.
“I had to learn to overcome”, says Martynov, who missed the entire 2021-22 season.
“For a time I would skate one week, take the next off,” he said. In late 2021, "it got to a point where it hurt to walk,” Martynov added. “I couldn't go up the stairs."
The series of injuries also set Martynov back on pivotal developmental work, including on his quadruple jumps – a near-must for men at the senior level. He has a quad toe-loop in his arsenal, however, and said he plans on using the jump in the free skate in Beijing.
“I’ve learned the hard way,” he admits. “I’m definitely focusing now more on rest because of that, but it’s been a learning curve. It’s also about knowing your body and knowing how to deal with... if something happens, not pushing and waiting to pull the trigger before it gets bad and you’re out for six months.
While the quad toe is the only one he’s landed out of the jumping harness, Martynov seems happy with where his technical game is at: “It’s about confidence,” he said of the quad jumps. “It’s been going good in practice but we’ve just been careful because we don’t want to cause any more injuries.”
Looking up to Javier Fernandez: 'My favourite'
As soon as Morozov chose Coral Springs, Florida, as his training base, Martynov made plans to join him: “I’m coming,” he remembered. “It was set in stone. I wanted to train with him for a longer period of time and this was [the chance].”
Morozov was a competitive ice dancer before moving into coaching, and oversaw Arakawa Shizuka’s run to gold at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, as well as having worked with Ando Miki (a two-time world champion), Takahashi Daisuke (the Vancouver 2010 bronze medallist), and Javier Fernandez of Spain, among others.
It’s Fernandez, Martynov says, who has long inspired him. He can remember screaming cheers at the TV when Javi took to the ice at PyeongChang 2018, where Martynov’s father also served as a technical specialist among officials (in the women’s event).
“Javi was my favourite through his whole career; I just love him,” Martynov said. “And then as I started getting older, I just had so much respect for Nathan [Chen] because he was doing all those crazy jumps when I was just starting to do, like... a triple Axel. [As a skater], you know how hard an element is for you, and when you see someone on TV doing six quads in a free skate, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Martynov has never met the aforementioned Lysacek, but he has spent time with another Chicago-area native, two-time Olympian Jason Brown. The two actually went to a senior international event together in the last several weeks, some 11 years between them.
“He gave me some great advice,” Martynov said of Brown. “He told me, ‘I’m still figuring out adulting at 28.’ I got to ask him a lot of questions; pull information out of him. The time we had together was great.”
From his parents to Morozov to the skaters he’s looked up to, Martynov has been surrounded by the sport for as much and as long as he can remember. But now he’s really ready to step out and make a name for himself.
It’s something he’s looking forward to the most, in fact.
“Growing up we watched every single competition; I knew every one of the skaters,” he said. “I’m so thankful that I’m getting to that level where hopefully someone else will be watching and keeping up with me.
“Now that feels surreal.”