Figure skater Kovtun was hospitalized after falling at the Grand Prix

Figure skater Gleb Kovtun was hospitalized after an unsuccessful fall during the short program at the Russian Junior Grand Prix in Omsk. This was announced on November 13 by the press service of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR).

The athlete opened the youth competition. The incident occurred while performing the first element of the program, the triple axel. As a result of the fall, the 18-year-old figure skater cut his face and suffered a bruised shoulder. Kovtun was sent from the Ice Palace to the hospital for a medical examination.

German Lenkov became the leader in the boys' short program, receiving 83.78 points from the judges. Ilya Malkov took the second place (82.92), Aldar Sambuev took the third place (82.56).

In October 2026, Kovtun won the silver medal at the Russian Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk. Then the athlete scored a total of 220.14 points, second only to Makar Solodnikov. Ilya Malkov rounded out the top three in that tournament.

Gleb Kovtun will switch to the adult category in a year: the age status in figure skating is fixed on July 1 before the start of the new competition cycle. Gleb Kovtun was born on July 9, 2008, so he turned 17 on July 1, 2026. At this age, a figure skater has the right to start competing in the adult category, but the decision belongs to the coaching staff, who decided to keep Kovtun in the juniors for now in order to gain experience and compete for awards at junior tournaments. At the same time, the skater already has the right to apply for separate adult starts in parallel with the main program. In Russian figure skating, admission to the masters of sports begins at the age of 16, and at international tournaments under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU) — from the age of 17.

According to the ISU regulations, the upper age limit for boys in singles is 19 years old on July 1. By the beginning of July 2027, Gleb will be 18 years old, but on July 9 of the same year he will turn 19. In this regard, the 2027/2028 season will be his first full-fledged adult career without the possibility of returning to the junior ranks.