Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov, Sara Hurtado’s gifted students, conquer the Olympic dream

• Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov, protagonists of the last episode of “What I learned from my coach”, grew up following the trajectory of the Olympians Sara Hurtado and Kirill Jalyavin and today they train under their guidance in Madrid.
• In just three years as a couple, Sofia and Asaf have already played a European, a World Cup and won a gold medal at the University World Games in Turin.
• In addition, last weekend, the duo secured their qualification for Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026, thus guaranteeing the presence for the first time of two Spanish dance couples in a Winter Olympic Games.

Madrid, September 25, 2025.- The Higher Sports Council (CSD) publishes this week a new episode of “What I learned from my coach”, in which Sara Hurtado and two of her most outstanding students, Sofía Val and Asaf Kazimov, review their way to the Winter Olympic Games of Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Both will emulate Sara Hurtado, pioneer of ice skating in Spain, with two participations in the Olympic Games next February: in Sochi 2014 with Adrián Díaz and in PyeongChang 2018 with Kirill Jalyavin, with whom she achieved a historic classification for the dance final.

A pioneer in this sport, after retiring from the high level Sara Hurtado decided to transmit her experience to the new generations from the ice of Majadahonda, where she currently leads with her partner on the ice Kirill Jalyavin the ‘International Ice Dance School’.

Sara Hurtado recognizes in this episode of “What I learned from my coach” that hanging skates a short time ago helps her maintain a very direct connection with her athletes: “It makes you very close to what you live at a competitive level. So, you feel it’s still very fresh and you’re able to empathize or explain things much more closely. And you live it, it’s shared in a way that’s perhaps deeper than if you’ve been out of the ice for so many years.”

His philosophy, as he explains, focuses on trust, attention to values and the psychological well-being of the athlete. “The first thing is the person and from there we go for the objectives,” he stresses.

That team spirit is perceived in the words of Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov, who only have words of thanks to their coach.

They both share a passion for their sport, which makes hard training worthwhile. “I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else. The experiences that we have competing are not going to give me anything else in life,” says Sofia Val.

A sports couple since the end of 2022, Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov began to stand out very soon. In their second competition together, in fact, they managed to qualify for the World Cup in Japan. This start was the prelude to what followed: gold conquered at the University World Games in Turin in 2025 and the qualification for the Winter Olympics in 2026.

“That’s every athlete’s dream,” says Sofia Val, who last weekend made history with Asaf Kazimov by winning an Olympic place in the Beijing qualifier. They were third, with 170.32 points.

In this way, they ensured not only their presence in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, but also placed Spain for the first time with two pairs of dance on ice classified for a Games.

About “What I learned from my coach”

This project, promoted by the Higher Sports Education Center (CSED) of the Higher Sports Council, aims to value the figure of the coach and his important work in improving the preparation, progression and achievement of the successes of those athletes with whom they work.

Through a dialogue, they address aspects such as the importance of the figure of the technician or the qualities that he must possess to carry out his work in the best conditions.

In addition, issues such as the method of work used, their experiences in the competition or their ideas on the psychological aspects in the field of sport are analyzed.

Full interview: https://youtu.be/JC45pEpOvw0