When Emilia Nemirovsky takes the ice, she has a quiet yet powerful presence — a unique combination of athleticism and calmness that commands attention. During the past few seasons, the 15-year-old from Birmingham, Michigan, has made a splash on the U.S. skating scene and now, she is ready for the next challenge.
Her journey to the international stage began years ago, at the tender age of 4.
"My grandma suggested that I try figure skating on top of all the other sports I was doing," she said. "I excelled in skating the most compared to the rest. I finally decided to make it my main sport when I was 8 years old."
Emilia Nemirovsky at the 2025 U.S. Championships.
Photo by Danielle Earl/U.S. Figure Skating
Julie Berlin began coaching Nemirovsky when she was 5 years old, and Berlin has remained her coach since then.
"I've been working with Emilia pretty much right out of Learn to Skate," Berlin said. "It's been a 10-year journey thus far."
Nemirovsky, who competes for the Detroit Skating Club, achieved a great deal of success at a young age. She won the 2025 Midwestern Sectional junior ladies title and back-to-back pewter medals at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (2024 and 2025). And perhaps most impressively — she is one of the few women in the world to land a triple Axel.
"This season I am hoping to get it really consistent, so that I can start including it in my programs," Nemirovsky said.
Her season is off to a strong start. In early August, Nemirovsky won the senior women's division at 2025 DuPage FSC Open, a National Qualifying Series competition held in Evanston, Illinois. She has chosen to compete domestically as a senior and internationally as a junior. Nemirovsky has been assigned to the ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Bangkok, Thailand, which takes place this week.
She has worked diligently and is excited to show the progress she has made. Nemirovsky has incorporated weightlifting and cardio into her off-ice training, as well as additional skating sessions focused on improving her components scores.
For her short program, she has chosen selections from the 2020 superhero film
Birds of Prey, the story of Harley Quinn. For her free skate, she is performing to Chappell Roan's "Kaleidoscope" — a complicated, ever-changing song about love.
If these music choices seem like a departure from years past, that's intentional, Nemirovsky said.
"With the help of my coaches and mother, we chose these pieces because they are completely different from what I've ever skated to," she said. "This music will challenge me to show all sides of skating — intensity and drama in the short program, and grace
and freedom in the long."
Though her athleticism has always taken center stage, Nemirovsky is ready to demonstrate her newly found emotional depth.
"I need to be technically strong and consistent so I can have a chance to emotionally.
connect to my programs," Nemirovsky said. "Clean skates are always the goal but so is standing out artistically. I'm working to bring both elements together."
Nemirovsky's mother, Tanya Nemirovsky, can attest to her daughter's growth as a skater and as a person.
"You can see she has matured quite a lot, specifically her ability to let go of mistakes and move forward has improved drastically," Tanya said.
Berlin is optimistic about her student's progress as well.
"I would say her biggest growth has been her ability to compete at a much higher level of skill, as well as learning to put two programs together at the same event," Berlin said. "In addition, she has improved her ability to manage not having perfection all the time — to learn to struggle through elements to achieve all skills."
Berlin continued, "Emilia's key focus for this season is to continue to perform her programs at her highest ability, as well as continue to maintain the confidence in the growth that she is demonstrating. She needs to keep her focus and her discipline intact through her daily training."
Armed with the triple Axel and tenacity, Nemirovsky is poised to make her mark.
"Looking back on last season, I struggled with consistency under pressure," Nemirovsky said. "This year, I am focusing on mental training as much as physical training and learning how to stay calm under high-stake moments."
Getting to Know Emilia:
Age: 15
Year in School: 10th grade
School: Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan
What's one thing SKATING magazine readers would be surprised to learn about you?
"I love to color in my free time. It's a great way for me to decompress off the ice."
Pets: Three cats — Lucy, Belle and Penny
Did you know … In addition to being a world-class figure skater, Emilia competes in track and field. Her favorite running events are the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Instagram: @emilianemirovsky
