When Mariia Seniuk took Olympic ice last Thursday at the Milano Cortina Olympics, she seemed to channel fierce “Stranger Things” heroine Eleven, small and mysterious on the ice.
She wore all red, scrunched her face up and growled along with sound effects as she danced to the “Stranger Things” soundtrack, including a snippet of dialogue from season four in which antagonist Vecna tells Eleven, “You’ve already lost.”
Commentator Johnny Weir may have found that particular line inadvisable to skate to, but Seniuk, undeniably, had a lot of fun.
While the young athlete finished dead last at the free skate after falling on jumps, she made her entire nation proud. Her creative musical choice stood out at an Olympics where many leaned into quirky choices (from an Italian skater performing as a minion to Gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov skating as Kung-Fu Panda at the figure skating gala to the tune of Jack Black).
And even more importantly, Seniuk made Israeli Olympic history. The 20-year-old, a three-time national champion, is the first Israeli to represent the country in the Olympics’ female singles’ competition — and the first to qualify for the free skate (five other Olympians, including Bulgaria’s Alexandra Feigin, who was born in Israel, were disqualified during the short program portion on Feb. 17).
Seniuk qualified for the Olympics at the 2025 World Championships, where she placed 16th. She told Israel’s Makor Rishon that she almost didn’t make it to that competition after some visa troubles, and that her coach couldn’t be with her because she couldn’t get her own tourist visa in time.
Yet, Seniuk tried her best to focus and perform her best, most flawless skate.
“I’ve been dreaming of the Olympics since I was a little girl. I felt very ready, I’m very happy I skated well and it’s so meaningful that I could guarantee Israel’s participation in the competition,” she shared.
Seniuk, who was born in Moscow, started skating in open fields when she was just 4. She had an abundance of energy as a young child, and the sport helped her channel it. When she was 8, she moved with her family to Israel — first to Natanya, then to Tel Aviv. She skated and trained at Ice Holon.
Like many fellow skaters, she’s since left the country to train elsewhere, having outgrown the facilities and the coaches available to her in Israel, where figure skating may be the most popular of winter sports, but is still regarded to be in its infancy. So Seniuk and her family moved back to Russia.
She misses many things about Israel, including the weather.
“I really love the climate in Israel. I love the sea, the water, the sun. When I’m in Israel, I go to swim every day,” she told Makor Rishon. “I feel like a Jew who is very proud to represent Israel.”
Some would say that Israel finished the 2026 winter Olympics exactly where it started — with zero winter Olympic medals to boast about (the country has won its fair share at the summer Olympics). And yet athletes like Seniuk, cross country skier Dr. Attila Mihály Kertész, and even the disqualified bobsled team Shul Runnings, whose historic Olympic run ended when the Israeli Olympic committee withdrew the team for lying to Olympic officials about a team member’s health, have shown the nation new frontiers in what is possible.
And hey, we might still see Seniuk at the 2030 winter Olympics in the French Alps. She’s got four years to choose another funky TV soundtrack and level up her skating.
In the meantime, here’s a hearty mazel tov to Seniuk, who will always be a part of Israeli Olympic history.
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