Russian figure skater and Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova announced her engagement on Instagram, reports infohub.kz.
The 22-year-old athlete posted a series of photos with her chosen partner, 27-year-old Artyom Shakirov, a former professional hockey player. In the last photo, an engagement ring is visible on Shcherbakova's ring finger. The post is captioned with a ring emoji and the date July 19, 2026.
Many sports and show business stars congratulated the couple in the comments, including figure skaters Evgenia Medvedeva, Alexandra Ignatova (née Trusova), and Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva.
Shcherbakova is a world and European champion, as well as the winner of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Since the Games in the Chinese capital, she has not competed in official events. Shakirov played in the Junior and All-Russian Hockey Leagues. He ended his professional career after the 2019/20 season.