Elena Valerievna Kostyleva (Russian: Елена Валерьевна Костылева; born 11 October 2011) is a Russian figure skater who currently competes as an Individual Neutral Athlete. She is a two-time Russian junior national champion (2025, 2026).
Kostyleva has also landed the triple Axel and quadruple jumps in domestic competition.
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Personal life
Elena Kostyleva was born 11 October 2011 in Voronezh, Russia. She has an older sister. Due to of being born premature and developing bronchitis at the age of four months, Elena spent the first year of her life in the hospital.
During this time, she and her family lived in Rossosh, Voronezh Oblast before eventually moving to Moscow in 2018 so Kostyleva could pursue her skating career.
Career
Early years
In order to improve her health, Kostyleva began learning how to skate at the age of three while living in Rossosh, Voronezh Oblast. After showing promise, she transferred to the Olympic Reserve School in Voronezh. In 2018, she moved to Moscow. Kostyleva trained under a number of coaches during her early years in the sport – including Sergei Davydov, Eteri Tutberidze (on two separate occasions), Vadim Raevsky, and Viktoria Butsaeva (née Volchkova). In December 2022, she joined Igor Lyutikov's group at SSOR “Moskvich”.
2023–2024 season
In January 2024, she took the individual bronze at the Russian Figure Skating Jumping Championships, behind Margarita Bazyliuk and Adeliia Petrosian.
In March 2024, she left coach, Igor Lyutikov to train under Evgeni Plushenko at the Angels of Plushenko Academy.
2024–2025 season
Kostyleva was given two Russian Cup assignments – she placed 1st at Stage 4 in Krasnoyarsk and 2nd at Stage 5 in Moscow. These medal placements qualified her for the upcoming 2025 Russian Junior Grand Prix Final.
In February 2025, she won the Russian Junior Championships with 233.10 points, in front of Alisa Dvoeglazova with 231.56 and Sofia Dzepka with 218.38, and the 2025 Russian Junior Grand Prix Final.
2025–2026 season
In September 2025, she won the Moscow Oblast Championships, despite having skipped her summer training due to an injury. On 21 November, she, unexpectedly, didn't win the Russian Grand Prix stage in Omsk, finishing with less than 200 points.
In late December 2025, she left Plushenko's figure skating academy after a conflict Kostyleva's mother had with Plushenko. She switched to train with Sofia Fedchenko and lived with her temporarily. Nevertheless, she continued to perform in Plushenko's commercial ice show Sleeping Beauty, playing the role of Aurora.
In January, she returned to Plushenko after Kostyleva's mother had a conflict with Sofia Fedchenko. "We all live and do everything for our children. For the sake of Lena, and only for her, we erased all the negativity from our lives and overstepped all our principles," shares Evgeni Plushenko.
In February 2026, she won the Russian Junior Championships for the second time in a row. She subsequently withdrew from the 2026 Russian Junior Grand Prix Final due to injury.
2026–2027 season
On 30 June 2026, the International Skating Union announced that figure skaters from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at international competitions as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each of these skaters are be required to undergo an individual assessment conducted by the ISU Council to determine whether they meet the criteria for neutral status. Kostyleva's application was approved, making her eligible to compete internationally as a neutral athlete. She was subsequently assigned to the Junior Grand Prix stage in China and Thailand. Shortly after being assigned, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia announced that Elena would withdraw from the stage in China due to injuring her right gluteal muscle after multiple falls while working to restore her quad jumps.; her spot was given to the first substitute Sofia Dzepka.
Skating style and influences
In September 2024, Kostyleva stated that she wanted to land 5 or 6 quadruple jumps in a program, beating Alexandra Trusova's record. In late March 2025, it was reported that she had successfully landed 51 quadruples in official competitions, beating Trusova's record of 50 quadruples. From 2018 to 2022, Trusova successfully landed 50 quadruples out of 95 attempts.
Controversies
Yoghurt incident
One day in June 2021, Kostyleva was seen by Eteri Tutberidze holding two yoghurts, while eating more than one constituted a dietary violation. Kostyleva defended herself by saying that the second one was intended for another skater, Margarita Bazyliuk, but the latter denied having asked Kostyleva to take one for her from the cafeteria. As the result, Kostyleva allegedly fell of out of favor with Tutberitze and was eventually forced to change the coach. The incident was widely discussed in the Russian press. In the autumn of 2023, Bazyliuk was asked about that incident and replied: "I didn't ask her to bring the yogurt. That's it." According to yet another skater from Tutberidze's group, there weren't only yoghurts involved, there were also cereals, succades and other sweets.
Mother's over-involvement
Kostyleva's mother, Irina Kostyleva, has been criticized for over-involvement in her daughter's training. In November 2025, Plushenko's wife, producer Yana Rudkovskaya, published a CCTV video in which Irina allegedly hit her daughter on the premises of the Plushenko's academy rink. Moreover, Plushenko filed an official complaint with Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, reporting Irina's abuse of her daughter. About a month later, Elena Kostyleva left Plushenko to train with Sofia Fedchenko, but returned to him in January. "He is my favorite person, the coach for life," she commented on her return.