Meda Variakojytė

Meda Variakojytė (born 3 May 2007) is a Lithuanian figure skater. She is the 2024 EduSport Trophy champion, the 2023 Kaunas Ice Autumn Cup champion, and a three-time Lithuanian national champion (2024–26). At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Variakojytė became the first Lithuanian figure skater to compete in the women's singles event.

Variakojytė is the 2023 Lithuanian junior national champion and the 2022 Lithuanian junior national silver medalist.

Career

Variakojytė began figure skating in 2012 in her hometown, Kaunas. Her first coach was Indrė Paulaitienė, before Dmitrij Kozlov became her head coach in 2023.

She won the silver medal at the Lithuanian Junior Championships in 2022 and gold in 2023.

2023–24 season: First National title, World Championship debut

Variakojytė began the season by finishing fifteenth at the 2023 Junior Grand Prix Turkey. She then competed at the 2023 Jelgava Cup in the senior level and won the silver medal with a score of 155.95. Additionally, she met the technical elements score requirement to compete at the 2024 World Championships. At the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, she finished ninth and scored a personal best in the free skate. She then placed fourth at the senior 2023 Volvo Open Cup. She won a silver medal at the 2023 Bosphorus Cup behind Ting Tzu-Han.

Variakojytė won her first senior national title at the 2024 Lithuanian Championships. She competed at the 2024 World Junior Championships and finished thirty-ninth in the short program with a score of 43.57, failing to advance to the free skate segment. She also competed at the senior-level World Championships and finished thirty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.

2024–25 season

Variakojytė started the season at the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Poland and finished seventeenth. She then finished sixth at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial, earning new personal bests in the short program and total. At the 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy, she finished thirteenth. She then successfully defended her Lithuanian national title. She won another gold medal at the 2024 EduSport Trophy, and she won a silver medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup. She then finished fourth at the 2025 Tallink Hotels Cup.

Variakojytė competed at the 2025 World Championships and scored 50.98 points. She finished twenty-fourth in the short program and advanced to the free skate by only 0.01 points. As a result, Lithuania received a quota for the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking the first time Lithuania qualified a skater for the Olympics in women's singles. She went on to finish twenty-fourth overall.

2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics

In July, it was announced that Variakojytė had made a coaching change from Dmitrj Kozlov to Kirill Khaliavin and Jūlija Tepliha. She was one of three Lithuanian woman competing for the Lithuanian Olympic quota she had won; the Lithuanian federation announced the decision would be based on their results on the ISU Challenger Series as well as at the Lithuanian Championships in December.

At the Volvo Open Cup in November, she scored just over 60 points in her short program, which was a Lithuanian national record.

In December, Variakojytė was ill and competed at the 2026 Lithuanian Championships with a fever. Despite this, she won the event and was awarded the 2026 Winter Olympic spot. The following month, it was announced that Variakojytė had moved her training to Riga, Latvia, with Raimo Reinsalu and Olga Kovalkova acting as her new coaches.

On 7 February, 2026, Reinsalu's accreditation for the Olympics was revoked by the Latvian Olympic Committee after the International Skating Union suspended him following accusations of abuse. Variakojytė indicated that she had not experienced abusive behavior from him herself. She was accompanied at the Olympics by the director of the Lithuanian Skating Federation instead, in addition to Kolvakova. Reinsalu filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which was denied. Ice dancer Saulius Ambrulevičius also accompanied her after he finished competing.

During the 2026 Olympic women's singles short program, Variakojytė placed twenty-seventh in that segment and did not advance to the free skate. Despite this, she expressed joy at the opportunity of getting to compete at the Olympics. "It was amazing. I stepped onto the ice and it was so, so exciting. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable," she said following her short program... I’m really satisfied with my performance. I made a small mistake... But overall I’m very happy with how I skated."

Variakojytė was subsequently selected to be a flag bearer for Lithuania during the Olympic closing ceremony, along with cross-country skier Modestas Vaičiulis.

At the 2026 World Championships, she finished 31st in the short program segment and did not qualify for the free skate. She competed without either of her coaches, as neither were allowed to attend the World Championships while they were under investigation.

Programs

Competitive highlights

• CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
• JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix
• TBD – Assigned
• WD – Withdrew from competition

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level

External links

• at the International Skating Union
• at Skating Scores
• at Milano Cortina 2026
• at Olympics.com
• at Olympedia
• on Instagram