Nelli Zhiganshina
Nelli Nailevna Zhiganshina (; born 31 March 1987) is a Russian-born German ice dancer. With Alexander Gazsi, she is a six-time German national champion (2007, 2011–2015) and has won twelve international medals. They have placed as high as 6th at the European Championships and 10th at the World Championships. Personal life Nelli Zhiganshina was born on 31 March 1987 in Moscow. She is the elder sister of Ruslan Zhiganshin, who is a competitive ice dancer for Russia. Their mother is a children's skating coach. Zhiganshina passed a German citizenship test in 2011 and filed documents to renounce her Russian citizenship, as required by Germany. In November 2013, it was announced that she had been released by Russia, allowing her to take German citizenship. Career Early years Zhiganshina began skating in 1990 at the age of three. She took up ice dancing at 12. Zhiganshina competed with Denis Bazdirev for Russia until the end of 2004, appearing four times on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. Partnership with Alexander Gazsi 2005–2010 In June 2005, Zhiganshina had a tryout with Alexander Gazsi in Moscow and agreed to skate with him for Germany. At the start of their partnership, they trained mainly in