

A Ukrainian-born pairs skater who found a new competitive home with France, specializing in breathtaking high-risk lifts and throws.
Denys Strekalin's story in figure skating is one of resilience and international partnership. Beginning his career skating for Ukraine with a different partner, he faced the competitive limitations that often challenge smaller federations. Seeking a new path, he teamed up with American-born skater Megan Wessenberg in 2022, and the pair made the significant decision to compete for France, where Wessenberg had familial ties. Strekalin, known for his considerable strength and stability, became the perfect base for Wessenberg's athleticism. Together, they quickly climbed the ranks, their programs built around his exceptional lifting ability and their synchronized triple twists. Their journey represents the modern, borderless nature of pairs skating, where talent finds opportunity, and new alliances are forged on the ice.
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Denys was born in 1999, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
The biggest hits of 1999
#1 Movie
Star Wars: Episode I
Best Picture
American Beauty
#1 TV Show
ER
The world at every milestone
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
He previously skated for Ukraine with partner Sofiia Holichenko.
His partner, Megan Wessenberg, is a former U.S. national competitor who holds French citizenship through her mother.
The pair train in Bergamo, Italy, under coaches Franca Bianconi and Rosanna Murante.
He is known for performing a high-difficulty triple twist lift, a key element in their programs.
“The most important thing is to trust your partner completely on the ice.”