Early career Mukhortova and
Maxim Trankov trained in the same practice group under coaches
Ludmila Velikova and
Nikolai Velikov, but with different partners. Mukhortova first competed with
Pavel Lebedev during the 2001–02 and the 2002–03 season, skating with him on the
ISU Junior Grand Prix and finishing fourth at the
2002 and
2003 World Junior Championships. The pair had frequent arguments but due to good results, Mukhortova initially declined to switch partners, however, a year later in 2003, she accepted Trankov's suggestion to skate together.
Partnership with Trankov In their first season together, they won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final and the
2004 World Junior Championships. The following season, they competed on both the Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix and won the
2005 World Junior Championships. In the 2005–06 Olympic season, they were assigned to the
2006 World Championships after
Tatiana Totmianina /
Maxim Marinin withdrew. They placed 12th in their debut at the event. After the 2005–06 season, Mukhortova and Trankov switched coaches to
Tamara Moskvina. In August 2006,
Artur Dmitriev became their coach and in December 2006 they moved to
Oleg Vasiliev. In the 2006–07 season, Mukhortova and Trankov won the
2007 Russian Nationals, but were forced to miss the
Europeans after she suffered an injury in practice. They returned in time for the
2007 Worlds, moving up one place to 11th. The following season, they won the silver medal at the
2008 Europeans and finished 7th at the
2008 Worlds. They had to take a short break in the middle of their long program at Worlds because Trankov was suffering from swelling in his arm, but returned to complete their skate after some alterations to his costume. In the 2008-09 season, Mukhortova and Trankov qualified for their first
Grand Prix Final, won a bronze medal at the
2009 European Championships, and moved up to 5th place at the
World Championships. For the 2009-10 season, the pair was assigned to the
2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, where they set a new overall personal best score and defeated two-time world champions
Aliona Savchenko &
Robin Szolkowy. Their second Grand Prix event was the
2009 Skate Canada where they placed second. They won another bronze medal at the
2010 European Championships but finished a disappointing seventh at the
2010 Winter Olympic Games. At the
2010 World Championships held in
Turin,
Italy, in March 2010 they finished in 4th place. Shortly thereafter, the pair ended their partnership.
Partnership with Blanchard In May 2010, it was announced that she had teamed up with
Jérôme Blanchard to compete for Russia. At the
2011 Russian Championships, they finished 7th overall. In February 2011, their coach Oleg Vasiliev said they had taken some time off due to funding issues. On March 4, Vasiliev confirmed their partnership had ended; Mukhortova would consider competing with a new partner or move into show skating. Mukhortova joined the Russian Ice Stars in 2011. == Programs ==