Gogolev spent the last several years struggling just to stay on competitive ice, nowhere near the international podiums he had seemed destined. When his season was cut short for a second consecutive year in December, he wasn't sure he would return.
"I definitely had those thoughts," said Gogolev, now 20. "It was really frustrating ... I wasn't really sure whether these issues were going to keep continuing.
"It was more of a thing that, I was going to give it one last try … it was definitely harder to make that decision to keep skating."
It's a decision he doesn't regret.
Gogolev is finally pain-free, and it's showing. He topped the Nebelhorn Trophy podium on the Challenger Series in Oberstdorf, Germany, on Sept. 26 to capture his first senior gold medal.