Sergei Ponomarenko

Sergei Ponomarenko

Klimova & Ponomarenko in 1989
Personal information
Full name Sergei Vladilenovich Ponomarenko
Country represented  Unified Team
 Soviet Union
Born October 6, 1960 (1960-10-06) (age 51)
Moscow
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Former partner Marina Klimova
Tatiana Durasova
Medal record
Figure skating
Competitor for the  Soviet Union
Silver 1988 Calgary Ice dancing
Bronze 1984 Sarajevo Ice dancing
Competitor for the Unified Team
Gold 1992 Albertville Ice dancing

Sergei Vladilenovich Ponomarenko (Russian: Сергей Владиленович Пономаренко; born October 6, 1960) is a Russian ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified team. With skating partner and wife Marina Klimova, he is the 1992 Olympic champion, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, three-time World champion, and four-time European champion.

Contents

Career

Ponomarenko trained at Spartak in Moscow. Early in his career, he competed with Tatiana Durasova, becoming the 1978 and 1979 World Junior champion.[1] Following their split, he teamed up with Marina Klimova.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were fourth in their European Championships debut in 1983. Their breakthrough came the following season when they won the bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and 1984 European Championships. In 1985, they won their first World medal, silver. They were four-time consecutive World silver medalists from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, they also won the Olympic silver medal, behind Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin.

In 1989, Klimova and Ponomarenko won the first of their four consecutive European titles. They also won the 1989 World Championships and followed that up with another World gold the following year.

At the 1991 World Championships, they had a setback when they placed second to Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay. Four months before the Olympics, they decided to leave coach Natalia Dubova.[2] They re-established themselves as the top ice dancers in the world by winning another 1992 European title and then capturing the 1992 Olympic title. They ended their season with their third World title. They retired from eligible skating after the World Championships and turned to professional and show skating.

In addition to winning three World championships and four European Championships, Klimova and Ponomarenko are the only figure skaters in any discipline to have won Olympic medals in three different colors. They won the bronze medal in 1984 Sarajevo, the silver medal in 1988 Calgary for the Soviet Union and the gold medal in 1992 Albertville for the Unified Team.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.[3] Ponomarenko is an ISU technical specialist for Russia.[4] He and his wife coach young figure skaters at Sharks Ice at San Jose, California.

Personal life

Klimova and Ponomarenko married in September 1984 and have two sons, Tim born in 1998 and Anthony in 2001. They now reside in the United States in Morgan Hill, California.

Programs

(With Klimova)

Season Original set pattern
/ Original dance		 Free dance Exhibition
1992–1996
  • Clowns March to Sousa
  • Masquerade Waltz
    by Aram Khachaturian
1991–1992
1990–1991
1989–1990
1988–1989
1987–1988
1986–1987
1985–1986
1984–1985
1983–1984
1982–1983

Results

With Klimova

Event 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1994–95 1995–96
Winter Olympic Games 3rd 2nd 1st
World Championships 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st
European Championships 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
Soviet Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st
Fujifilm Trophy 1st
Nebelhorn Trophy 1st 1st
Prize of Moscow News 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st
Golden Spin of Zagreb 2nd
World Professional Championships 2nd 2nd

With Durasova

Event 1977–1978 1978–1979
World Junior Championships 1st 1st

References

  1. ^ World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: DancePDF (11.0 KB)
  2. ^ Vaytsekhovskaya, Elena (1991). "Марина Климова, Сергей Пономаренко: «ЗА ВСЕ НАДО ПЛАТИТЬ САМИМ. ЗА ОШИБКИ ТОЖЕ» [Klimova & Ponomarenko interview]" (in Russian). http://www.velena.ru/skating/MKSP_1991.html. Retrieved September 9, 2011. 
  3. ^ "Hall of Fame Members". World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. http://www.worldskatingmuseum.org/WHOF.htm. Retrieved 4 January 2011. 
  4. ^ ISU Communication No. 1467PDF

External links

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