Marina Cherkasova

Marina Cherkasova
Personal information
Full name	Marina Evgenievna Cherkasova
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1964-11-17) November 17, 1964
Former partner	Sergei Shakhrai Rashid Kadyrkaev
Former coach	Stanislav Zhuk
Retired	1982
Medal record Competitor for  Soviet Union Pairs' Figure skating Olympic Games Silver 1980 Lake Placid Pairs World Championships Gold 1980 Dortmund Pairs Silver 1979 Vienna Pairs European Championships Bronze 1981 Innsbruck Pairs Silver 1980 Gothenburg Pairs Gold 1979 Zagreb Pairs Silver 1978 Strasbourg Pairs Bronze 1977 Helsinki Pairs

Marina Evgenievna Cherkasova (Russian: Марина Евгеньевна Черкасова; born November 17, 1964 in the Soviet Union) is a Russian retired pair skater. With Sergei Shakhrai, she won the 1979 European title at the age of 14. At 15, she was the 1980 Olympic silver medalist and 1980 World champion.

Career

Cherkasova and Shakhrai trained in Moscow with Stanislav Zhuk. Their main rivals included fellow Soviets Irina Rodnina / Alexander Zaitsev, whom they never defeated, Irina Vorobieva / Igor Lisovsky, Marina Pestova / Stanislav Leonovich, and Veronika Pershina / Marat Akbarov.

Cherkasova and Shakhrai were 12 and 18 respectively when they were paired together. Initially, there was a 35 cm height difference between the pair, with Cherkasova only 138 cm tall.^[1]

Cherkasova was 12 when the pair captured the bronze at their first European Championship in 1977. Their height difference facilitated innovation in twist and lift elements; they became the first pair to perform the split quadruple twist in 1978. Later, the judging standards were changed to value physical harmony between the partners, which handicapped Cherkasova and her partner.

They won the European title in 1979. By 1980 Cherkasova had grown 20 cm.^[1] The change affected their technical elements, however, the pair managed to win silver at 1980 Europeans, silver at the 1980 Olympics, and gold at Worlds.^[2][1] Cherkasova was only 15 years old when she competed at the Olympics.

Shakhrai's problems lifting his now 45 kg partner eventually resulted in them splitting up.^[1] By 1981, Cherkasova had grown so tall that Shakhrai could no longer effectively lift her. This caused them to miss the medal podium at the World Championship in Hartford, Connecticut, finishing in fourth place.

Cherkasova and Shakhrai continued to train into the 1982 season; however, they did not make the podium at the Soviet Nationals, placing behind Irina Vorobieva / Igor Lisovsky, Marina Pestova / Stanislav Leonovich, Veronika Pershina / Marat Akbarov, and Inna Volyanskaya / Valery Spiridonov. This caused Cherkasova and her partner to miss the trip to the World Championships for the first time since their debut in 1977 and, subsequently their partnership dissolved. She briefly paired with Rashid Kadyrkaev, a World junior medalist in 1980 and 1981, but he left to skate with Elena Kvitchenko at the invitation of Igor Moskvin in Leningrad.

Later life

In 1982, Cherkasova joined the Moscow Ice Ballet where she met her husband.^[1] In 1986, they had a son, Vitaly, and a few years later, a daughter named Daria.^[1] Cherkasova is now a children's coach in Moscow.^[1]

Competitive highlights

(with Shakhrai)

References

Navigation