Oleg Vasiliev (figure skater)

Oleg Vasiliev
Valova and Vasiliev in 1987
Personal information
Country represented	Soviet Union / Russia
Born	(1959-11-22) 22 November 1959 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] – 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Former partner	Elena Valova
Former coach	Tamara Moskvina
Retired	1988
Medal record Competitor for  Soviet Union Pairs' Figure skating Olympic Games Silver 1988 Calgary Pairs Gold 1984 Sarajevo Pairs World Championships Gold 1988 Budapest Pairs Silver 1987 Cincinnati Pairs Silver 1986 Geneva Pairs Gold 1985 Tokyo Pairs Silver 1984 Ottawa Pairs Gold 1983 Helsinki Pairs European Championships Silver 1987 Sarajevo Pairs Gold 1986 Copenhagen Pairs Gold 1985 Gothenburg Pairs Gold 1984 Budapest Pairs Silver 1983 Dortmund Pairs

Oleg Kimovich Vasiliev (Russian: Олег Кимович Васильев; born 22 November 1959) is a Russian pair skater who competed internationally for the Soviet Union. With partner Elena Valova, he is the 1984 Olympic champion, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and three-time World Champion (1983, 1985, 1988). Their coach throughout their career was Tamara Moskvina. After the pair ended their career, Vasiliev became a coach, leading the pair of Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin to the 2006 Olympic title.

Personal life

Vasiliev was born in Leningrad (modern-day Saint Petersburg), Russia, to parents Ludmila Konstantinovna Vasilieva, a nurse, and Kim Mikhailovich Vasiliev. He graduated from the Institute for Physical Culture in Saint Petersburg.^[3] He settled in Chicago, Illinois in December 1997 but also spends time in Saint Petersburg.^[3][2]

Valova and Vasiliev were married from 1984–1992.^[1] He later married a Saint Petersburg resident named Valentina (divorced in 2000), with whom he has a daughter, Katia.^[4][2]

Career

Valova / Vasiliev in Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1983

Vasiliev's parents decided to introduce him to skating when he was five because he had had pneumonia several times as a child and his doctor recommended an outdoor activity.^[3][2] As a single skater, Vasiliev won a Junior National title.

Coach Tamara Moskvina invited Vasiliev to switch to pair skating several times before he agreed, at age 18.^[3][2] Initially, he was physically ill-suited for the discipline and had much work to develop his muscles.^[2] He and his first partner, Larisa Selezneva, argued incessantly and split after three months.^[2] Moskvina then paired him with Elena Valova, with whom he continued to train in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).^[3][2]

Valova / Vasiliev's breakthrough came in the 1982–83 season. They won bronze at the Prize of Moscow News, gold at the 1982 Skate America, and then silver at the 1983 European Championships. The pair concluded their season by winning their first World title. They missed the 1983 national championships due to Vasiliev's broken jaw.^[2]

In 1984, Valova / Vasiliev won their first European title and then took gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The deaths of several Soviet government officials, including one during the Olympics, cast a pall over the Soviet team and the athletes were told not to show too much joy.^[2] The pair took silver at their final event of the season, the 1984 World Championships.

In 1985, the pair won gold at both the European and World Championships but 1986 saw the emergence of the young Moscow pair Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov. Although Valova / Vasiliev prevailed at 1986 Europeans, they finished second to the Muscovites at both the 1986 and 1987 Worlds.

In their final amateur season, Valova / Vasiliev took silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics behind Gordeeva / Grinkov but then prevailed over the reigning Olympic champions at the 1988 World Championships. After winning their third World title, Valova / Vasiliev retired from ISU competition. After performing for a year in Igor Bobrin's ice theatre, they signed a U.S. contract – the first Soviets to do so without losing their citizenship.^[2] The pair performed together in various shows and events until the end of 1997.^[3][2]

Vasiliev was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.^[5]

Vasiliev (far left) in 2004 with Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin.

Vasiliev initially had no interest in coaching but changed his mind.^[2] He coached one season for the Latvian federation and then about two years for the French federation near Paris.^[2] Since 1998, Vasiliev has coached in Chicago and Saint Petersburg.^[2] His former students include Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin (2006 Olympic and two-time World champions), Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov (2008 European silver medalists), Viktoria Volchkova, and Fumie Suguri.^[3][2]

Programs

(with Valova)

1979–1988

1989–1997

Results

1979–1988

Later years

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oleg Vassiliev.

• Valova-vasiliev.com (Archive.org)

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