Andrei Minenkov

Andrei Olegovich Minenkov (Russian: Андрей Олегович Миненков; born 6 December 1954) is a Russian retired ice dancer who represented the Soviet Union. With his wife Irina Moiseeva, he is the 1976 Olympic silver medalist, 1980 Olympic bronze medalist, and two-time world champion (1975 and 1977).

Andrei Minenkov
Minenkov and Moiseeva in 1976
Personal information
Full nameAndrei Olegovich Minenkov
Alternative namesAndrey Minenkov
Former country(ies) representedSoviet Union
Born (1954-12-06) 6 December 1954
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
PartnerIrina Moiseeva
Former coachTatiana Tarasova
Natalia Dubova
Lyudmila Pakhomova
Skating clubVSS Trud (Moscow)
Retired1983

Career

Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov met at the rink when they were six years old and began skating together in 1967.[1][2] They had their breakthrough during the 1974–1975 season. They were third at the Soviet Championships, behind Lyudmila Pakhomova/Aleksandr Gorshkov and Natalia Linichuk/Gennadi Karponosov, and placed just off the podium at the 1975 European Championships. However, they then went on to capture their first World title at the World Championships, in the absence of Pakhomova/Gorshkov but moving ahead of a few teams ranked higher than them earlier in the season, including Linichuk/Karpanosov.

The next season, Moiseeva and Minenkov were again ranked behind Linichuk/Karponosov at the Soviet Championships but edged past them in international competition to be second only to Pakhomova/Gorshkov. They won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics, the first Games to include ice dancing. They also won silver at the World and European Championships.

The 1976–1977 season was the most successful for Moiseeva and Minenkov. They won World, European and national titles. Their dominance began to wane over the following years, however, they won a total of eight consecutive World medals and seven European medals (including another gold in 1978). They also won the bronze at the 1980 Olympics.

The couple trained at VSS Trud in Moscow. They were coached by Tatiana Tarasova, Lyudmila Pakhomova, and Natalia Dubova. Tarasova coached them for ten years, beginning in 1969. They retired in 1983 because Moiseeva was expecting their daughter.[2]

Olympic champions Torvill and Dean considered them one of their greatest influences.

Personal life

Moiseeva and Minenkov married in 1977 and had a daughter in 1983.[2] In 1989, Minenkov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of Radiotechnics, Electronics and Automation and founded a company, Kholod, in 1993.[1]

Results

with Moiseeva

International
Event 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82
Olympics2nd3rd
Worlds7th4th1st2nd1st2nd3rd3rd2nd3rd
Europeans7th5th4th2nd1st1st2nd3rd2nd3rd
Skate Canada3rd1st
NHK Trophy1st
Moscow News6th2nd2nd2nd1st1st2nd
National
Soviet Champ.5th4th3rd3rd2nd3rd2nd1st2nd2nd2nd

References
  1. "Andrei Minenkov". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  2. Badina, Marina (January 18, 2005). Среда обитания – холод [Habitat – cold]. business-magazine.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on February 24, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.