Marika Humphreys

Marika Humphreys began learning to skate in 1983.[1]

Partnership with Justin Lanning

Humphreys & Lanning paired following a national partner search event or “mix and match” in early 1989.

The young couple benefitted from sponsorship by the ice drink company Slush Puppie and coached by James Young, went on to become the 1989 British Junior Champions at just 12 and 16 respectively. Representing GB at the 1990 Junior World Championships in Colorado Springs they placed 12th.

The team took the silver medal at the Junior Nationals the following season. Old ISU regulations saw the team age up to Senior category when Lanning turned 18 in 1991 with Humphreys just 14 as they competed in their first Senior Championship under the guidance of Betty Callaway.

In the 1992–93 season, she became the youngest ice dancer ever to win the British senior title, winning at age 15 Justin Lanning.[2] They went on to place 12th at the 1993 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and 17th at the 1993 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. The following season, they took silver behind Jayne Torvill / Christopher Dean and finished 16th at the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan.

In the 1995–96 season, Humphreys won the British national title with Philip Askew. They placed 11th at the 1996 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, and 17th at the 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The following season, Humphreys/Askew received two Champions Series (Grand Prix) invitations; they ranked 9th at the 1996 Skate Canada International and 8th at the 1996 Nations Cup. They repeated as national champions and took bronze at the Lysiane Lauret Challenge. They were 15th at the 1997 European Championships in Paris, France, and 16th at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 1997 Karl Schäfer Memorial was their final competition together.

Humphreys met Ukrainian ice dancer Vitaliy Baranov while auditioning for the Blackpool Hot Ice show.[3] They began competing together in the 1998–99 season, obtaining the bronze medal at the British Championships.[4] The following season, they missed the national championships due to a car accident.[5]

In the 2000–01 season, Humphreys/Baranov won bronze medals at the 2000 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2000 Finlandia Trophy before making their Grand Prix debut. They withdrew from the 2000 Skate Canada International before the free dance and finished 8th at the 2000 Trophée Lalique. After winning their first national title together, the two placed 12th at the 2001 European Championships in Bratislava and 16th at the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver. They were coached by Roy and Betty Callaway.[5]

In the 2001–02 season, Humphreys/Baranov were awarded silver at the 2001 Finlandia Trophy, bronze at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, and gold at the British Championships. They finished sixth at their Grand Prix assignment, the 2001 NHK Trophy. Although they qualified a place for Great Britain for the Olympics under International Skating Union rules with their World Championship result from the preceding season, they did not meet the additional criteria of the British Olympic Association (BOA); and so a secondary target to medal at the Golden Spin of Zagreb 2001 was set. The BOA confirmed Humphreys & Baranov’s addition to the 2002 Olympic team in December 2001 following a review of the season results.[3] In January 2002, Humphreys/Baranov finished 11th at the European Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. In February, Humphreys/Baranov competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. They finished 15th overall after ranking 16th in both compulsory dances, 15th in the original dance, and 15th in the free dance.[6] The following month, they placed 14th at the 2002 World Championships in Nagano, Japan.

In the 2002–03 season, Humphreys/Baranov were coached by Natalia Dubova in Cromwell, Connecticut, and by Roy Callaway in Deeside, north Wales. They were awarded the gold medal at the 2002 Karl Schäfer Memorial and appeared at two Grand Prix events. The duo ranked 7th at the 2002 Cup of Russia and withdrew from the 2002 NHK Trophy after the compulsory dance due to a serious degenerative knee injury for Baranov. They missed the British Championships due to surgery, but took the bronze medal at the event the following season. They then retired from competition due to needing a further knee surgery.

Humphreys-Baranova was a technical specialist for the ISU from 2005 to 2017.[7] She served as the Technical Specialist for the Ice Dance event at the 2010 Olympics,[7][8] the European Championships in Warsaw 2007,[9] and as the ice dancing Assistant Technical Specialist at the 2008[10] and 2006[11] World Figure Skating Championships. Humphreys-Baranova also trained new Technical Specialists for the ISU until her retirement from ISU service. In 2019 she was presented with an ISU Long Service medal for her contribution and services to International Ice Dance.

In 2006 Humphreys-Baranova commenced studies of Applied Sport and Exercise Sciences at Glyndwr University (North Wales) as a mature student, graduating BSc in 2009.

Humphreys-Baranova coached at Deeside ice rink between 1996 and 2013. Notably forming a Synchronised skating team (then called Precision Skating)for the Deeside Ice Skating Club and coaching the team to 2 British Championships in 1996 and 1997 while still competing herself. In 2000 Marika jointly coached (with John Dunn) the British Novice Ice Dance Champions, Victoria and David Usherwood. In 2006 she coached and choreographed British Junior Silver medallists Lindsey Woostencroft and Jamie Whyte. In the 2009/10 and 2010/11 season Marika created choreography for British Junior Champions Charlotte Aiken and Josh Whidbourne in cooperation with their coach, Joan Slater MBE. In 2012/13 season, she was recruited to coach and choreograph for Pernelle Carron and Lloyd Jones for their pre-Olympic season,[12] coordinating the team to attain a 10th place finish at the European Championships in Zagreb,[13] and 12th at the World Championships in Canada.[14]

In April 2013 she became the Elite Skating Coordinator for the Lee Valley Ice Centre in London.

Full time students trained at Lee Valley include 2013 British Junior Silver medallists Mina Zdravkova & Henry Aiken, 2019 Bulgarian Champions and European Championship competitors, Christopher Martin Davis and Mina Zdravkova.