Maya Belenkaya

Maya Petrovna Belenkaya (Russian: Майя Петровна Беленькая; born 1 May 1931) is a former Soviet figure skater. With her partner Igor Moskvin, she became a three-time Soviet national champion (1952–1954).

In this Eastern Slavic name, the patronymic is Petrovna and the family name is Belenkaya.
Maya Belenkaya
Personal information
Native nameМайя Петровна Беленькая
Full nameMaya Petrovna Belenkaya
Country represented Soviet Union
Born (1931-05-01) 1 May 1931
Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height1 m (3 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Former partnerIgor Moskvin
Former coachPyotr Orlov, Nina Leplinskaya, Nikolai Panin, A. Zhdanov
Retired1958

Personal life

Maya Belenkaya was born on 1 May 1931 in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).[1][2] A resident of the city throughout her whole life, she survived the Siege of Leningrad and was awarded the Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad".[3]

Career

Belenkaya started skating at the age of 12 at the Pioneers Palace. Her first coach was A. Zhdanov. She competed both in singles and pairs.[3]

Belenkaya and Igor Moskvin won their first national medal, silver, in 1950. After another silver in 1951, they took gold for three consecutive years from 1952 to 1954 and then placed second behind Lidia Garasimova / Yuri Kiselev for the next two years. In 1956, Belenkaya/Moskvin were sent to their first and only European Championships and finished 11th at the event in Paris. In 1957 and 1958, they finished third at the Soviet Championships, behind Nina Zhuk / Stanislav Zhuk and Ludmila Belousova / Oleg Protopopov.

After retiring from competition, Belenkaya coached numerous singles and pairs skaters to national titles, most notably Alexei Mishin and Liudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin.[3]

Results

Singles
Event 1950 1951 1952 1953
Soviet Championships3rd3rd3rd2nd

Pairs with Moskvin
Event 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958
European Champ.11th
Soviet Champ.2nd2nd1st1st1st2nd2nd3rd3rd

References
  1. Беленькая Мая Петровна [Maya Petrovna Belenkaya] (in Russian). fskate.ru.
  2. Беленькая Мая Петровна [Maya Petrovna Belenkaya] (in Russian). solovieff.ru.
  3. Легендарная фигуристка М.П.Беленькая [Legendary figure skater M.P. Belenkaya] (in Russian). Ledyanaya Fabrika. 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2010.

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