Elena Grushina
Grushina and Goncharov in 2004.
Full nameElena Eduardovna Grushina
Olena Eduardivna Hrushyna
Born (1975-01-08) 8 January 1975
Odessa, Ukrainian SSR
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUkraine
Began skating1979
Retired2006
Medal record
Figure skating
Ice dancing
Representing  Ukraine
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 TurinIce dancing
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 MoscowIce dancing
European Championships
Silver medal – second place2006 LyonIce dancing
Silver medal – second place2005 TurinIce dancing
Bronze medal – third place2004 BudapestIce dancing
Grand Prix Final
Silver medal – second place2005–2006 TokyoIce dancing
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal – third place 1998 New York Ice dancing

Elena Eduardovna Grushina (Russian: Елена Эдуардовна Грушина or Ukrainian: Олена Едуардівна Грушина Olena Eduardivna Hrushyna; born 8 January 1975) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner and then-husband Ruslan Goncharov, she is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.

Career

Grushina began skating at four and switched from single skating to ice dancing when she was 12.[1] Grushina first competed with Mikhail Tashlitsky but the partnership ended when he decided to focus on school.[1]

Having trained in the same group in Odessa,[1] Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov were paired together in 1989.[2] They finished fourth at the 1992 Junior Worlds.[1] They were 18th in their senior Worlds debut at the 1994 World Championships. In early 1997, Grushina and Goncharov began training with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Newark, Delaware.[1][3] They finished 15th at their first Olympics in 1998. They won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at 1999 Skate Canada International.

Grushina and Goncharov were 9th at the 2002 Olympics and 6th at the 2002 World Championships. In the summer of 2002, they changed coaches to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut.[1] During the 2002–03 season, they won three gold medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2002 Skate America, 2002 Skate Canada International, and 2002 Trophée Lalique. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they finished fourth. They were also fourth at the 2003 European Championships and fifth at the 2003 World Championships.

During the 2003–04 season, Grushina and Goncharov won three silver medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2003 Skate America, 2003 Cup of China, and 2003 NHK Trophy. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they again finished fourth, but a couple months later they won their first European medal, bronze, at the 2004 European Championships. They were fourth at the 2004 World Championships.

During the 2004–05 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at one Grand Prix event, 2004 Cup of Russia, where they won the silver medal. Since they only competed at one event, they did not earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They won their second European medal, silver, at the 2005 European Championships. They capped off their season by winning their first World medal, bronze, at the 2005 World Championships.

During the 2005–06 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at two Grand Prix events. They won silver at 2005 Skate Canada International and gold at 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. They qualified for their third Grand Prix Final and came away with their first medal at the event, silver. They won their third European medal, silver, at the 2006 European Championships. At the 2006 Olympics, they were fifth in the compulsory dance but placed third in the original and free dances to capture their first Olympic medal. They retired after the Olympics.

Personal life

Grushina and Goncharov married in 1995,[1][3] but are now divorced. Grushina took part in Russian Dancing On Ice show where she met Mikhail Zelensky, a TV presenter. Their daughter, Sofia, was born in 2008.[4][5]

Programs

(with Ruslan Goncharov)

Season Original dance Free dance Exhibition
2005–2006
[2][6]
2004–2005
[7][6]
  • Foxtrot, Charleston: Maybe Next Time
    by Liza Minnelli
  • Quickstep: Life is a Cabaret
2003–2004
[8][6]
2002–2003
[9][1][6]
2001–2002
[10][6]
2000–2001
[11][6]
1999–2000
[6]
1998–1999
[6]
1997–1998
[6]
  • Unknown Ukrainian folk dances
1995–1996
[6]
  • El Torro Rojo
    performed by C. Willems, Manuelo Montez Orchestra
  • Jiger
    performed by Glenn Miller, Max Gregor Orchestra

Results

(with Goncharov for Ukraine)

Results[2][7][8][9][10][11]
International
Event 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06
Olympics15th9th3rd
Worlds18th22nd19th13th8th7th8th6th5th4th3rd
Europeans14th13th13th7th8th7th8th4th3rd2nd2nd
Grand Prix Final4th4th2nd
GP Cup of China2nd
GP Cup of Russia9th3rd2nd
GP Lalique/Bompard1st1st
GP Nations/Sparkassen10th4th
GP NHK Trophy4th4th5th2nd
GP Skate America8th1st2nd
GP Skate Canada4th2nd4th1st2nd
Goodwill Games4th3rd
Karl Schäfer3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy2nd
Skate Israel2nd
Universiade1st
Centennial On Ice9th
Polish FSA Trophy1st
National
Ukrainian Champ.2nd3rd2nd3rd2nd2nd1st1st1st1st1st
GP = Became part of Champions Series in 1995–1996, renamed Grand Prix in 1998–1999.

(with Goncharov for the Soviet Union)

Event 1991–1992
World Junior Championships4th

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mittan, Barry (30 November 2002). "Grushina and Goncharov Win Three Grand Prix Golds". GoldenSkate. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 August 2006.
  3. 1 2 Mittan, J. Barry (1998). "Gruschina and Goncharov". Archived from the original on 14 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Diachkova, Natalia (29 June 2011). Михаил Зеленский: "Я растопил сердце Елены Прекрасной". 7dn.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 July 2011.
  5. ↑ На "Танцах на льду" родилась девочка (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Grushina / Goncharov official website". ice-dance.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005.
  8. 1 2 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004.
  9. 1 2 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 August 2003.
  10. 1 2 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 August 2002.
  11. 1 2 "Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2001.
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