Alexander Gennadyevich Zaitsev (russian: Александр Геннадьевич Зайцев, born 16 June 1952 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) is a retired

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

who represented the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. With partner

Irina Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina ( rus, Ирина Константиновна Роднина, p=ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skating, figure skater, who is ...

, he is a two-time (

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

) Olympic champion, six-time

World champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and seven-time European champion. They were coached by

Stanislav Zhuk Stanislav Alekseyevich Zhuk (russian: Станислав Алексеевич Жук, ; 25 January 1935 – 1 November 1998) was a pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With his wife Nina, he won three silver medals at the European Figur ...

and later

Tatiana Tarasova Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova (; born 13 February 1947) is a Russian figure skating coach and national figure skating team adviser. Tarasova has been coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in skating history. Her students h ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. From 1973 to 1980 they won every event they entered and are, to date, the most decorated pair team of all time.

Career

In April 1972, Zaitsev was recommended by

to Irina Rodnina as a potential partner. She was already a four-time World champion and 1972 Olympic gold medalist with her previous partner

Alexei Ulanov Alexei Nikolaevich Ulanov (russian: Алексей Николаевич Уланов; born 4 November 1947) is a retired pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With Irina Rodnina, he is the 1972 Olympic champion and a four-time (1969–19 ...

, who had left her to skate with

Lyudmila Smirnova Lyudmila Stanislavovna Smirnova (russian: Людмила Станиславовна Смирнова; born July 21, 1949, in Leningrad) is a retired pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With partner Andrei Suraikin, she is the 197 ...

. Zaitsev was three years younger than Rodnina and was much less seasoned but learned quickly. He was from Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) while she was from

. Rodnina / Zaitsev's music stopped during their short program at the 1973 World Championships, possibly due to a Czech worker acting in retaliation for the suppression of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

. Known for intense concentration, they finished the program in silence, earning a standing ovation and a gold medal upon completion, ahead of Smirnova / Ulanov, whom they again defeated in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. In 1974, Rodnina / Zaitsev left Zhuk, with whom the working relationship had become strained, to train with

. They won six consecutive World titles together, as well as seven European gold medals, and won their first Olympic title together in

. Rodnina / Zaitsev did not compete during the 1978–79 season because she was pregnant with their son, who was born on February 23, 1979. They returned in 1980 to capture their second Olympic title together and Rodnina's third. They then retired from competitive skating. After retiring from competition, Zaitsev became a coach and for a time was involved in the administration of the sport.

Personal life

Rodnina and Zaitsev were married in April 1975. Their son, also named Alexander, was born in 1979. The pair later divorced.

Results

Pairs with

References

External links

Rodnina and Zaitsev pair profile

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