Lyudmila Stanislavovna Smirnova (russian: Людмила Станиславовна Смирнова; born July 21, 1949, 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 competed for 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 Andrei Suraikin
Andrei Alexandrovich Suraikin (russian: Андрей Александрович Сурайкин; 20 October 1948 -28 September 1996) was a Russian pair skater. With partner Liudmila Smirnova, he was the 1972 Olympic silver medalist.
Care ...
, she is the 1972 Winter Olympic silver medalist. With her then-husband 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 ...
, she is a two-time World silver medalist.
Career
Smirnova began figure skating in 1955 and became a member of the USSR National Team in 1968.[ She trained in Leningrad at ]Spartak Spartak may refer to:
In sports
*Spartak (sports society), an international fitness and sports society that unites some countries of the former Soviet Union
In Russia
*FC Spartak Moscow, a football club
*FC Spartak Kostroma, a football club
*PFC ...
and competed initially with Suraikin.[ Smirnova and Suraikin were coached by ]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).
Personal life
May ...
.[ They were the 2nd strongest Soviet pair behind ]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 ...
and 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 ...
, and placed second behind them at both the World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
and European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
Championships three times (1970–1972).
Smirnova and Ulanov, skating for rival teams, fell in love. The pairs decided to separate—a decision they made before the 1972 Games. Rodnina and Ulanov won the gold, and Smirnova and Suraikin the silver. Thereafter Smirnova began skating with Ulanov.
Smirnova and Ulanov competed for two seasons. They won silver medals at the 1973 World and European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
. The next season, they won European bronze and World silver medals.
In 1972 Smirnova was awarded the Medal For Labour Heroism
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
.[
]
Personal life
Smirnova and Ulanov married and later divorced after having two children, Nikolai Ulanov and Irina Ulanova.[ Their daughter, Irina Ulanova, is a former pair skater who skated with Alexander Smirnov,][ and ]Maxim Trankov
Maxim Leonidovich Trankov (russian: Максим Леонидович Траньков; born 7 October 1983) is a Russian pair skater. With Tatiana Volosozhar, he is a two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 ...
for about three years.[
]
Competitive highlights
Results
(with Suraikin)
With Ulanov
References
External links
Smirnova and Suraikin profile
Smirnova and Ulanov competition results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnova, Lyudmila
1949 births
Russian female pair skaters
Olympic figure skaters of the Soviet Union
Soviet female pair skaters
Figure skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Spartak athletes
Living people
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Olympic medalists in figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
European Figure Skating Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Universiade medalists in figure skating
Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union
Competitors at the 1970 Winter Universiade