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

, 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