Marat Akbarov (russian: Марат Фагимович Акбаров, born February 3, 1961) is a former competitive

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 ...

for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. With

Veronica Pershina Veronica Petrovna Pershina or Voyk (russian: Вероника Петровна Першина, born December 20, 1966) is a former competitive pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With Marat Akbarov, she is the 1985 European bronze med ...

, he is the 1985

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 ...

bronze medalist and 1979 World Junior champion.

Career

Akbarov began skating in 1968 at the Lokomotiv Skating Club in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) with coach Alexander Rogin. He teamed up with

in 1975. The pair moved to Moscow in 1978 to train with Stanislav Zhuk. They won the World Junior title in 1979 ahead of Larisa Selezneva / Oleg Makarov. In 1980, Pershina/Akbarov made their senior World Championship debut, placing 6th. The following season, they won the Soviet national title ahead of

Irina Vorobieva Irina Nikolayevna Vorobieva (russian: Ирина Николаевна Воробьёва; 30 June 1958 – 12 April 2022) was a Russian pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socia ...

/ Igor Lisovski. The pair changed coaches to

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

in 1982. Pershina/Akbarov were gold medalists at the 1982

Prize of Moscow News The Prize of '' Moscow News'' (russian: Приз газеты «Московские новости»), also known as the Moscow Skate, Nouvelles de Moscou, and the Moscow News Trophy, was an international, senior-level figure skating competition ...

and 1983

NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Organized by the Japanese Skating Federation, it began in 1979 and was added to the Grand Prix series in 19 ...

. In 1985, they were sent to their fourth European Championships and won the bronze medal. They took silver at the

Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. The location changes yearly. Meda ...

in their final season. After retiring from competition, Akbarov performed with the Russian All Stars under the direction of

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 ...

, before becoming a coach. He coaches at the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in

Wheaton, Maryland Wheaton is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, situated north of Washington, D.C. and northwest of downtown Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton (1833–1903), a career officer in the Unit ...

Personal life

Akbarov married fellow pair skater

Marina Pestova Marina Nikolayevna Pestova, married surname: Akbarov, (russian: Марина Николаевна Пестова, born 20 December 1964) is a former pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With her skating partner, Stanislav Leonovich, she ...

, with whom he has a daughter, Angela.

Results

(with Pershina)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akbarov, Marat Russian male pair skaters Soviet male pair skaters Living people 1961 births European Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Sportspeople from Yekaterinburg Russian figure skating coaches People from Wheaton, Maryland