Maya Valentinovna Usova (russian: Майя Валентиновна Усова; born 22 May 1964) is a Russian former ice dancer. With

Alexander Zhulin Alexander (Sasha) Viacheslavovich Zhulin (; born 20 July 1963) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With Maya Usova, he is a two-time Olympic medalist ( 1994 silver, 1992 bronze), the 1993 World champion, and the 1993 Europe ...

, she is a two-time Olympic medalist ( 1994 silver, 1992 bronze), the 1993 World champion, and the 1993 European champion. They also won gold medals at Skate America, NHK Trophy, Nations Cup, and Winter Universiade. They represented the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, and Russia.

Career

Maya Usova initially competed with Alexei Batalov. At the age of nine, she moved from Gorky to

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 ...

to train with coach Natalia Dubova. Dubova paired her with

in 1980. In 1988, they made their first appearance at the

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, ...

, placing fourth. The next season, they won silver at the 1989 European Championships in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England and silver in their World Championships debut, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. They maintained their silver medal standing in the world with a silver at the 1990 European Figure Skating Championships, but for the first time dropped behind the Duchesnays to third at the 1990 World Figure Skating Championships in Halifax. After being third again at the 1991 European Figure Skating Championships, they looked poised for the big breakthrough, for the first time leading their teammates Klimova & Ponomarenko after the compulsories, then leading both the Duchesnays and Klimova & Ponomarenko into the free dance at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships. However the top 3 teams were so close the final finish of the free dance order would determine the final results. Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin skated a strong free dance that seemed to ensure the title, but had drawn first in the final flight, and received a wide spread of marks from the judges. Despite receiving four first place ordinals in the free dance, a strange ordinal situation caused them to place third in the free dance and drop from first to third in the end. In the 1991–92 season, Usova/Zhulin won silver at the 1992 European Championships in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland and then captured their first Olympic medal, bronze, at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

in Albertville, France. Usova/Zhulin ended their season with a controversial silver at the 1992 World Championships in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

despite a fall in the free dance. They moved with Dubova from Moscow to

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

in September 1992. In the 1992–93 season, Usova/Zhulin won the 1993 European Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

and the 1993 World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. This was a commanding victory as they won all four phases of the competition at both events, and received straight first place ordinals, apart from losing two first place ordinals to the up-and-coming Russians Anjelika Krylova & Vladimir Fedorov at Worlds. The next season, they were third at the 1994 European Championships in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, behind

Jayne Torvill Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the ...

Christopher Dean Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill. They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Early life Dean grew u ...

and Oksana Grishuk /

Evgeni Platov Evgeni Arkadievich Platov (Ukrainian to English: Ev'heni Arkadievich Platov) (russian: Евгений Аркадьевич Платов; born August 7, 1967; Ukrainian: Євген Аркадійович Платов) is a Russian former competit ...

. They appeared to have the gold medal won as they entered the free dance tied for first with Torvill & Dean, and Grishuk & Platov were mathematically out of contention for the gold medal entering the free dance. However the free dance of Grishuk & Platov which handily won that phase changed the ordinals, and Usova & Zhulin were pushed to third in the free dance behind Torvill & Dean and dropped to third overall. They were heavily criticized for their new free program which was said by critics to lack speed and be too far a departure from their usual sensual and elegant style of dancing. At the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway, they won the silver medal behind Grishuk/Platov. They entered the free dance tied for first with Torvill & Dean, with Grishuk & Platov in third, but with all 3 teams in contention for the gold by winning the free dance. T.hey lost gold by the majority rule, Grishuk & Platov having the five first place ordinals they needed to win the free dance. After the loss Usova & Zhulin withdrew from the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, where they had planned to end their amateur career and immediately went professional. Usova/Zhulin skated together professionally from 1994 to 1997. They toured with Champions on Ice and won the World Professional Championships. From 1998 to 2000, Usova performed with former rival, Evgeni Platov. Coach Tatiana Tarasova discussed the challenges of pairing Platov, in prime competitive shape, with Usova, a long-time smoker who was nearing retirement. She designed their programs to include many lifts, where Platov was carrying Usova around the ice. Their career started out with mixed results, with marks as low as 4.5 at the Canadian Open, but also an upset win at the World Professional Championships. After last-place finishes in nearly all events in 1999 and 2000, Usova & Platov ceased competing. From 2002 to 2004, Usova was an assistant coach to

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 ...

and Platov, working with

Galit Chait Galit Chait ( he, גלית חייט, ''Galit Hayat''; born on January 29, 1975) is an Israeli former competitive ice dancer. She and her partner Sergei Sakhnovski competed internationally for Israel from 1995 to 2006, becoming the 2002 World bro ...

Sergei Sakhnovsky Sergei Sakhnovski ( he, סרגיי סחנובסקי, russian: Серге́й Сахно́вский; born May 15, 1975) is an Israeli ice dancer. With partner Galit Chait, he is the 2002 World bronze medalist for Israel. With previous partner Ek ...

and Shizuka Arakawa. She has coached at the Igloo in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey and Odintsovo, near

. She is an International Technical Specialist for Russia.

Personal life

Usova and Zhulin were married in 1986 but later divorced. Zhulin claimed that their marriage was a sham to get a free apartment from the Soviet government, though Usova denied this claim. In 1992, Usova was charged with assault and battery for attacking rival Oksana Grishuk at a Spago restaurant in Los Angeles. Following their loss at the Olympics and subsequent divorce, Usova fell into a deep depression. According to television interviews she gave, Usova was hospitalized 17 times for depression. Without a partner, Usova began stalking rival Grishuk at her training rink in Marlboro, Massachusetts, blocking Grishuk's entrance to the rink while smoking cigarettes and muttering curse words. Usova is remarried to a Russian professor in medicine, Anatoly Orletsky. In 2010, she gave birth to their daughter, Anastasia. Off the ice, she has appeared in several Marlboro advertisements in Russia.

Programs

With Zhulin

})
by Nino Rota * La Passerella di Otto e Mezzo
(from

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by Ma ...

)
by Nino Rota , * Ausencias
by

Ástor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...

, - ! 1992–1993 , *

Tales from the Vienna Woods "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II. Composed in 1868 in music, 1868, , Opus number, Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Stra ...

(german: Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald) , * Blues For Klook
by

Eddy Louis Eddy Louiss (2 May 1941 – 30 June 2015) was a French jazz musician. Eddy started playing in his father Pierre's orchestra in the 1950s. Pierre changed the family name from Louise to Louiss. As a vocalist, he was a member of Les Double Six of ...

, * Ausencias ---- * Prelude in E Minor
by

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

---- * Autumn Leaves , - ! 1991–1992 , * Pizzicato Polka
by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

, * Four Seasons
by

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

, * Autumn Leaves
(french: Les feuilles mortes) ---- * A Paris , - ! 1990–1991 , * Summertime
(from

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

)
by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, * Variations
by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

, * Autumn Leaves , - ! 1989–1990 , * Samba , * Adios Nonino * Oblivion * Duo de Amor
by

, , - ! 1988–1989 , * Black Bottom
, * Mars, the Bringer of War
(from

The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...

)
by Gustav Holst * Prelude Op. 28, No. 4 in E minor
by

, * A Paris , - ! 1987–1988 , * Tango , * Oriental Nights
,

With Platov

Results

Amateur career

With Zhulin 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 ...

(URS),

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS),

Unified Team at the Olympics The Unified Team (russian: Объединённая команда) was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltic states) at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. ...

(EUN), and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(RUS):

Post-eligible career

References

External links

Care to Ice Dance? - Usova & ZhulinMaya Usova

Navigation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usova, Maya 1964 births Living people Russian female ice dancers Soviet female ice dancers Sportspeople from Nizhny Novgorod Russian emigrants to the United States Olympic figure skaters of the Unified Team Olympic figure skaters of Russia Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic bronze medalists for the Unified Team Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Universiade medalists in figure skating Goodwill Games medalists in figure skating Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Universiade silver medalists for the Soviet Union Competitors at the 1985 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 1987 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games