Michael "Misha" Shmerkin (born 5 February 1970) is an Israeli former competitive
figure skater.
[ He is a two-time ]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 ...
silver medalist (1994 and 1995), 1993 Ondrej Nepela Memorial
The Nepela Memorial ( sk, Memoriál Ondreja Nepelu), formerly known as the Ondrej Nepela Trophy in 2013–15 & 2017 and the Ondrej Nepela Memorial, is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition. Named after 1972 Olympic cham ...
champion, and 1995 Skate Israel champion. He competed in the final segment at two Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
(1994, 1998), six World Championships
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 four European Championships. He is currently a figure skating teacher/coach for many young adults and children . He is located in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York.
Career
Early in his career, Shmerkin competed internationally 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, ...
, most notably at the 1984 World Junior Championships, where he placed fifth.
Shmerkin moved with his family to Israel in 1991,[ and Shmerkin began representing his new country in international competition.][
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 ...
, where he placed 16th, Shmerkin became the first skater to represent Israel at the Olympic Games.[ He placed 18th at the ]1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
.
In the late 1990s he skated to Jewish songs and had a tallis and menorah embroidered on his costume.[
He retired from competitive skating following the 2001/2002 season.][
Shmerkin currently coaches in New York.][
]
Programs
Competitive highlights
''GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)''
See also
* List of select Jewish figure skaters
References
External links
*
Skate.org bio
Jews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shmerkin, Michael
1970 births
Sportspeople from Odesa
Soviet male single skaters
Israeli male single skaters
Olympic figure skaters of Israel
Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Soviet emigrants to Israel
Living people