Elena Aleksandrovna Valova (russian: Елена Александровна Валова; born 4 January 1963) is a Russian former

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 internationally 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 nationa ...

. With her then-husband Oleg Vasiliev, she is the 1984 Olympic champion, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and three-time World Champion (1983, 1985, 1988). Their coach throughout their career was

Tamara Moskvina Tamara Nikolayevna Moskvina (, née Bratus, Братусь; born 26 June 1941) is a Russian pair skating coach and former competitive skater. Competing in pairs with Alexei Mishin, she became the 1969 World silver medalist and Soviet national ...

Personal life

Valova was born 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 ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, to parents Alla Borisovna Valova and Aleksander Dmitrievich Valov. She graduated from the P.F. Lesgaft University of Sports. She and Vasiliev were married from 1984–1992. Valova is now remarried to German Galusha and has a son, Roman, born in 1996. She moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1997 and currently lives in Moon Township.

Career

Valova began training at age seven under

Tatiana Mishina Tatiana Nikolaevna Mishina (russian: Татьяна Николаевна Мишина), née: Oleneva (Оленева) is a Russian figure skating coach and former competitor for the Soviet. She is the 1973 Soviet national champion. Career Mish ...

Alexei Mishin Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin (russian: link=no, Алексей Николаевич Мишин; born 8 March 1941) is a Russian figure skating coach and former pair skater. With partner Tamara Moskvina, he is the 1969 World silver medalist and ...

, and Nina Monahova. As a pair skater, she was coached by

, who partnered her with Oleg Vasiliev. The pair trained in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). Valova/Vasiliev's breakthrough came in the 1982–83 season. They won bronze at the

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 ...

, gold at the

1982 Skate America The 1982 Skate America was held in Lake Placid, New York on October 6–10. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipli ...

, and then silver at the 1983 European Championships. The pair concluded their season by winning their first World title. They missed the 1983 national championships due to Vasiliev's broken jaw. In 1984, Valova/Vasiliev won their first European title and then took gold at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки иг� ...

in Sarajevo. The deaths of several Soviet government officials, including one during the Olympics, cast a pall over the Soviet team and the athletes were told not to show too much joy. The pair took silver at their final event of the season, the 1984 World Championships. In 1985, the pair won gold at both the European and

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, ...

but 1986 saw the emergence of the young Moscow pair

Ekaterina Gordeeva Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva (russian: Екатерина Александровна Гордеева; born 28 May 1971) is a Russian figure skater. Together with her husband, the late Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olymp ...

Sergei Grinkov Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (russian: Сергей Михайлович Гриньков; 4 February 1967 – 20 November 1995) was a Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and a ...

. Although Valova/Vasiliev were awarded gold at the 1986 Europeans, they finished second to the Muscovites at both the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

and 1987 Worlds. In their final amateur season, Valova/Vasiliev took silver at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

behind Gordeeva/Grinkov but then prevailed over the reigning Olympic champions at the 1988 World Championships. After winning their third World title, Valova/Vasiliev retired from ISU competition. After performing for a year in

Igor Bobrin Igor Anatolyevich Bobrin (Russian: Игорь Анатольевич Бобрин) (born 14 November 1953 in Leningrad) is a Russian former competitive figure skater who represented the Soviet Union. He is the 1981 European champion, the 1981 ...

's ice theatre, they signed a U.S. contract – the first Soviets to do so without losing their citizenship. The pair performed together in various shows and events until the end of 1997. Valova was awarded the

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1984). She represented VSS Trud. She currently teaches skating at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. She coached Kylie Gleason /

Taylor Toth Taylor Toth (born July 22, 1989) is an American Pair skating, pair skater. He is best known for his partnership with Felicia Zhang from 2009 to 2011. Together, they won the junior title at the 2010 United States Figure Skating Championships, 2010 ...

, who were the 2002 U.S. champions in juvenile pairs and the 2003 U.S. champions in intermediate pairs.

Programs

(with Vasiliev)

1979–1988

} ---- * Kalinka ---- * Romance
(from The Blizzard)
by Georgy Sviridov , - ! 1985–1986 , * Music
by

Raimonds Pauls Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936 in Iļģuciems, Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and worldwide. He was the Minister of Culture of Latvia from 1988 to 1 ...

, * Shurale
by Färit Yarullin , * Romance
(from The Blizzard)
by Georgy Sviridov , - ! 1984–1985 , * Flight of the Bumblebee
by

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

, * Shurale
by Färit Yarullin , * Baba-Yaga
(from

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

)
by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

---- *

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

, - ! 1983–1984 , * Kalinka , * Get Back *

Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor ( WoO59, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 ye ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

* Stairway to Heaven , * Baba-Yaga
(from Pictures at an Exhibition)
by Modest Mussorgsky ---- *

Solveig's Song ''Peer Gynt'', Op. 23, is the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play of the same name, written by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg in 1875. It premiered along with the play on 24 February 1876 in Christiania (now Oslo). Grieg l ...

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, - ! 1982–1983 , * March of the Toreadors
(from

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

)
by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

---- * Sibaney , * Get Back * Für Elise
by Ludwig van Beethoven * Stairway to Heaven , * Solveig's Song
by Edvard Grieg ---- * Circus , - ! 1981–1982 , , *

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' der ...

, , - ! 1980–1981 , , * Scheherazade
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ---- *

, , - ! 1979–1980 , * Demon , * Little Eagle
russian: Орлёнок *

On the Nameless Height ''On the Nameless Height'' (russian: На безымянной высоте, Na bezymyannoy vysote) also known in English as ''On an Unnamed Hill'' and ''Unidentified Heights'',Alexey Rybnikov Alexey Lvovich Rybnikov (russian: links=no, Алексей Львович Рыбников; born July 17, 1945) is a modern Russian composer. He is the author of music for Soviet and Russian musicals (rock operas) '' The Star and Death of Joaqu ...

---- * The Story of My Life
by Michael Crawford ---- * Bridge over Troubled Water ---- * Paso Doble
(from Strictly Ballroom) ---- *

A Whiter Shade of Pale "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...

---- * Kalinka ---- * Waltz
by

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

---- *

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

(''comedic'')
by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

---- *

Zorba's Dance "Zorba's Dance" ( el, Ο Χορός Του Ζορμπά) is an instrumental by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. The song featured for the dance, which has become known as sirtaki, in the 1964 film ''Zorba the Greek'', for which Theodorakis wrote ...

(from

Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...

)
by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

---- * Shurale
by Färit Yarullin

Results

Amateur career with Vasiliev

Professional career with Vasiliev

References

External links

Valova-vasiliev.com (Archive.org)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valova, Elena 1963 births Living people Russian female pair skaters Soviet female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters of the Soviet Union Figure skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Russian figure skating coaches Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Figure skaters from Saint Petersburg Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Female sports coaches Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics