Maya Valentinovna Usova (born May 22, 1964, Gorky, now Nizhny Novgorod) is a Soviet and Russian figure skater who specialized in ice dance. She is the 1993 World and European champion, the silver medalist at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, and the bronze medalist at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville. She is an Honored Master of Sport of the USSR.[2]
Early Career. The Nizhny Novgorod Years
Maya Usova began figure skating in 1970 in Gorky at the Trud sports society; her first coach was Irina Vasilyevna Druzhkova.[4] In 1978, at the 6th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the RSFSR in Gorky and at the Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in Sverdlovsk, she competed in a pair with Aleksey Batalov, finishing 18th among juniors.[2][4] In 1980, the coach Natalya Dubova moved her to the Spartak sports society in Moscow and paired her with Aleksandr Zhulin.[2]
Competing with Aleksandr Zhulin
For a long time, the Usova–Zhulin pair remained in the shadow of the strongest Soviet duos: Marina Klimova and Sergey Ponomarenko, Natalya Annenko and Gennady Sretensky, and Oksana Grishchuk and Evgeny Platov. Nevertheless, in domestic competitions the skaters moved steadily upward: in 1984 the pair took second place at the USSR Championships, in 1986 they became champions of the 6th Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in Krasnoyarsk, and in 1991 they became USSR champions.[4]
On the international stage, the pair debuted at the 1988 European Championships in Prague (4th place), and from 1989 they regularly won medals at the European and World Championships: two silvers at the World Championships (1989, 1992) and two bronzes (1990, 1991).[4] From 1991 to 1993, the pair won the NHK Trophy three times.[2] At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Usova and Zhulin won the bronze medal.[1] In 1992, the pair moved to the United States to train.[2]
1993 was a triumphant year: Usova and Zhulin won the European Championships in Helsinki and the World Championships in Prague.[4] At the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, the duo took second place, losing to Gritschuk and Platov.[1] On April 22, 1994, Usova was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples for outstanding sporting achievements at the XVII Winter Olympic Games.[2] At the time of the Lillehammer Olympics, Usova and Zhulin were married (they had wed on May 24, 1986); according to Usova herself, personal circumstances had a negative effect on her performance.[5]
Professional career
After the 1994 Olympics, the Usova–Zhulin pair turned to professional figure skating and performed in various shows until mid-1998.[2] In 1997, they won silver at the World Professional Championships in Washington.[4] From 1998 to 2002, Usova skated professionally in partnership with Yevgeny Platov under the guidance of Tatyana Tarasova; in 1999, this duo won the World Professional Championships.[2]
Main results
- World Champion — 1993 (Prague, with Zhulin)[4]
- European Champion — 1993 (Helsinki, with Zhulin)[4]
- Olympic Silver Medalist — 1994 (Lillehammer)[1]
- Olympic Bronze Medalist — 1992 (Albertville)[1]
- Champion of the XII World University Games — 1985 (Belluno, Italy)[4]
- World Professional Champion — 1999 (with Platov)[2]
Sources
- olympic-champions.ru — Maya Usova — Figure Skating
- stuki-druki.com — Maya Usova
- infosport.ru — USOVA Maya Valentinovna — Russian Athletes — Sports Russia
- solovieff.ru — Usova Maya Valentinovna — Vasily Solovyov — EMPIRE OF MUSIC Management
- etvnet.com — Program Participant Maya Valentinovna Usova: Biography and Filmography — Russian TV eTVnet