Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev

Alexander Gennadievich Zaitsev (Russian: Александр Геннадиевич Зайцев; born June 16, 1952 in Leningrad ) is a Russian former figure skater, who started in pair skating for the Soviet Union. With two Olympic victories, six World Championship titles and seven European championship titles he won together with Irina Rodnina, he is the most successful pair skater figure skating history.

Career

In April 1972, recommended Irina Rodninas coach Stanislav Zhuk her to try it after their separation by Alexei Ulanov with the young Leningrad figure skaters Alexander Zaitsev as a pair of running partner. Zaitsev noticed by a good jumping technique and by its rapid learning of new elements. So Zaitsev and Rodnina formed a pair. With Zaitsev Rodnina should be even more successful than they had become with Alexei Ulanov it. Rodnina tied with Zaitsev seamlessly on their past successes. In 1973, Zaitsev and Rodnina already Soviet champion and won in Cologne at their first joint European Championship as well as in Bratislava at their first joint World Championship gold medal. At the World Cup they succeeded even though the music was failed. Nevertheless, they kept the concentration and ran the freestyle at the end. They received a standing ovation and a unanimous judges' verdict in their favor. Both the European title as well as the world title they won before Rodninas former partner Alexei Ulanov and Rodninas Dauerkonkurrentin Liudmila Smirnova. The dance style of the couple Zaitsev / Rodnina was hailed at the time as a " revolution." The two had a romantic ice skating turned their backs and given their freestyle with fast elements a new direction in figure skating. 1974 defended the couple his Soviet Championship title in Zagreb his European title in Munich and his world title. This they succeeded in 1975 at the European Championships in Copenhagen and the World Championships in Colorado Springs. Shortly thereafter, in April 1975, married Zaitsev and Rodnina. Also in 1976, they continued their triumphant. In Geneva, she became European Champion and World Champion in Gothenburg. In Innsbruck, she then went on their first joint Olympic Games. Your Olympic victory was unharmed. They won both the short program and free skating as well have been set by all judges in the first place. They pointed Romy Kermer and Rolf Oesterreich from the GDR, as in the past and following World Championship, on the second place. In 1977, Zaitsev and Rodnina for the fourth and last time Soviet champion. In Helsinki, the pair became the fifth consecutive European Champion and in Tokyo for the fifth consecutive time world champion. So they were the first and are still the only pair that could win five titles at the world championships. In 1978 she won the European Championships in Strasbourg and ran up in Ottawa, Canada, their sixth and last World Cup title in a row. This means that Alexander Zaitsev and Irina Rodnina until today the most successful pair in the World Championships. 1979 denied the couple no contests since Rodnina was pregnant and gave birth to a son. 1980 returned Zaitsev and Rodnina back. They won in Gothenburg their seventh and last European Championship title. Thus they passed Marika Kilius and Hans -Jürgen Baumler, who had brought it on six European titles and was the most successful pair in European Figure Skating Championships. The Olympic Games in Lake Placid should be her last appearance as Rodnina the next World Cup because of a shoulder injury could no longer deny. The reigning world champions Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner from the USA were unable to participate because Gardner had been injured, and so had no trouble Rodnina and Zaitsev to defend her Olympic title. After Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet in 1932 and 1936 and Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov 1964 and 1968 they were the third and so far last pair that was able to defend Olympic gold. Zaitsev and Rodnina won all the competitions in which they participated in their career and this. Within a period of eight years

The marriage with Irina Rodnina was divorced after only a few years. Zaitsev became a coach in the U.S. and now lives in Moscow.

Results

Pair of running

( with Irina Rodnina )

44712
de