Oleg Protopopov

Oleg Alekseyevich Protopopov (Russian Олег Алексеевич Протопопов; * July 16, 1932 in Leningrad ) is a Russian figure skater, who started in pair skating for the Soviet Union.

Protopopov began his career with pair of running Margarita Bogoyavlensky. Together, they were third in 1953 and 1954 the Soviet championships. Already in 1953, was Protopopov, who had studied at the heart -PH in Leningrad sports, Lyudmila Belousova, a graduate of the Energetic Institute of Railway Engineers, met with a swept in Moscow competition. On 28 August 1954, she completed her first pair of running common. Your coach Igor Moskvin was first, then Peter Orlov. Then they trained independently in Woskressensk in Moscow, where they were supported by Stanislav Zhuk, the Protopopov knew from Leningrad. In 1957 they married.

His debut at the World and European Championships, the couple had in 1958. Were you at that time the second best Soviet figure skating pair after Nina and Stanislav Zhuk, behind which they were from 1957 to 1959 and 1961 Soviet runner-up. 1960 in Squaw Valley, they contested their first Olympic games and they finished in ninth place.

In 1962, Belousova Protopopov and were for the first time Soviet champion. They defended the title until 1968 except for the year 1965. As reigning Soviet champion in 1962 they won their first major international medals. In Geneva, they were runners- up behind Marika Kilius and Hans -Jürgen Baumler and Prague Vice World Champion behind the Canadians Maria and Otto Jelinek. Both at the European Championships in 1963 and 1964, as well as at the World Championships in 1963 and 1964, she won the silver medal behind Kilius and Baumler. At the Olympic Games 1964 in Innsbruck, however, they managed to defeat the favored Germans. It was the first Olympic gold for the Soviet Union in figure skating. 1965, and Belousova Protopopov in Moscow for the first time European champion and in Colorado Springs for the first time world champion. It was the first title for the Soviet Union in World and European Championships in figure skating. The couple was able to defend world title in 1966 in Davos, 1967 in Vienna and 1968 in Geneva and defend the European title in 1966 in Bratislava, 1967 in Ljubljana and in 1968 in Västerås. In 1968 she defended at the Olympic Games in Grenoble also their Olympic title, whilst simultaneously pointing their fellow countrymen Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gorelik on the silver medal. They had arrived at the height of her career.

In 1969, she denied her last World Cup and European Championship. Both times they had to face the competition from their own country to admit defeat. At the European Championships, it still was enough to silver behind Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov, at the World Championships they were also displaced by Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin on the bronze medal. In the years 1970 and 1971 and Belousova Protopopov were still in the Soviet Championships, but did not make it more up to the podium, in 1972 they were once again a third party. They bribed by their elegance, but were not nominated for the 1972 Olympic Games in Sapporo, because the taste was now changed sides on the embodied by Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov athletic running style and the Association said that Protopopov and Belousova are too old.

From 1972 came and Belousova Protopopov as soloists of Eisballets in Leningrad. In 1979 she asked during a tour in Switzerland for asylum. They now live in Grindelwald and have Swiss citizenship since 1995.

Although both have now passed the age of 70, they occur as before. In 2003, she followed an invitation of the Russian Sports Minister Vyacheslav Fetisov and visited on 25 February 2003 after more than 20 years back her Russian homeland.

Results

Pair of running

( Lyudmila Belousova with )

* Margarita Bogoyavlensky

Winter Olympic Games 1962 World Figure Skating Championships 1963 World Figure Skating Championships 1964 World Figure Skating Championships 1965 World Figure Skating Championships 1966 World Figure Skating Championships 1967 World Figure Skating Championships 1968 World Figure Skating Championships 1969 World Figure Skating Championships 1962 European Figure Skating Championships 1963 European Figure Skating Championships 1964 European Figure Skating Championships 1965 European Figure Skating Championships 1966 European Figure Skating Championships 1967 European Figure Skating Championships 1968 European Figure Skating Championships 1969 European Figure Skating Championships 1958 World Figure Skating Championships 1958 European Figure Skating Championships Maria Jelinek List of Olympic medalists in figure skating 1960 World Figure Skating Championships 1959 European Figure Skating Championships 1960 European Figure Skating Championships Russian Figure Skating Championships Pierre Brunet (figure skater) Ernst Baier Micheline Lannoy Ria Baran Sissy Schwarz Kurt Oppelt Barbara Wagner Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev Oksana Kazakova David Pelletier Shen Xue Maxim Trankov Phyllis Johnson James H. Johnson Karl Mejstrik Ludwig Wrede Peter Kennedy (figure skater) Jennifer Nicks John Nicks Frances Dafoe Norris Bowden Irina Vorobieva Tassilo Thierbach Barbara Underhill Isabelle Brasseur Lloyd Eisler Ingo Steuer Pang Qing Aliona Savchenko Robin Szolkowy Olga Orgonista Idi Papez Karl Zwack Marianna Nagy (figure skater) Silvia Grandjean Michel Grandjean Yuko Kavaguti Alexander Smirnov (figure skater) Nina Zhuk Marina Pestova Denis Petrov
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