Elena Leonova

Elena Rudolfovna Leonova (Russian: Елена Рудольфовна Леонова; born 12 July 1973) is a Russian former pair skater. Representing the Soviet Union with Gennadi Krasnitski, she won the 1987 NHK Trophy, the 1989 Skate Canada International, and two World Junior Championships (1986, 1987).

Not to be confused with the Russian single skater Alena Leonova.
Elena Leonova
Full nameElena Rudolfovna Leonova
Native nameЕлена Рудольфовна Леонова
Born (1973-07-12) 12 July 1973
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Figure skating career
CountryRussia
Soviet Union
PartnerAndrei Khvalko, Sergey Petrovskiy, Gennadi Krasnitski
CoachTatiana Tarasova, Alexander Zaitsev, Vladimir Zakharov, Elena Loboda

Personal life

Leonova was born on 12 July 1973 in Moscow.[1][2] She married her skating partner Andrei Khvalko, with whom she has two daughters.[3]

Career

As a young child, Leonova trained under Elena Loboda. Vladimir Zakharov became her coach when she switched from singles to pairs, in 1983.

Leonova's first skating partner was Gennadi Krasnitski. The pair won gold at the 1986 World Junior Championships, held in December 1985 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and successfully defended their title at the 1987 World Junior Championships, held in December 1986 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.[4]

Leonova/Krasnitski won their first senior international title at the 1987 NHK Trophy. In their final season as a pair, 1989–1990, they received three gold medals — at the Skate Canada International, Nebelhorn Trophy, and Grand Prix International St. Gervais — and bronze at the Soviet Championships.

From 1990 to 1992, Leonova trained in Alexander Zaitsev's group. Skating with Sergey Petrovskiy, she placed fifth at the 1991 Skate America.

After Leonova ended her ISU competitive career, she toured with a show produced by Tatiana Tarasova.[3] She teamed up with Andrei Khvalko in 1995.[2] The pair competed at four World Professional Championships and won it twice, in 1999 and 2000.[3]

Results

With Krasnitski
International[5]
Event 85–86 86–87 87–88 88–89 89–90
NHK Trophy1st
Skate Canada1st
Nebelhorn Trophy1st
St. Gervais1st
International: Junior[4]
World Junior Champ.1st1st
National[1]
Soviet Champ.5th3rd

With Petrovskiy
International
Event 1991
Skate America5th

With Khvalko
International
Event 97–98 98–99 99–00 00–01
World Professional Championships3rd3rd1st1st

References
  1. Леонова Елена Рудольфовна [Elena Rudolfovna Leonova]. solovieff.ru (in Russian).
  2. "Елена Леонова и Андрей Хвалько о себе". leonova-khvalko.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 July 2017.
  3. Elfman, Lois (August 6, 2010). "Leonova and Khvalko strike a balance". Icenetwork.com. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  4. "World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Леонова Елена Рудольфовна [Elena Rudolfovna Leonova]. fskate.ru (in Russian).
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