Elena Grushina Explained

Elena Grushina
Country:Ukraine
Fullname:Elena Eduardovna Grushina
Olena Eduardivna Hrushyna
Birth Date:8 January 1975
Birth Place:Odessa, Ukrainian SSR
Formerpartner:Ruslan Goncharov
Mikhail Tashlitsky
Formercoach:Nikolai Morozov
Tatiana Tarasova
Natalia Linichuk
Gennadi Karponosov
A.Tumanovski
Former Skating Club:Sport Military Club Odessa
Beganskating:1979
Retired:2006
Dance Score:213.95
Dance Date:2005 Worlds
Cd Score:41.30
Cd Date:2005 Worlds
Od Score:63.23
Od Date:2004 Cup of Russia
Fd Score:109.48
Fd Date:2005 Worlds

Elena Eduardovna Grushina (Russian: Елена Эдуардовна Грушина or Ukrainian: Олена Едуардівна Грушина Olena Eduardivna Hrushyna; born 8 January 1975) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner and then-husband Ruslan Goncharov, she is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.

Career

Grushina began skating at four and switched from single skating to ice dancing when she was 12. Grushina first competed with Mikhail Tashlitsky but the partnership ended when he decided to focus on school.

Having trained in the same group in Odessa, Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov were paired together in 1989. They finished fourth at the 1992 Junior Worlds. They were 18th in their senior Worlds debut at the 1994 World Championships. In early 1997, Grushina and Goncharov began training with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Newark, Delaware. They finished 15th at their first Olympics in 1998. They won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at 1999 Skate Canada International.

Grushina and Goncharov were 9th at the 2002 Olympics and 6th at the 2002 World Championships. In the summer of 2002, they changed coaches to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut. During the 2002–03 season, they won three gold medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2002 Skate America, 2002 Skate Canada International, and 2002 Trophée Lalique. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they finished fourth. They were also fourth at the 2003 European Championships and fifth at the 2003 World Championships.

During the 2003–04 season, Grushina and Goncharov won three silver medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2003 Skate America, 2003 Cup of China, and 2003 NHK Trophy. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they again finished fourth, but a couple months later they won their first European medal, bronze, at the 2004 European Championships. They were fourth at the 2004 World Championships.

During the 2004–05 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at one Grand Prix event, 2004 Cup of Russia, where they won the silver medal. Since they only competed at one event, they did not earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They won their second European medal, silver, at the 2005 European Championships. They capped off their season by winning their first World medal, bronze, at the 2005 World Championships.

During the 2005–06 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at two Grand Prix events. They won silver at 2005 Skate Canada International and gold at 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. They qualified for their third Grand Prix Final and came away with their first medal at the event, silver. They won their third European medal, silver, at the 2006 European Championships. At the 2006 Olympics, they were fifth in the compulsory dance but placed third in the original and free dances to capture their first Olympic medal. They retired after the Olympics.

Personal life

Grushina and Goncharov married in 1995, but are now divorced. Grushina took part in Russian Dancing On Ice show where she met Mikhail Zelensky, a TV presenter. Their daughter, Sofia, was born in 2008.

Programs

(with Ruslan Goncharov)

SeasonOriginal danceFree danceExhibition
2005–2006
  • The Feeling Begins
    (from Passion)
    by Peter Gabriel
2004–2005
  • Foxtrot, Charleston: Maybe Next Time
    by Liza Minnelli
  • Quickstep: Life is a Cabaret
2003–2004
2002–2003
2001–2002
2000–2001
1999–2000
1998–1999
1997–1998
  • Unknown Ukrainian folk dances
1995–1996
  • El Torro Rojo
    performed by C. Willems, Manuelo Montez Orchestra
  • Jiger
    performed by Glenn Miller, Max Gregor Orchestra

Results

(with Goncharov for Ukraine)

Results
International
Event1992–931993–941994–951995–961996–971997–981998–991999–002000–012001–022002–032003–042004–052005–06
align=left 15th 9th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left 18th 22nd 19th 13th 8th 7th 8th 6th 5th 4th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left 14th 13th 13th 7th 8th 7th 8th 4th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left 4th 4th bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left 9th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left 10th 4th
align=left 4th 4th 5th bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left 8th bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left 4th bgcolor=silver 2nd 4th bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left 4th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left Centennial On Ice 9th
align=left Polish FSA Trophy bgcolor=gold 1st
National
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=cc9966 3rd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=cc9966 3rd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st
GP = Became part of Champions Series in 1995–1996, renamed Grand Prix in 1998–1999.

(with Goncharov for the Soviet Union)

External links

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