Oleg Vasiliev (figure skater)

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Kimovich and the family name is Vasiliev.

Oleg Kimovich Vasiliev (Russian: Олег Кимович Васильев; born 22 November 1959) is a Russian former pair skater who competed internationally for the Soviet Union. With his then-wife Elena Valova, he is the 1984 Olympic champion, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and three-time World Champion (1983, 1985, 1988). Their coach throughout their career was Tamara Moskvina. After retiring from competition, Vasiliev became a coach, leading the pair of Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin to the 2006 Olympic title.

Oleg Vasiliev
Valova and Vasiliev in 1987
Full name	Oleg Kimovich Vasiliev
Born	(1959-11-22) 22 November 1959 (age 65) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] – 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Figure skating career
Country	Soviet Union  Russia
Retired	1988
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Figure skating: Pairs Olympic Games 1984 Sarajevo Pairs 1988 Calgary Pairs World Championships 1983 Helsinki Pairs 1985 Tokyo Pairs 1988 Budapest Pairs 1984 Ottawa Pairs 1986 Geneva Pairs 1987 Cincinnati Pairs European Championships 1984 Budapest Pairs 1985 Gothenburg Pairs 1986 Copenhagen Pairs 1983 Dortmund Pairs 1987 Sarajevo Pairs

Personal life

Vasiliev was born in Leningrad (modern-day Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, to parents Ludmila Konstantinovna Vasilieva, a nurse, and Kim Mikhailovich Vasiliev. He graduated from the Institute for Physical Culture in Saint Petersburg.^[3]

Vasiliev moved to Chicago, Illinois in December 1997.^[3][2] He was married to Valova from 1984 to 1992.^[1] He later married a Saint Petersburg resident named Valentina (divorced in 2000), with whom he has a daughter, Katia.^[4][2] His first daughter was born circa 1994.^[5]

Around 2013, Vasiliev married his third wife, Natalia,^[5] who is from Moscow.^[6] As of August 2016, the couple lives in Moscow with their daughter Varvara (born circa 2014).^[5]

Career

Competitive career

Vasiliev and Elena Valova in Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1983

Vasiliev's parents decided to introduce him to skating when he was five because he had had pneumonia several times as a child and his doctor recommended an outdoor activity.^[3][2] As a single skater, Vasiliev won a Junior national title.

Coach Tamara Moskvina invited Vasiliev to switch to pair skating several times before he agreed, at age 18.^[3][2] Initially, he was physically ill-suited for the discipline and had much work to develop his muscles.^[2] He and his first partner, Larisa Selezneva, argued incessantly and split after three months.^[2] Moskvina then paired him with Elena Valova, with whom he continued to train in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).^[3][2]

Valova/Vasiliev's breakthrough came in the 1982–83 season. They won bronze at the Prize of Moscow News, gold at the 1982 Skate America, and then silver at the 1983 European Championships. The pair concluded their season by winning their first World title. They missed the 1983 national championships due to Vasiliev's broken jaw.^[2]

In 1984, Valova/Vasiliev won their first European title and then took gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The deaths of several Soviet government officials, including one during the Olympics, cast a pall over the Soviet team and the athletes were told not to show too much joy.^[2] The pair took silver at their final event of the season, the 1984 World Championships.

In 1985, the pair won gold at both the European and World Championships but 1986 saw the emergence of the young Moscow pair Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov. Although Valova/Vasiliev were awarded gold at the 1986 Europeans, they finished second to the Muscovites at both the 1986 and 1987 Worlds.

In their final amateur season, Valova/Vasiliev took silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics behind Gordeeva/Grinkov but then prevailed over the reigning Olympic champions at the 1988 World Championships. After winning their third World title, Valova/Vasiliev retired from ISU competition. After performing for a year in Igor Bobrin's ice theatre, they signed a U.S. contract – the first Soviets to do so without losing their citizenship.^[2] The pair performed together in various shows and events until the end of 1997.^[3][2]

Vasiliev was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.^[7]

Coaching career

Vasiliev (far left) in 2004 with Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin

Vasiliev initially had no interest in coaching but changed his mind.^[2] He coached one season for the Latvian federation and then about two years for the French federation near Paris.^[2] Since 1998, Vasiliev has coached in Chicago and Saint Petersburg.^[2] During his time in the United States, he worked at the Oakton Ice Arena in Park Ridge, Illinois.^[8] He has coached the following skaters:

• Vera Bazarova / Andrei Deputat: From April 2014^[9] to 2016.
• Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin:^[3] From January 2001 to March 2006. (2006 Olympic champions and two-time World champions)
• Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov: From December 2006 to March 2010. (2008 European silver medalists)
• Viktoria Volchkova: From spring 2002 to mid-2003. (2002 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist)
• Fumie Suguri: From autumn 2004 to 2005.
• Katarina Gerboldt / Alexander Enbert: From May 2013 to April 2014.^[2][10]
• Ivan Righini
• Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise

Television

He appeared in the sixth season of ice show contest Ice Age.

Programs

(with Valova)

1979–1988

Season	Short program[11][12]	Free skating[11][12]	Exhibition[11][12]
1987–88	Zorba's Dance (from Zorba the Greek) by Mikis Theodorakis	The Final Countdown by Europe Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov The Final Countdown	Stampede soundtrack Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov
1986–87	Georgian folk: Lezginka Suliko	Pizzicato Polka Acceleration Waltz by Johann Strauss II Radetzky March by Johann Strauss I	Anthem of Leningrad Russian: Гимн Ленинграду Kalinka Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov
1985–86	Music by Raimonds Pauls	Shurale by Färit Yarullin	Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov
1984–85	Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov		Baba-Yaga (from Pictures at an Exhibition) by Modest Mussorgsky Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
1983–84	Kalinka	Get Back Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven Stairway to Heaven	Baba-Yaga (from Pictures at an Exhibition) by Modest Mussorgsky Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg
1982–83	March of the Toreadors (from Carmen) by Georges Bizet Sibaney		Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg Circus
1981–82		Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
1980–81		Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky
1979–80	Demon	Little Eagle Russian: Орлёнок On the Nameless Height Russian: На безымянной высоте We are blacksmiths Russian: Мы кузнецы и дух наш молод

1989–1997

Programs [11][12]

None but the lonely heart by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky All Shook Up by Elvis Presley Star and Death of Joaquin Murrieta Russian: Звезда и смерть Хоакина Мурьеты by Alexey Rybnikov The Story of My Life by Michael Crawford Bridge over Troubled Water Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom) A Whiter Shade of Pale Kalinka Waltz by Jerry Herman Swan Lake (comedic) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Zorba's Dance (from Zorba the Greek) by Mikis Theodorakis Şüräle by Färit Yarullin

Results

Amateur career with Valova

International[1][13]
Event	79–80	80–81	81–82	82–83	83–84	84–85	85–86	86–87	87–88
Winter Olympics					1st				2nd
World Champ.				1st	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	1st
European Champ.				2nd	1st	1st	1st	2nd
Skate America			3rd	1st
NHK Trophy								1st
Nebelhorn Trophy			1st
Moscow News	6th	3rd		3rd	1st				2nd
St. Gervais			2nd
National[14][15]
Soviet Champ.			3rd			2nd	1st

Professional career with Valova

Event	89–90	90–91	91–92	92–93	93–94	94–95	97–98
World Professional Champ.	2nd	4th	4th	4th	3rd
World Challenge of Champions	2nd	5th	4th	2nd	3rd
US Open				5th	2nd		5th
Masters Miko					3rd
Canadian Professional Champ.						4th
Legends							2nd