Andrei Minenkov and Irina Moiseeva

Andrei Olegovich Minenkov (Russian: Андрей Олегович Миненков; born 6 December 1954) and Irina Valentinovna Moiseeva (Russian: Ирина Валентиновна Моисеева; born 3 July 1955) are Russian retired ice dancers who represented the Soviet Union. They were the 1976 Olympic silver medalist, 1980 Olympic bronze medalist, and two-time world champions (1975 and 1977).

Andrei Minenkov and Irina Moiseeva
Minenkov and Moiseeva in 1976
Full nameAndrei Olegovich Minenkov
Other namesAndrey Minenkov
Born (1954-12-06) 6 December 1954
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
PartnerIrina Moiseeva
Skating clubVSS Trud (Moscow)
Retired1983
Medal record
Figure skating
Ice dancing
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Lake PlacidIce dancing
Silver medal – second place 1976 InnsbruckIce dancing
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1982 CopenhagenIce dancing
Silver medal – second place 1981 HartfordIce dancing
Bronze medal – third place 1980 DortmundIce dancing
Bronze medal – third place 1979 ViennaIce dancing
Silver medal – second place 1978 OttawaIce dancing
Gold medal – first place 1977 TokyoIce dancing
Silver medal – second place 1976 GothenburgIce dancing
Gold medal – first place 1975 Colorado SpringsIce dancing
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place1982 LyonIce dancing
Silver medal – second place1981 InnsbruckIce dancing
Bronze medal – third place1980 GothenburgIce dancing
Silver medal – second place1979 ZagrebIce dancing
Gold medal – first place1978 StrasbourgIce dancing
Gold medal – first place1977 HelsinkiIce dancing
Silver medal – second place1976 GenevaIce dancing

Career

Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov met at the rink when they were six years old and began skating together in 1967.[1][2] They had their breakthrough during the 1974–1975 season. They were third at the Soviet Championships, behind Lyudmila Pakhomova/Aleksandr Gorshkov and Natalia Linichuk/Gennadi Karponosov, and placed just off the podium at the 1975 European Championships. However, they then went on to capture their first World title at the World Championships, in the absence of Pakhomova/Gorshkov but moving ahead of a few teams ranked higher than them earlier in the season, including Linichuk/Karpanosov.

The next season, Moiseeva and Minenkov were again ranked behind Linichuk/Karponosov at the Soviet Championships but edged past them in international competition to be second only to Pakhomova/Gorshkov. They won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics, the first Games to include ice dancing. They also won silver at the World and European Championships.

The 1976–1977 season was the most successful for Moiseeva and Minenkov. They won World, European and national titles. Their dominance began to wane over the following years, however, they won a total of eight consecutive World medals and seven European medals (including another gold in 1978). They also won the bronze at the 1980 Olympics.

The couple trained at VSS Trud in Moscow. They were coached by Tatiana Tarasova, Lyudmila Pakhomova, and Natalia Dubova. Tarasova coached them for ten years, beginning in 1969. They retired in 1983 because Moiseeva was expecting their daughter.[2]

Olympic champions Torvill and Dean considered them one of their greatest influences.

Personal life

Moiseeva and Minenkov married in 1977 and had a daughter in 1983.[2] In 1989, Minenkov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of Radiotechnics, Electronics and Automation and founded a company, Kholod, in 1993.[1]

Results

with Moiseeva

International
Event 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82
Olympics2nd3rd
Worlds7th4th1st2nd1st2nd3rd3rd2nd3rd
Europeans7th5th4th2nd1st1st2nd3rd2nd3rd
Skate Canada3rd1st
NHK Trophy1st
Moscow News6th2nd2nd2nd1st1st2nd
National
Soviet Champ.5th4th3rd3rd2nd3rd2nd1st2nd2nd2nd

References
  1. "Andrei Minenkov". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. Badina, Marina (18 January 2005). Среда обитания – холод [Habitat – cold]. business-magazine.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 February 2012.
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