Maya Usova

Olympic medalist
Medal record
Figure skating
Competitor for the Unified Team
Bronze	1992 Albertville	Ice dancing
Competitor for  Russia
Silver	1994 Lillehammer	Ice dancing

Maya Usova

Usova and Zhulin at a 1989 exhibition in West Berlin.
Personal information
Full name	Maya Valentinovna Usova
Alternative names	Maia Usova
Country represented	Russia
Former country(ies) represented	CIS  Soviet Union
Born	22 May 1964 (1964-05-22) (age 47) Nizhny Novgorod
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Former partner	Evgeny Platov Alexander Zhulin Alexei Batalov
Coach	Natalia Dubova
Skating club	Profsoyuz Moskva / Sportsclub Moskva
Retired	1994
Medal record Figure skating Ice dancing Competitor for  Russia Olympic Games Silver 1994 Lillehammer Ice dancing World Championships Gold 1993 Prague Ice dancing European Championships Bronze 1994 Copenhagen Ice dancing Gold 1993 Helsinki Ice dancing Competitor for  Unified Team Olympic Games Bronze 1992 Albertville Ice dancing Competitor for  Soviet Union World Championships Silver 1992 Oakland Ice dancing Bronze 1991 Munich Ice dancing Bronze 1990 Halifax Ice dancing Silver 1989 Paris Ice dancing European Championships Silver 1992 Lausanne Ice dancing Bronze 1991 Sofia Ice dancing Silver 1990 Leningrad Ice dancing Silver 1989 Birmingham Ice dancing

Maya Valentinovna Usova (Russian: Майя Валентиновна Усова), born 22 May 1964 in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) is a Russian ice dancer. With Alexander Zhulin, she is the 1993 World champion, 1994 Olympic silver medalist, 1992 Olympic bronze medalist.

Career

Maya Usova initially competed with Alexei Batalov. At the age of nine, she moved from Gorky to Moscow to train with coach Natalia Dubova.^[1] Dubova paired her with Alexander Zhulin in 1980. In 1988, they made their first appearance at the European Championships, placing 4th. The next season, they won silver at Europeans and silver in their World Championships debut. The next two seasons, they took bronze at Worlds.

In the 1991–92 season, Usova and Zhulin won silver at the European Championships and then captured their first Olympic medal, bronze, at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. They ended the season by winning their second World silver medal. They moved with Dubova from Moscow to Lake Placid, New York in 1992.^[2]

In the 1992–93 season, Usova and Zhulin won the European title and followed that up by winning the World title as well. The next season, they dropped to third at the European Championships behind Jayne Torvill / Christopher Dean and Oksana Grishuk / Evgeny Platov. At the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, they won the silver medal behind Grishuk and Platov.

Usova and Zhulin skated together professionally for four years before parting company. Usova then skated with former rival, Evgeny Platov.

From 2002 to 2004, Usova helped Tatiana Tarasova and skating partner Evgeny Platov coach numerous skaters, including Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky and Shizuka Arakawa. She coached at the Igloo in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. She currently coaches young ice dancers in Odintsovo, near Moscow. Usova is an International Technical Specialist for Russia.^[3]

Personal life

Usova and Zhulin were married in 1986^[2] but later divorced.^[4] She is remarried to a Russian professor in medicine, Anatoly Orletsky.^[5] In 2010, she gave birth to their daughter, Anastasia.

Off the ice, she has appeared in several Marlboro advertisements in Russia.

Programs

With Zhulin

Season	Original dance	Free dance[6]	Exhibition[7]
1997–1998			The Red Poppy La Belle Dame Sans Regret by Sting Windmills of your Mind (from the Thomas Crown Affair) A Man and A Woman Where Do I Begin (from Love Story) The Summer Knows (from Summer of '42)
1995–1996			Astor Piazzolla Prelude In C Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff
1994–1995			Fantasy in D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Blues For Klook
1993–1994	A Day In The Life Of A Fool	Selected Melodies by Nino Rota
1992–1993	Tales From The Vienna Woods	Blues For Klook by Eddy Louis	Tango Prelude in E Minor by Frederic Chopin Autumn Leaves
1991–1992	Pizzicato Polka by Johann Strauss II	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi	Autumn Leaves
1990–1991	Blues For Klook by Eddy Louis	Summertime (from Porgy and Bess) by George Gershwin	Autumn Leaves
1989–1990		Tango
1988–1989		Mars, the Bringer of War (from The Planets) by Gustav Holst Prelude in E minor by Frederic Chopin

With Platov

Season	Programs[6][7][8]
2000–2001	Tango from The Addams Family Desert Rose by Sting Carmen by Georges Bizet
1999–2000	The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Michel Legrand Copa de la Vida/Historia de un Amor Spente Le Stelle by Emma Shapplin
1998–1999	Padam Padam by Édith Piaf When You Came Into My Life Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven

Results

(with Zhulin)

Event	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94
Winter Olympic Games									3rd		2nd
World Championships						2nd	3rd	3rd	2nd	1st
European Championships					4th	2nd	2nd	3rd	2nd	1st	3rd
Soviet Championships	2nd		3rd	3rd	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st
Skate America							1st			1st
Nations Cup							1st
NHK Trophy						2nd		1st	1st	1st
Nebelhorn Trophy			1st
Prize of Moscow News			4th	3rd	2nd
Winter Universiade		1st		2nd

References

1. ^ Harvey, Randy (February 22, 1994). "'94 WINTER LILLEHAMMER OLYMPICS : Torvill and Dean Must Face Music as Russians Win : Ice dancing: British routine doesn't go over with judges. Gritschuk and Platov get gold.". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-02-22/sports/sp-25648_1_winter-olympic-ice-dancing-competition. Retrieved October 8, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Hersh, Phil (February 22, 1994). "Love Triangle (plus 1) Tops Torvill And Dean". The Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-02-22/sports/9402220310_1_bronze-medalists-jayne-torvill-zhulin-usova. Retrieved September 9, 2011. 
3. ^ ISU Communication No. 1467PDF
4. ^ Sports-reference: Maiya Usova
5. ^ Майя Усова: "Тем, кто не уехал, надо ставить памятники" 24 January 2009
   Translation - Maya Usova: “Those who remained are real heroes”
6. ^ ^{a b} Skate Music List
7. ^ ^{a b} World Professional Figure Skating Championships – Landover, MD
8. ^ Japan Open

External links

• Care to Ice Dance? - Usova & Zhulin
• Maya Usova

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Persondata
Name	Usova, Maya
Alternative names
Short description	Russian ice dancer
Date of birth	22 May 1964
Place of birth	Nizhny Novgorod
Date of death
Place of death