Marina Klimova

Marina Vladimirovna Klimova (Russian: Марина Владимировна Климова; born 28 July 1966) is a former competitive ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified Team. With skating partner and husband Sergei Ponomarenko, she is the 1992 Olympic champion, the 1988 Olympic silver medalist, the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, and a four-time European champion.

Marina Klimova
Klimova and Ponomarenko in 1989
Personal information
Full nameMarina Vladimirovna Klimova
Country represented Soviet Union
 Unified Team
Born (1966-07-28) 28 July 1966
Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Former partnerSergei Ponomarenko
Oleg Volkov
Retired1996
Medal record
Figure skating
Ice dancing
Representing  CIS ( Unified Team)
Olympic Games
1992 AlbertvilleIce dancing
World Championships
1992 OaklandIce dancing
European Championships
1992 LausanneIce dancing
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1988 CalgaryIce dancing
1984 SarajevoIce dancing
World Championships
1989 ParisIce dancing
1990 HalifaxIce dancing
1985 TokyoIce dancing
1986 GenevaIce dancing
1987 CincinnatiIce dancing
1988 BudapestIce dancing
1991 MunichIce dancing
European Championships
1989 BirminghamIce dancing
1990 LeningradIce dancing
1991 SofiaIce dancing
1985 GothenburgIce dancing
1986 SarajevoIce dancing
1987 SarajevoIce dancing
1984 BudapestIce dancing
Marina Klimova
Medal record
Figure skating
Representing the  Soviet Union
1988 Calgary Ice dancing
1984 Sarajevo Ice dancing
Representing the  Unified Team
1992 Albertville Ice dancing

Career

Klimova trained at Spartak in Moscow. Early in her career, she skated with Oleg Gennadyevich Volkov.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were fourth in their European Championships debut in 1983. Their breakthrough came the following season when they won the bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and 1984 European Championships. In 1985, they won their first World medal, silver. They were four-time consecutive World silver medalists from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, they also won the Olympic silver medal, behind Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin.

In 1989, Klimova and Ponomarenko won the first of their four consecutive European titles. They also won the 1989 World Championships and followed that up with another World gold the following year.

At the 1991 World Championships, they had a setback when they placed second to Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay. Four months before the Olympics, they decided to leave coach Natalia Dubova.[2] They re-established themselves as the top ice dancers in the world by winning another 1992 European title and then capturing the 1992 Olympic title. They ended their season with their third World title. They retired from eligible skating after the World Championships and turned to professional and show skating.

In addition to winning three World Championships and four European Championships, Klimova and Ponomarenko are the first figure skaters in any discipline to have won Olympic medals in three different colors. They won the bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, the silver medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics for the Soviet Union and the gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics for the Unified Team.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.[3] They coach young figure skaters at Sharks Ice in San Jose, California.

Personal life

Klimova and Ponomarenko married in September 1984. They now reside in the United States in Morgan Hill, California. They have two sons, Tim Ponomarenko, born in 1998, and Anthony Ponomarenko, born on January 5, 2001 in San Jose, California.[4] Anthony is a competitive ice dancer for the United States.[4][5]

Programs

(With Ponomarenko)

Season Original set pattern
/ Original dance		 Free dance Exhibition
1992–1996
  • Clowns March to Sousa
  • Masquerade Waltz
    by Aram Khachaturian
1991–1992
1990–1991
1989–1990
1988–1989
1987–1988
1986–1987
1985–1986
1984–1985
1983–1984
1982–1983

Results

With Sergei Ponomarenko
International
Event 80–81 81–82 82–83 83–84 84–85 85–86 86–87 87–88 88–89 89–90 90–91 91–92
Olympics3rd2nd1st
Worlds4th2nd2nd2nd2nd1st1st2nd1st
Europeans4th3rd2nd2nd2nd1st1st1st1st
Goodwill Games1st
Fujifilm Trophy1st
Moscow News3rd1st2nd1st1st1st
Nebelhorn1st1st
Golden Spin2nd
St. Gervais1st1st
National
Soviet Champ.8th6th5th1st1st1st1st1st
Spartakiada3rd

Professional career

Event 1994–95 1995–96
World Professional Championships2nd2nd

With Oleg Volkov
National
Event 1977–78 1978–79
Spartakiada3rd J
USSR Cup1st J1st J
J = Junior level

References
  1. "Marina Klimova". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  2. Vaytsekhovskaya, Elena (1991). Марина Климова, Сергей Пономаренко: "ЗА ВСЕ НАДО ПЛАТИТЬ САМИМ. ЗА ОШИБКИ ТОЖЕ" [Klimova & Ponomarenko interview] (in Russian). Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  3. "Hall of Fame Members". World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  4. "Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014.
  5. Whetstone, Mimi (September 15, 2012). "Feng and Ponomarenko, Kang nab novice gold". Ice Network.

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