It Takes A Village

Anett Pötzsch, Frau Jutta Müller and Jan Hoffmann
Anett Pötzsch, Frau Jutta Müller and Jan Hoffmann

The internet and social media have brought coaches from the background to center stage in recent years. Just ask Brian Orser. Just before the Sochi Olympics where his student Yuzuru Hanyu struck gold, Google searches for his name in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture skyrocketed. In the nineties, the names Evy and Mary Scotvold, Diane Rawlinson and Dody Teachman became part of pop culture after the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. In the eighties, the introduction of the kiss n' cry brought colourful characters like Frau Jutta Müller and Alex McGowan into our living rooms.

The fact of the matter is, figure skating coaches are some of the hardest working people in this world. They're hard-wired with knowledge, fueled by coffee and driven by a deep passion for the sport. Behind every great champion are great coaches, and in today's blog I wanted to talk a little bit about the great coaches behind Olympic Gold Medallists and World Champions... and some fascinating firsts.

Jacqueline du Bief, Jacqueline Vaudecrane and Liliane Madaule-Caffin at the Molitor rink in 1949
Jacqueline du Bief, Jacqueline Vaudecrane and Liliane Madaule-Caffin at the Molitor rink in 1949. Photo courtesy "The Skater" magazine.

We may think of figure skating today as being a sport with equal opportunities for female coaches, but this simply wasn't the case in the sport's early days. Though a small handful of elite skaters had a female as their very first coach, it wasn't until 1952, that a World Champion's primary coach at the time was a woman... and it happened in two disciplines! Madame Jacqueline Vaudecrane was Jacqueline du Bief's coach in the women's event and Miss Gladys Hogg was Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy's coach in ice dance. 

Editorial cartoon of figure skating coach Gladys Hogg
Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine

Few post-1980 World Champions had one coach from the very start of their career to the finish. Some of these remarkably loyal skaters include the stars of The Battle Of The Brian's (Boitano and Orser), Katarina Witt and Rosalynn Sumners.

Petra Burka and Mrs. Ellen Burka
Petra and Mrs. Ellen Burka

A very small group of parents have coached their own children to World titles. The very first was Lipót Szollás, the father of László Szollás and his partner Emília 'Baby' Rotter in 1931. The first father to coach his daughter to a World title was Megan Taylor in 1938, and the first mother to coach her daughter to a World title was Mrs. Ellen Burka, Petra's fabulous mother, in 1965. Arnold Gerschwiler coached his nephew Hans to a World title in 1947, but a father didn't coach his son to an Olympic gold medal or World title in singles until 1964. Manfred Schnelldorfer, that year's winner in both competitions, was taught by his father Karl and stepmother Elenore.

In the five tables below, I've compiled a list of the coaches of (almost) every Olympic Gold Medallist and World Champion. Some of these may have been long-term coaches, others may have spent time working with them on figures, taught them how to do a waltz jump or helped them keep up their technical skills as professionals. They all, in some way, played an important part in the world's best skater's journeys. 

Arnold Gerschwiler and Sjoukje Dijkstra
Arnold Gerschwiler and Sjoukje Dijkstra

I'd like to preface these lists by talking a little bit about how things worked in 'the early days'. Skaters like Ulrich Salchow, who reached the height of his success during the Edwardian era, certainly had mentors but they were largely self-taught. They travelled to competitions without a coach in the stands yelling out instructions, and worked out new ideas through trial and error, conversation and collaboration at the skating resorts in Davos and St. Moritz, letters and telegrams to skaters that lived abroad, reading books and at times, blatantly copying what other skaters did if they got good marks. Most of the coaches of these 'early skaters' that I've listed gave lessons to them at one point or another, but they didn't have the exclusive one-on-one teacher/student relationship we think of today. That really didn't come about until the late roaring twenties and early thirties.

Another note I'd like to add is that the coaches listed for pairs or dance teams may correspond to other partnerships or singles careers. Kerry Leitch is listed under Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler. Kerry coached Lloyd when he was skating with Kathy Matousek, not Isabelle. Uschi Keszler and Tatiana Tarasova are listed under Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev. Neither worked with the couple when they were skating together, but Keszler and Tarasova both worked with Mishkutenok when she was skating professionally with Craig Shepherd. A coach that worked with an Olympic Gold Medallist or World Champion at any stage in their careers was part of their journey, and obviously should be acknowledged.

I also want to note that these are working documents, based on research from the internet, books,  magazines, newspaper archives and correspondence with skaters. If I'm missing anybody on this list, it certainly wasn't intentional. Please feel free to contact me about any errors or omissions.

COACHES OF WORLD CHAMPIONS - MEN

Ondrej Nepela and Hilda Múdra
Ondrej Nepela and Hilda Múdra

Gilbert Fuchs (1896, 1906)

(self-taught)

Gustav Hügel (1897, 1899-1900)

(self-taught)

Ulrich Salchow (1901-1905, 1907-1911)

(self-taught)

Fritz Kachler (1912-1913, 1923)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Gösta Sandahl (1914)

(self-taught)

Gillis Grafström (1922, 1924, 1929)

(self-taught)

Willy Böckl (1925-1928)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Karl Schäfer (1930-1936)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler, Rudolf Kutzer, Eduard Engelmann Jr.

Felix Kaspar (1937-1938)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler, Angela Hanka

Henry Graham Sharp (1939)

Phil Taylor, Bror Meyer

Hans Gerschwiler (1947)

Arnold Gerschwiler

Dick Button (1948-1952)

Gustave Lussi

Hayes Alan Jenkins (1953-1956)

Edi Scholdan, Gustave Lussi, Walter Arian

David Jenkins (1957-1959)

Edi Scholdan, Gustave Lussi, Walter Arian

Alain Giletti (1960)

Jacqueline Vaudecrane, Andrée and Pierre Brunet

Donald Jackson (1962)

Sheldon Galbraith, Pierre Brunet, Wally Distelmeyer, Otto Gold, Arnold Gerschwiler, Ede Király, Alex Fulton, Nan Unsworth

Donald McPherson (1963)

Dennis Silverthorne

Manfred Schnelldorfer (1964)

Karl and Elenore Schnelldorfer

Alain Calmat (1965)

Jacqueline Vaudecrane, Pierre and Andrée Brunet

Emmerich Danzer (1966-1968)

Herta Wächtler, Gustave Lussi

Tim Wood (1969-1970)

Ronnie Baker

Ondrej Nepela (1971-1973)

Hilda Múdra

Jan Hoffmann (1974, 1980)

Jutta Müller, Annemarie Halbach

Sergei Volkov (1975)

Viktor Kudriavtsev, Stanislav Zhuk

John Curry (1976)

Carlo and Christa Fassi, Gustave Lussi, Alison Smith, Peter Dunfield, Arnold Gerschwiler, Armand Perren, Peri Levitsky, Ken Vickers

Vladimir Kovalev (1977, 1979)

Valentin Piseev, Tatiana Tomalcheva, Elena Tchaikovskaya

Charlie Tickner (1978)

Wally and Norma Sahlin, Jimmy Grogan

Scott Hamilton (1981-1984)

Don Laws, Kathy Casey, Carlo and Christa Fassi, Evy and Mary Scotvold, Pierre Brunet, Herb Plata, Giuliano Grassi, Phyllis Hendrix, Mark Beck, Rita Lowery

Alexandr Fadeev (1985)

Stanislav Leonovich, Stanislav Zhuk, Sergei Volkov, Gennady Sergeevich Tarasov

Brian Boitano (1986, 1988)

Linda Leaver

Brian Orser (1987)

Doug Leigh, Karol Divín, Jimmy Grogan

Kurt Browning (1989-1991, 1993)

Louis Stong, Michael Jiranek, Karen McLean

Viktor Petrenko (1992)

Galina Zmievskaya, Valentyn Nikolayev

Elvis Stojko (1994-1995, 1997)

Doug and Michelle Leigh, Uschi Keszler, Ghislain Briand, Ellen Burka

Todd Eldredge (1996)

Richard Callaghan, Tommy Litz, Stacey Smith

Alexei Yagudin (1998-2000, 2002)

Tatiana Tarasova, Nikolai Morozov, Alexei Mishin

Evgeni Plushenko (2001, 2003-2004)

Alexei Mishin, Mikhail Markaveyev, Tatiana Skala

Stéphane Lambiel (2005-2006)

Peter Grütter, Viktor Petrenko, Galina Zmievskaya, Cédric Monod

Brian Joubert (2007)

Oleg Vasiliev, Veronique Guyon, Nikolai Morozov, Annick (Gailhaguet) Dumont, Katia Krier, Patrick Gueppe, Laurent Depouilly, Jean-Christophe Simond, Andrei Berezintsev

Jeffrey Buttle (2008)

Lee Barkell, Rafael Arutyunyan, Doug Leigh, Wendy Philion

Evan Lysacek (2009)

Frank Carroll, Ken Congemi, Viktor Kudriavtsev, Maria Jeżak-Athey

Daisuke Takahashi (2010)

Marina Zoueva, Utako Nagamitsu, Takeshi Honda, Nikolai Morozov

Patrick Chan (2011-2013)

Ravi Walia, Joanne McLeod, Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein, Johnny Johns, Kathy Johnson, Christy (Haigler) Krall, Eddie Shipstad, Don Laws, Ellen Burka, Shin Amano, Osborne Colson, Mei Yang

Yuzuru Hanyu (2014, 2017)

Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson, Ghislain Briand, Nanami Abe, Shoichiro Tsuzuki

Javier Fernández (2015-2016)

Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson, Daniel Peinado, Nikolai Morozov, Ivan Saez, Carolina Sanz, Jordi Lafarga

Nathan Chen (2018-2019)

Rafael and Vera Arutyunyan, Nadia Kanaeva, Marina Zoueva, Evgenia Chernyshova, Stephanee Grosscup, Karel and Amanda Kovar

COACHES OF WORLD CHAMPIONS - WOMEN

Barbara Ann Scott and Sheldon Galbraith
Barbara Ann Scott and Sheldon Galbraith

Madge Syers (1906-1907)

(self-taught)

Lili Kronberger (1908-1911)

Viktor Seibert

Zsófia Méray-Horváth (1912-1914)

Viktor Seibert

Herma Szabo (1922-1926)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler, Eduard Engelmann Jr.

Sonja Henie (1927-1936)

Howard Nicholson, Martin Stixrud, Oscar Holthe, Pepi Weiß-Pfändler, Hjørdis Olsen

Cecilia Colledge (1937)

Jacques Gerschwiler, Howard Nicholson, Eva Keats

Megan Taylor (1938-1939)

Phil Taylor, Ernest Batson

Barbara Ann Scott (1947-1948)

Sheldon Galbraith, Otto Gold, Howard Nicholson, Gustave Lussi, Sylvia Seeley

Ája Zanová (1949-1950)

Arnold Gerschwiler, Karel Glogar

Jeannette Altwegg (1951)

Jacques Gerschwiler, Armand Perren

Jacqueline du Bief (1952)

Jacqueline Vaudecrane, Lucien Lemercier

Tenley Albright (1953, 1955)

Maribel Vinson Owen, Willie Frick, Eugene Turner

Gundi Busch (1954)

Thea Frenssen, Howard Nicholson

Carol Heiss (1956-1960)

Pierre and Andrée Brunet

Sjoukje Dijkstra (1962-1964)

Arnold Gerschwiler

Petra Burka (1965)

Ellen Burka, Don Laws

Peggy Fleming (1966-1968)

Carlo and Christa Fassi, John Nicks, Bob Paul, Peter Betts, Doroyann Swett, Bill Kipp, Tim Brown, Eugene Turner, Harriet Lapish

Gaby Seyfert (1969-1970)

Jutta Müller

Trixi Schuba (1971-1972)

Leopold Linhart, Hilde Appeltauer, Inge Solar, Hellmut Seibt

Karen Magnussen (1973)

Linda Brauckmann, Edi Rada, Dr. Hellmut May, Otto Gold

Christine Errath (1974)

Inge Wischnewski

Dianne de Leeuw (1975)

Douglas Chapman

Dorothy Hamill (1976)

Carlo and Christa Fassi, Peter Burrows, Sonya and Peter Dunfield, Gustave Lussi, Howard Nicholson, Otto Gold, Pierre Brunet, John Bryant Renn 

Linda Fratianne (1977, 1979)

Frank Carroll

Anett Pötzsch (1978, 1980)

Jutta Müller, Gaby Seyfert, Brigitte Schellhorn

Denise Biellmann (1981)

Heidi Biellmann, Otto Hugin

Elaine Zayak (1982)

Peter Burrows, Marylynn Gelderman

Rosalynn Sumners (1983)

Lorraine Borman

Katarina Witt (1985-1986, 1987-1988)

Jutta Müller

Debi Thomas (1986)

Alex McGowan, Barbara Toigo Vitkovits, Beth Callan

Midori Ito (1989)

Machiko Yamada

Jill Trenary (1990)

Carlo and Christa Fassi, Kathy Casey, Carol Heiss Jenkins

Kristi Yamaguchi (1991-1992)

Christy Kjarsgaard Ness, John Nicks, Jim Hulick, Ann Cofer

Oksana Baiul (1993)

Galina Zmievskaya, Valentyn Nikolayev, Stanislav Korytek

Yuka Sato (1994)

Nobuo Sato, Kumiko Sato, Sonya and Peter Dunfield

Lu Chen (1995)

Li Mingzhu, Liu Hongyun

Michelle Kwan (1996, 1998, 2000-2001, 2003)

Frank Carroll, Rafael Arutyunyan, Scott Williams, Derek James

Tara Lipinski (1997)

Richard Callaghan, Jeff DiGregorio, Megan Faulkner, Scott Gregory

Maria Butyrskaya (1999)

Elena Tchaikovskaia, Vladimir Kotin, Viktor Kudriavtsev, Vladimir Korolov, Irina Nifontova

Irina Slutskaya (2002, 2005)

Zhanna Gromova

Shizuka Arakawa (2004)

Nikolai Morozov, Evgeni Platov, Nanami Abe, Tatiana Tarasova, Richard Callaghan, Minoru Sano, Kumiko Sato, Hiroshi Nagakubo

Kimmie Meissner (2006)

Chris Conte, Richard Callaghan, Todd Eldredge, Pam Gregory

Miki Ando (2007, 2011)

Valter Rizzo, Yuko Monna, Nikolai Morozov, Carol Heiss Jenkins, Nobuo Sato, Kumiko Sato, Sachiko Kozuka

Mao Asada (2008, 2010, 2014)

Nobuo Sato, Kumiko Sato, Reiko Kobayashi, Hiroshi Nagakubo, Tatiana Tarasova, Rafael Arutyunyan, Nadezda Kanaeva, Machiko Yamada, Mihoko Higuchi, Yuko Monna

Yuna Kim (2009, 2013)

Brian Orser, Shin Hea-sook, Ryu Jong-hyun, Peter Oppegard, Kim Se-yol, Chi Hyun-jung

Carolina Kostner (2012)

Alexei Mishin, Michael Huth, Friedrich Juricek, Frank Carroll, Christa Fassi, Edoardo De Bernardis

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (2015)

Alexei Mishin, Tatiana Prokofieva, Svetlana Veretennikova

Evgenia Medvedeva (2016-2017)

Eteri Tutberidze, Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson, Sergei Dudakov, Daniil Gleikhengauz, Lubov Yakovleva

Kaetlyn Osmond (2018)

Ravi Walia, Josée Picard, Jessica Gosse

Alina Zagitova (2019)

Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov, Natalia Antipina

COACHES OF WORLD CHAMPIONS - PAIRS

Marina Cherkasova, Stanislav Zhuk and Sergei Shakhrai
Marina Cherkasova, Stanislav Zhuk and Sergei Shakhrai

*Ernst Baier is listed as a coach for Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier because he was actually Maxi's singles coach before they formed a partnership. Their Olympic teammate Günther Lorenz served as a manager and mentor after the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger (1908, 1910)

(self-taught)

Phyllis and James Henry Johnson (1909, 1912)

(self-taught)

Ludovika and Walter Jakobsson (1911, 1914, 1923)

(self-taught)

Helene Engelmann and Karl Mejstrik (1913)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Helene Engelmann and Alfred Berger (1922, 1924)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede (1925, 1927)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Andrée (Joly) and Pierre Brunet (1926, 1928, 1930, 1932)

(self-taught)

Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser (1929)

Pepi Weiß-Pfändler

Emília Rotter and László Szollás (1931, 1933-1935)

Lipót Szollás, Zoltán Balázs, Ivort Farkas

Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier (1936-1939)

Ernst Baier*, Günther Lorenz

Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet (1947-1948)

Charles Landot

Andrea Kékesy and Ede Király (1949)

Arnold Gerschwiler

Karol and Peter Kennedy (1950)

Edi Scholdan, Cecilia Colledge, Clarence and Fayette Hislop, Mary Rose Thacker Temple, Eugene Turner, Sheldon Galbraith, Michael Kennedy

Ria Baran and Paul Falk (1951-1952)

(self-taught)

Jennifer and John Nicks (1953)

Gladys Hogg, Eric W. Hudson

Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden (1954-1955)

Sheldon Galbraith, Sadie Cambridge, Albert Enders, Otto Gold

Sissy Schwarz and Kurt Oppelt (1956)

Herta Wächtler, Arnold Gerschwiler, Jacques Gerschwiler

Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul (1957-1960)

Sheldon Galbraith

Maria and Otto Jelinek (1962)

Bruce and Marg Hyland, Arnold Gerschwiler, Gustave Lussi, Jean Westwood, Karel Glogar

Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (1963-1964)

Erich Zeller, Lothar Müller, Bernd Häusel, Werner Franz, Sigrid Knake, Günther Koch, Friedrich Wilhelm Berntheusel

Ludmila (Belousova) and Oleg Protopopov (1965-1968)

Igor Moskvin, Pyotr Petrovich Orlov, Stanislav Zhuk

Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov (1969-1972)

Tatiana Tarasova, Stanislav Zhuk, Miloslav Balun and Soňa Balunová, Lev Mikhailov, Yakov Smushkin, Svetlana Smirnova, Viktor Kudriavtsev

Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev (1973-1978)

Tatiana Tarasova, Stanislav Zhuk, Miloslav Balun and Soňa Balunová, Lev Mikhailov, Yakov Smushkin

Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner (1979)

John Nicks, Mabel Fairbanks

Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakhrai (1980)

Stanislav Zhuk

Irina Vorobieva and Igor Livosky (1981)

Tamara Moskvina, Igor Moskvin, Alexei Mishin

Sabine Baeß and Tassilo Thierbach (1982)

Irene Salzmann

Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev (1983, 1985, 1988)

Tamara Moskvina

Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini (1984)

Louis and Marijane Stong, Sandra Bezic, Sheldon Galbraith, Anna Forder McLaughlin, Judy Henderson

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (1986-1987, 1989-1990)

Marina Zoueva, Stanislav Zhuk, Stanislav Leonovich, Nadezhda Shevalovskaya, Vladimir Zakharov

Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev (1991-1992)

Tamara Moskvina, Tatiana Tarasova, Uschi Keszler

Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler (1993)

Josée Picard, Eric Gilles, Kerry Leitch, Fran and Bruce Brady

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov (1994)

Natalia Pavlova, Ludmila Velikova, Nuria Pirogova, E. Beilina

Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný (1995)

Irina Rodnina, Ivan Rezek

Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov (1996)

Natalia Pavlova, Igor Moskvin

Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer (1997)

Monika Scheibe

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (1998-1999)

Tamara Moskvina, Ludmila Velikova, Nikolai Velikov

Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (2000)

Ludmila Velikova

Jamie Salé and David Pelletier (2001)

Jan Ullmark, Richard Gauthier

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (2002-2003, 2007)

Yao Bin, Sun Zhiping, Sun Yu, B. Han, Q. Wang

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (2004-2005)

Oleg Vasiliev, Natalia Pavlova

Qing Pang and Jian Tong (2006, 2010)

Yao Bin, Liu Wei, Wenyi Cong

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (2008-2009, 2011-2012, 2014)

Ingo Steuer, Halyna Kukhar, Alexander Artychenko

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (2013)

Nina Mozer, Stanislav Morozov, Ingo Steuer, Galina Kukhar, Nikolai Morozov, Oleg Vasiliev, Artur Dmitriev, Tamara Moskvina, Nikolai Velikov, Valeri Tiukov, Valentina Tiukova

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (2015-2016)

Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Lee Barkell, Brian Orser

Wenjing Sui and Cong Hang (2017, 2019)

Hongbo Zhao, Bing Han, Jinlin Guan, Yao Bin, Luan Bo, Cai Weibin

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot (2018)

Alexander König, Jean-Francois Ballester, Ingo Steuer, Halyna Kukhar, Alexander Artychenko

COACHES OF WORLD CHAMPIONS - ICE DANCE

*In 1950 and 1951, International Ice Dance Competitions were held in conjunction with the World Championships in London and Milan. Though these events haven't been recognized historically by the ISU as World Championships, I've included the winners and their coaches nonetheless.


Gennadi Karpsonosov, Elena Tchaikovskaia and Natalia Linichuk
Gennadi Karpsonosov, Elena Tchaikovskaia and Natalia Linichuk

Lois Waring and Michael McGean (1950*)

Rudy and Else (Derksen) Angola, Lewis Elkin, Gustave Lussi

Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy (1951*, 1952-1955)

Gladys Hogg, Len Liggett, Jack Wake, Thelma Jenkinson, Joan Lister, Ellen Dallerup, Peri Levitsky, 

Pamela Weight and Paul Thomas (1956)

Len Liggett, Ivy Wilder

June Markham and Courtney Jones (1957-1958)

Kay Simcock, Don Crosthwaite, Gladys Hogg, Doreen and Len Sayward, Jack Santall, Rosetta Ramsay

Doreen Denny and Courtney Jones (1959-1960)

Kay Simcock, Don Crosthwaite, Gladys Hogg, Roy Callaway, Arnold Gerschwiler, Jack Santall, Rosetta Ramsay

Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman (1962-1965)

Míla Nováková, Frantisek Roman

Diane Towler and Bernie Ford (1966-1969)

Gladys Hogg, Ken Vickers

Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov (1970-1974, 1976)

Elena Tchaikovskaia, Stanislav Zhuk, Viktor Ryzhkin, Alexandra Naryadchikova, Tatiana Tomalcheva

Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov (1975, 1977)

Tatiana Tarasova, Natalia Dubova, Lyudmila Pakhomova

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov (1978-1979)

Elena Tchaikovskaia

Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay (1980)

Betty Callaway, Roy Callaway

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (1981-1984)

Betty Callaway, Janet Sawbridge, Len Sayward, Norma Bowmar, Thelma Perry

Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin (1985-1988)

Tatiana Tarasova, Eduard Pliner, Betty Callaway

Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (1989-1990, 1992)

Natalia Dubova, Tatiana Tarasova

Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay (1991)

Martin Skotnický, Christopher Dean, Bernard Ford

Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin (1993)

Natalia Dubova

Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov (1994-1997)

Tatiana Tarasova, Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, Natalia Dubova

Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikovv (1998-1999)

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov

Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (2000)

Muriel Boucher-Zazoui

Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margalio (2001)

Roberto Pelizzola, Paola Mezzadri, Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov

Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh (2002)

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, Natalia Dybinskaya, Oleg Epstein

Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz (2003)

Nikolai Morozov, Uschi Keszler, Natalia Dubova, Tatiana Tarasova, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Josée Picar and Eric Gilles, Paul Wirtz

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov (2004-2005)

Alexandr Zhulin, Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, Elena Tchaikovskaia, Natalia Dubova

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski (2006-2007)

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, Alexei Gorshkov

Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (2008)

Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, Tatiana Tarasova, Lydie Bontemps

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin (2009)

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karpanosov, Alexei Gorshkov, Oleg Sudakov, Larisa Filina

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (2010, 2012, 2017)

Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein, Johnny Johns, Igor Shpilband, Carol Moir, Paul MacIntosh, Suzanne Killing

Meryl Davis and Charlie White (2011, 2013)

Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein, Johnny Johns, Igor Shpilband, Seth Chafetz

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (2014)

Paola Mezzadri, Marina Zoueva, Valter Rizzo, Igor Shpilband, Nikolai Morozov, Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, Roberto Pelizzola, Barbara Riboldi

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (2015-2016, 2018-2019)

Romain Haguenauer, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Catherine Pinard, Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, Catherine Papadakis

COACHES OF OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLISTS

The coaches of World Champions who have also won an Olympic gold medal are included in the tables above. In the table below are the coaches of Olympic Gold Medallists who haven't won a World title.

I've also included winners in the team event, because if a skater has an Olympic gold medal sitting in a safety deposit box somewhere, they're an Olympic Gold Medallist... not “an Olympic Gold Medallist... in the team event.” The same applies to their talented coaches.


Oksana Kazakova, Tamara Moskvina and Artur Dmitriev
Oksana Kazakova, Tamara Moskvina and Artur Dmitriev. Photo courtesy Ekaterina Filistovich, Figure Skating Federation Of Russia. Used with permission.

Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin

Alexei P. Lebedeff, Alexander Nikitich Panshin

Wolfgang Schwarz

Herta Wächtler

Robin Cousins

Carlo and Christa Fassi, Gladys Hogg, Pamela Davies, Gordon Holloway

Alexei Urmanov

Alexei Mishin, Nina Monakhova, Natalia Golubeva

Ilia Kulik

Tatiana Tarasova, Viktor Kudriavtsev

Magda (Mauroy) Julin

(self-taught)

Sarah Hughes

Robin Wagner, Jeff DiGregorio, Ron Ludington, Patti Johnson

Alina Zagitova

Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov, Natalia Antipina

Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev

Tamara Moskvina, Natalia Pavlova, Viktor Teslia

Julia Lipinitskaia

Alexei Urmanov, Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov, Elena Levkovets, Marina Voitsekhovskaya

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov

Nina Mozer, Vladislav Zhovnirski, Ludmila Velikova, Natalia Golubeva

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov

Elena Kustarova, Svetlana Alexeeva, Olga Riabinina, Nikolai Morozov, Maria Voitsekhovskaia, Denis Samokhin, Tatiana Tarasova, Alexandr Zhulin, Oleg Volkov, Irina Lobacheva, Petr Durnev, Marina Zoueva

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev

Alexandr Zhulin, Oleg Volkov, Elena Kustarova, Svetlana Alexeeva, Olga Riabinina

Gabby Daleman

Lee Barkell, Tracy Wilson, Brian Orser, Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev, Kent Grice

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on FacebookTwitterPinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.