Competitive Career
Gennadi Karponosov began skating because Alexei Ulanov was his neighbor. He initially competed with Yelena Zharkova under coach Tatiana Tarasova but had greater success with his second partner, Natalia Linichuk.
Linichuk and Karponosov were coached by Elena Tchaikovskaia at Dynamo in Moscow. They won the World Universiade in 1972, and were bronze medalists at the 1974 and 1977 World Championships. They also finished 4th at the 1976 Winter Olympics, the year ice dancing was introduced as an Olympic sport.
Linichuk and Karponosov became World champions in 1978 and 1979. They won the European Championships in 1979 and 1980, after winning a silver medal in 1978, and bronze medals from 1974 through 1977.
Linichuk and Karponosov won the 1980 Olympics, but failed to defend their World title, making them the only team ever to unsuccessfully defend a World title after winning the Olympics. In 1981, Linichuk and Karponosov retired from competition.
Read more about this topic: Gennadi Karponosov
Famous quotes containing the words competitive and/or career:
“How deep is our desire to do better than our mothers—to bring daughters into adulthood strong and fierce yet loving and gentle, adventurous and competitive but still nurturing and friendly, sweet yet sharp. We know as working women that we can’t quite have it all, but that hasn’t stopped us from wanting it all for them.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)