Elena Aleksandrovna Valova (; born 4 January 1963) is a Russian former pair skater who competed internationally for the Soviet Union. With her then-husband Oleg Vasiliev, she is the 1984 Olympic champion, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and three-time World Champion (1983, 1985, 1988). Their coach throughout their career was Tamara Moskvina.
Personal life Valova was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, to parents Alla Borisovna Valova and Aleksander Dmitrievich Valov. She graduated from the P.F. Lesgaft University of Sports. She and Vasiliev were married from 1984 to 1992. Valova is now remarried to German Galusha and has a son, Roman, born in 1996. She moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1997 and currently lives in Moon Township.
Career
Valova began training at age seven under Tatiana Mishina, Alexei Mishin, and Nina Monahova. As a pair skater, she was coached by Tamara Moskvina, who partnered her with Oleg Vasiliev. The pair trained in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).
Valova/Vasiliev's breakthrough came in the 1982–83 season. They won bronze at the Prize of Moscow News, gold at the 1982 Skate America, and then silver at the 1983 European Championships. The pair concluded their season by winning their first World title. They missed the 1983 national championships due to Vasiliev's broken jaw.
In 1984, Valova/Vasiliev won their first European title and then took gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The deaths of several Soviet government officials, including one during the Olympics, cast a pall over the Soviet team and the athletes were told not to show too much joy. The pair took silver at their final event of the season, the 1984 World Championships.
In 1985, the pair won gold at both the European and World Championships but 1986 saw the emergence of the young Moscow pair Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov. Although Valova/Vasiliev were awarded gold at the 1986 Europeans, they finished second to the Muscovites at both the 1986 and 1987 Worlds.
In their final amateur season, Valova/Vasiliev took silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics behind Gordeeva/Grinkov but then prevailed over the reigning Olympic champions at the 1988 World Championships. After winning their third World title, Valova/Vasiliev retired from ISU competition. After performing for a year in Igor Bobrin's ice theatre, they signed a U.S. contract – the first Soviets to do so without losing their citizenship. The pair performed together in various shows and events until the end of 1997.
Valova was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1984). She represented VSS Trud.
She currently teaches skating at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. She coached Kylie Gleason / Taylor Toth, who were the 2002 U.S. champions in juvenile pairs and the 2003 U.S. champions in intermediate pairs.
Programs (with Vasiliev)
1979–1988 Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 1987–1988 Zorba's Dance (from Zorba the Greek) by Mikis Theodorakis The Final Countdown by Europe Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov The Final Countdown Stampede soundtrack
Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov 1986–1987 Georgian folk: Lezginka Suliko Pizzicato Polka Acceleration Waltz by Johann Strauss II Radetzky March by Johann Strauss I Anthem of Leningrad
Kalinka
Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov 1985–1986 Music by Raimonds Pauls Şüräle by Färit Yarullin Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov 1984–1985 Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Baba-Yaga (from Pictures at an Exhibition) by Modest Mussorgsky
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini 1983–1984 Kalinka Get Back Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven Stairway to Heaven Baba-Yaga (from Pictures at an Exhibition) by Modest Mussorgsky
Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg 1982–1983 March of the Toreadors (from Carmen) by Georges Bizet
Sibaney Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg
Circus 1981–1982 Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 1980–1981 Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky 1979–1980 Demon Little Eagle On the Nameless Height We are blacksmiths
1989–1997 Programs None but the lonely heart by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
All Shook Up by Elvis Presley
Star and Death of Joaquin Murrieta by Alexey Rybnikov
The Story of My Life by Michael Crawford
Bridge over Troubled Water
Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom)
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Kalinka
Waltz by Jerry Herman
Swan Lake (comedic) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Zorba's Dance (from Zorba the Greek) by Mikis Theodorakis
Şüräle by Färit Yarullin
Results
Amateur career with Vasiliev International Event 80–81 81–82 82–83 83–84 84–85 85–86 86–87 87–88 Winter Olympics 1st 2nd World Champ. 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 1st European Champ. 2nd 1st 1st 1st 2nd Skate America 3rd 1st NHK Trophy 1st Nebelhorn Trophy 1st Moscow News 6th 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd St. Gervais 2nd National Soviet Champ. 3rd 2nd 1st
Professional career with Vasiliev Event 90–91 91–92 92–93 93–94 94–95 97–98 World Professional Champ. 2nd 4th 4th 4th 3rd World Challenge of Champions 2nd 5th 4th 2nd 3rd US Open 5th 2nd 5th Masters Miko 3rd Canadian Professional Champ. 4th Legends 2nd
References
External links
Valova-vasiliev.com (Archive.org)