Elena Eduardovna Grushina ( or Olena Eduardivna Hrushyna; born 8 January 1975) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner and then-husband Ruslan Goncharov, she is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.

Career Grushina began skating at four and switched from single skating to ice dancing when she was 12. Grushina first competed with Mikhail Tashlitsky but the partnership ended when he decided to focus on school.

Having trained in the same group in Odessa, Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov were paired together in 1989 with coaches Aleksander Tumanovskiy and Maria Tumanovskaya They finished fourth at the 1992 Junior Worlds. They were 18th in their senior Worlds debut at the 1994 World Championships. In early 1997, Grushina and Goncharov began training with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Newark, Delaware. They finished 15th at their first Olympics in 1998. They won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at 1999 Skate Canada International.

Grushina and Goncharov were 9th at the 2002 Olympics and 6th at the 2002 World Championships. In the summer of 2002, they changed coaches to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut. During the 2002–03 season, they won three gold medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2002 Skate America, 2002 Skate Canada International, and 2002 Trophée Lalique. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they finished fourth. They were also fourth at the 2003 European Championships and fifth at the 2003 World Championships.

During the 2003–04 season, Grushina and Goncharov won three silver medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2003 Skate America, 2003 Cup of China, and 2003 NHK Trophy. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they again finished fourth, but a couple months later they won their first European medal, bronze, at the 2004 European Championships. They were fourth at the 2004 World Championships.

During the 2004–05 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at one Grand Prix event, 2004 Cup of Russia, where they won the silver medal. Since they only competed at one event, they did not earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They won their second European medal, silver, at the 2005 European Championships. They capped off their season by winning their first World medal, bronze, at the 2005 World Championships.

During the 2005–06 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at two Grand Prix events. They won silver at 2005 Skate Canada International and gold at 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. They qualified for their third Grand Prix Final and came away with their first medal at the event, silver. They won their third European medal, silver, at the 2006 European Championships. At the 2006 Olympics, they were fifth in the compulsory dance but placed third in the original and free dances to capture their first Olympic medal. They retired after the Olympics.

Personal life Grushina and Goncharov married in 1995, but are now divorced. Grushina took part in Russian Dancing On Ice show where she met Mikhail Zelensky, a TV presenter. Their daughter, Sofia, was born in 2008.

Programs (with Ruslan Goncharov)

Season Original dance Free dance Exhibition 2005–2006 Samba: Carneval of Batreada Rhumba: Historia de un Amor by Pérez Prado Samba: Mujer Latina by Thalía The Feeling Begins (from Passion) by Peter Gabriel Adagio by Lara Fabian 2004–2005 Foxtrot, Charleston: Maybe Next Time by Liza Minnelli Quickstep: Life is a Cabaret Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi 2003–2004 Swing: Sing, Sing, Sing Blues: Summer produced by Robert Kraft Hanging / Escape by Craig Armstrong 2002–2003 The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Polka by Johann Strauss Quixote by Magnus Fiennes performed by Bond 2001–2002 Libertango by Astor Piazzolla España cañí by Pascual Marquina Barcelona by Montserrat Caballé, Freddie Mercury 2000–2001 Foxtrot: I'm a Broadway Baby (from Fosse) Quickstep: Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard 1999–2000 Maria by Ricky Martin Eres Todo En Mi by Ana Gabriel Spente Le Stelle by Emma Shapplin 1998–1999 Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian Songs from the Victorious City by Anne Dudley, Jaz Coleman 1997–1998 Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets Unknown Ukrainian folk dances 1995–1996 El Torro Rojo performed by C. Willems, Manuelo Montez Orchestra Jiger performed by Glenn Miller, Max Gregor Orchestra

Results (with Goncharov for Ukraine)

Results International Event 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 Olympics 15th 9th 3rd Worlds 18th 22nd 19th 13th 8th 7th 8th 6th 5th 4th 3rd Europeans 14th 13th 13th 7th 8th 7th 8th 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd Grand Prix Final 4th 4th 2nd GP Cup of China 2nd GP Cup of Russia 9th 3rd 2nd GP Lalique/Bompard 1st 1st GP Nations/Sparkassen 10th 4th GP NHK Trophy 4th 4th 5th 2nd GP Skate America 8th 1st 2nd GP Skate Canada 4th 2nd 4th 1st 2nd Goodwill Games 4th 3rd Karl Schäfer 3rd Nebelhorn Trophy 2nd Skate Israel 2nd Universiade 1st Centennial On Ice 9th Polish FSA Trophy 1st National Ukrainian Champ. 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st GP = Became part of Champions Series in 1995–1996, renamed Grand Prix in 1998–1999.

(with Goncharov for the Soviet Union) Event 1991–1992 World Junior Championships 4th

References

External links

Official site

Elena Grushina / Ruslan Goncharov at Tracings Care to Ice Dance? – Grushina & Goncharov