Maria Petrova (figure skater)

Maria Petrova

Petrova and Tikhonov perform a pair spiral at the 2005 Russian Nationals
Personal information
Full name	Maria Igorevna Petrova
Country represented	Russia
Born	29 November 1977 (1977-11-29) (age 33) Leningrad
Height	1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Partner	Alexei Tikhonov
Former partner	Anton Sikharulidze Teimuraz Pulin
Former coach	Ludmila Velikova
Former choreographer	Sergei Petukhov Alexander Stepin
Skating club	Yubileyny Sport Club
Retired	2007
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	188.21 2005 Worlds
Short program	67.42 2004-2005 Grand Prix Final
Free skate	123.18 2006 Worlds
Medal record Competitor for  Russia Pairs' Figure skating World Championships Bronze 2006 Calgary Pairs Silver 2005 Moscow Pairs Bronze 2003 Washington, D.C. Pairs Gold 2000 Nice Pairs European Championships Silver 2007 Warsaw Pairs Bronze 2006 Lyon Pairs Bronze 2005 Turin Pairs Silver 2004 Budapest Pairs Bronze 2003 Malmö Pairs Bronze 2002 Lausanne Pairs Gold 2000 Vienna Pairs Gold 1999 Prague Pairs World Junior Championships Silver 1997 Seoul Pairs Gold 1995 Budapest Pairs Gold 1994 Colorado Springs Pairs Silver 1993 Seoul Pairs

Maria Igorevna Petrova (Russian: Мария Игоревна Петрова; born 29 November 1977 in Leningrad, Russian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian pair skater. With partner Alexei Tikhonov, she is the 2000 World Champion and the 1999 & 2000 European Champion.

Career

Petrova was a sickly child and her doctor recommended she take up a sport; her parents got her into figure skating when she was seven.^[1] She started out in singles but always preferred pair skating and admired Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov so she made the switch to pairs at 13.^[1]

She initially competed with Anton Sikharulidze with whom she is the 1994 & 1995 World Junior Champion. They split in 1996 and she teamed up with Teimuraz Pulin, winning the silver medal at the 1997 World Junior championships.

In 1998, she agreed to form a pair with Alexei Tikhonov. Together, they won the World Championship in 2000. They placed 6th at the 2002 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 2006 Games. They won a silver medal at the 2005 Worlds, and a bronze in 2006.

Petrova and Tikhonov announced they would retire after the 2006 Worlds, but at the request of the Russian Skating Federation they later agreed to remain eligible for another year. During their final season, they finished 6th at the Grand Prix Final, and withdrew from the World Championships due to injury.

They trained in Saint Petersburg with Ludmila Velikova.^[1]

Personal life

In addition to skating together, Petrova and Tikhonov are also an off-ice couple. On 1 February 2010 she gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Polina.^[2][3]

Programs

(with Tikhonov)

Season	Short program	Long program	Exhibition
2003–2004	Music by Baxter	Mister X The Circus Princess by Emmerich Kálmán	You Present Me Roses (Russian: Ты дарила мне розы) by Nochniye Snaiperi
2002–2003	Rainy Blues by Raimond Pauls	Symphony Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff	Black Cat, White Cat
2001–2002	Adagio from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Chess (musical) by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson et al.
2000–2001	Russian Fantasie Francesca de Rimini by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Le tourment, Vision de Paradis by Saint-Preux Gospodin Oformitel (film soundtrack) Diva by Jean Michel Jarre The Fifth Element soundtrack by Éric Serra Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
1999–2000	Francesca de Rimini by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi Mr. Bureaucrat (film soundtrack)
1998–1999	Doctor Zhivago by Maurice Jarre	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi

Competitive highlights

(with Tikhonov)

Event	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07
Winter Olympics				6th				5th
World Championships	4th	1st	4th	4th	3rd	4th	2nd	3rd	WD
European Championships	1st	1st†	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	3rd	2nd
Russian Championships	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st
Grand Prix Final	3rd	4th	5th	5th	3rd	3rd	2nd	4th	6th
Skate America						2nd
Skate Canada International	2nd		3rd					2nd
Bofrost Cup on Ice	1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Cup of China						3rd		1st
Trophée Eric Bompard							2nd		1st
Cup of Russia		1st		2nd	2nd				2nd
NHK Trophy	5th	1st	3rd		4th	1st	1st

^†Pairs champions Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze were stripped of their title following Berezhnaya being found guilty of a doping violation.^[4]

(with Teimuraz Pulin)

Event	1996–97
World Junior Championships	2nd

(with Sikharulidze)

Event	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96
World Championships		8th	6th
World Junior Championships	2nd	1st	1st
European Championships			6th	5th
Russian Championships		6th	2nd	4th
Skate Canada International				2nd
Trophée Lalique				5th
NHK Trophy			7th

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Mittan, Barry (June 3, 2003). "Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov: Different Personalities Work for Petrova and Tikhonov". GoldenSkate. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2002/060303.shtml. Retrieved April 12, 2011. 
2. ^ "Фигуристка Мария Петрова родила дочь [Skater Maria Petrova gave birth to daughter]" (in Russian). dni.ru. 3 February 2010. http://www.dni.ru/showbiz/2010/2/3/184806.html. Retrieved 22 October 2010. 
3. ^ "Мария Петрова и Алексей Тихонов стали родителями" (in Russian). petrova-tikhonov.ru. February 1, 2010. http://www.petrova-tikhonov.ru/news/index.php?id=477. Retrieved April 19, 2010. 
4. ^ 3.FIGURE SKATING; Unexpected Power Vacuum At the World Championships New York Times

• World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: PairsPDF (10.5 KB)

External links

• Maria Petrova at the International Skating Union
• Official website of Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov
• Petrova and Tikhonov at pairsonice.com

Persondata
Name	Petrova, Maria
Alternative names
Short description	Russian pair skater
Date of birth	1977-11-29
Place of birth	Leningrad
Date of death
Place of death