Aleksandr Gorshkov (figure skater)

Aleksandr Gorshkov
Gorshkov in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandr Georgievich Gorshkov
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1946-10-08) 8 October 1946 (age 70) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Former partner	Lyudmila Pakhomova
Former coach	Elena Tchaikovskaya
Retired	1976
Medal record Figure skating: Ice dancing Representing  Soviet Union Winter Olympics 1976 Innsbruck Ice dancing World Championships 1976 Gothenburg Ice dancing 1974 Munich Ice dancing 1973 Bratislava Ice dancing 1972 Calgary Ice dancing 1971 Lyon Ice dancing 1970 Ljubljana Ice dancing 1969 Colorado Springs Ice dancing European Championships 1976 Geneva Ice dancing 1975 Copenhagen Ice dancing 1974 Zagreb Ice dancing 1973 Cologne Ice dancing 1972 Gothenburg Ice dancing 1971 Zürich Ice dancing 1970 Leningrad Ice dancing 1969 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Ice dancing

Aleksandr Georgievich Gorshkov (Russian: Александр Георгиевич Горшков, born 8 October 1946) is a former ice dancer who competed internationally for the Soviet Union. With partner Lyudmila Pakhomova, he is the 1976 Olympic champion. Since 2010, Gorshkov is the president of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FFKKR).

Gorshkov began skating at age six after his mother heard that the Sokolniki skating school was taking new students. He was moved to the weakest group after a year but his mother brought him to a stronger one when a new coach took over.

In 1966 while at CSKA Moscow, he received an invitation from Lyudmila Pakhomova to skate with her. Since he had much less experience, some experts were skeptical of her choice. Despite the initial experience gap, Gorshkov said that Pakhomova was a strong personality who was determined they would become champions.

Pakhomova/Gorshkov began training in May 1966, under coach Elena Tchaikovskaya, and made their international debut in December of the same year. They competed for Dynamo. After teaming up, a personal relationship developed between the duo and Gorshkov proposed marriage; Pakhomova responded that they would marry only if they became World champions.

Pakhomova/Gorshkov performed in the ice dancing demonstration event at the 1968 Winter Olympics – the event determined if ice dancing would be added as an official Olympic sport and was successful. They won their first World title in 1970 and married later that year. The duo repeated as World champions in 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974. In 1974, Pakhomova/Gorshkov and Tchaikovskaya created the Tango Romantica, which the ISU would later adopt as a compulsory dance.

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