Ruslan Goncharov
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Ukraine
|
||
| Figure skating | ||
 |
2006 Turin | Ice dancing |
| Ruslan Goncharov | |
|---|---|
Grushina and Goncharov in 2004.
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov |
| Country represented | Ukraine |
| Born |
20 January 1973 Odessa, Ukrainian SSR |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Former partner |
Elena Grushina Elenora Gritsai |
| Former coach |
Nikolai Morozov Tatiana Tarasova Natalia Linichuk Gennadi Karponosov A. Tumanovski |
| Former skating club | Sport Military Club Odessa |
| Began skating | 1979 |
| Retired | 2006 |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 213.95 2005 Worlds |
| Comp. dance | 41.30 2005 Worlds |
| Original dance | 63.23 2004 Cup of Russia |
| Free dance | 109.48 2005 Worlds |
Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov (Russian: Руслан Николаевич Гончаров or Ukrainian: Руслан Миколайович Гончаров Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov; born 20 January 1973) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner Elena Grushina, he is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.
Goncharov began skating at the age of six. He was originally a single skater but grew too tall and switched to ice dancing when he was 13. He first competed with Elenora Gritsai but the partnership ended due to health problems. Goncharov is currently a coach teaching ice dance at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia and at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Md.
Having trained in the same group in Odessa, Goncharov and Elena Grushina were paired together in 1989. 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.
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