Samvel Gezalian
| Samvel Gezalian | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Alternative names | Samvel Gyozalyan |
| Country represented |
Armenia Germany Belarus Soviet Union |
| Born |
12 September 1970 Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Former partner | Ksenia Smetanenko, Jennifer Goolsbee, Tatiana Navka, Maria Anikanova |
| Former coach | Natalia Dubova, Tatiana Tarasova, Svetlana Rubleva, Boris Rublev |
| Retired | 1998 |
Samvel (or Samuel) Gezalian (Armenian: Սամվել Գյոզալյան, Russian: Самвел Гезалян; born 12 September 1970) is an Armenian former competitive ice dancer who represented the Soviet Union, Belarus, and Armenia in international competition. With Tatiana Navka, he is the 1991 Skate America and Nations Cup champion and placed 11th at the 1994 Winter Olympics for Belarus. With Ksenia Smetanenko, he is the 1997 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion and competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics for Armenia.
Gezalian began learning ice dancing at age ten in Odessa, where he was coached by Svetlana Rubleva and Boris Rublev. He later moved to Moscow. By 1985, he was skating with Maria Anikanova, coached by Tatiana Tarasova. In 1988, the duo joined Natalia Dubova's group following Tarasova's decision to stop coaching.
After Anikanova ended her competitive career, Gezalian teamed up with Tatiana Navka. Representing the Soviet Union, Navka/Gezalian won gold at the 1991 Skate America and 1991 Nations Cup. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution, Navka/Gezalian chose to skate for Belarus. They placed ninth in their debut at the European and World Championships, in 1993.
In the 1993–94 season, Navka/Gezalian won silver at the 1993 Skate Canada International and placed fourth at the 1993 NHK Trophy. They competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, placing 11th, before achieving their career-best Worlds result, fifth at the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan.
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