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Meet the quartet of US Olympic figure skaters whose parents were ex-Soviet skating superstars
Four U.S. Olympic skaters coached by former Soviet Union champions include world medalists and a family affected by a 2025 plane crash, highlighting multi-generational talent.
- On Jan. 11, 2026, Maxim Naumov and others coached U.S. skaters including Ilia Malinin at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, at SkateQuest.
- After emigrating in the 1990s, former Soviet skaters began coaching in the U.S., using their Olympic medals and world championships to train the next generation.
- Coaches give hands-on support at competitions, hugging skaters like Maxim Naumov and comforting them while families and spectators sometimes faint or show nervousness.
- Coaches' family legacies helped produce contenders like Andrew Torgashev, whose parents never made the Winter Games, motivating some skaters to reach the Olympics.
- Beyond results, legacy and loss shape athletes' narratives, as a plane crash last year killed Maxim Naumov's parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, while Klimova and Ponomarenko continue to influence U.S. skating through coaching.
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Children of ex-Soviet skating superstars competing for U.S.
One would think that given all the success Marina Klimova enjoyed in high-stakes, international figure skating with her husband and pairs partner, Sergei Ponomarenko, she would have no trouble watching her son when he takes the ice.
·Buffalo, United States
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Associated Press News+42 Reposted by 42 other sources
Meet the quartet of US Olympic figure skaters whose parents were ex-Soviet skating superstars
Four of the American figure skaters at the Milan Cortina Olympics trace their roots to parents who skated for the former Soviet Union.
·United States
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Total News Sources75
Leaning Left10Leaning Right1Center63Last UpdatedBias Distribution85% Center
Bias Distribution
- 85% of the sources are Center
85% Center
14%
C 85%
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