Denis Petrov

Petrov at the Chen Lu International Skating Club
Personal information
Full name	Denis Alekseyevich Petrov
Born	(1968-03-03)3 March 1968 (age 57) Leningrad,Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Unified Team  CIS  Soviet Union
Retired	1992
Medal record Figure skating:Pairs Representing CIS ( Unified Team) Winter Olympics 1992 Albertville Pairs European Championships 1992 Lausanne Pairs Representing Soviet Union World Championships 1989 Paris Pairs European Championships 1991 Sofia Pairs

Denis Alekseyevich Petrov (Russian:Денис Алексеевич Петров; born 3 March 1968) is a Russian formerpair skater who competed for theSoviet Union, theCommonwealth of Independent States, and theUnified Team. With his then-wifeElena Bechke, he is the1992 Olympic silver medalist, the 1989World bronze medalist, a two-timeEuropean silver medalist (1991–92), 1992 Soviet national champion.

Petrov began skating with Elena Bechke, two years his senior, in 1987. They trained withTamara Moskvina^[1] at theYubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. They won their first international title at the1988 Grand Prix International de Paris, although they missed the 1988 Olympic team as they finished fourth at theSoviet Figure Skating Championships. Their first appearance at the Worlds was at the1989 World Championships. Again, Bechke/Petrov had finished fourth and initially did not qualify for the Soviet Worlds team, but they won a skate-off to replace an injured team. They captured the bronze medal at their first Worlds showing, but they again placed fourth at the Soviet Nationals in 1990, missing the World Championships. In 1991, they placed third at the Nationals and fourth at the Worlds. In 1992, they won the Soviet Nationals over the teams ofEvgenia Shishkova /Vadim Naumov andMarina Eltsova /Andrei Bushkov (Bechke/Petrov's training partners and chief rivals,Natalia Mishkutenok /Artur Dmitriev, missed the Nationals but qualified for the Olympics as they were the reigning World Champions). Bechke/Petrov also won silver medals at the1991 and1992 European Championships, and the silver medal at the1992 Winter Olympics behind Mishkutenok/Dmitriev.^[2] Their choreographer was Alexander Matveev.^[1] They retired from amateur competition after the 1992 Worlds.

After turning professional in 1992, the pair steadily improved as competitors and performers. They won every single competition they entered in 1996, including the World Professional Championships. They placed second at their last World Professional Championships, in 1999. The pair toured withStars on Ice for seven years (1994–2000).^[3] They resided and trained as professionals inLake Placid,New York, before relocating toRichmond,Virginia, in 1997 to train and coach there. Bechke retired from skating after the 1999–2000 season, while Petrov continued to skate with Stars on Ice for another two seasons.

Bechke/Petrov were known for their great posture and lines, inventive moves (such as the "Impossible" death spiral), great unison and proximity on their jumps and side-by-side spins, as well as many difficult and intricate lift sequences.Scott Hamilton once joked that Petrov is such a strong and consistent skater that he only falls once a year. Hamilton has also said that theStars on Ice cast nicknamed him "Conan" for getting bigger after every tour, whileKristi Yamaguchi has said that he is also nicknamed "the human crane" because he has lifted just about everybody in the show, including performing a two-hand detroiter with Scott Hamilton in the 2000–01 group number, "Tunnel Vision."

Petrov and his wife work at the World Ice Arena inShenzhen, she as the manager and he as the head coach of the skating academy.^[4][5]

Petrov was born on 3 March 1968, inLeningrad,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union. He began datingElena Bechke in 1988 and the two married in 1990. They said that their friendship and skating improved after their divorce in 1995.

On 8 July 2005, Petrov married Chinese figure skaterChen Lu, who he met on the 1998–99 Stars on Ice tour.^[4] They lived inHong Kong before moving toShenzhen,China.^[5] Their son, Nikita, was born on 27 June 2006,^[4] and their daughter, Anastasia, on 8 July 2009, both in Shenzhen.

(with Bechke)

(with Bechke)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDenis Petrov.

• Denis Petrov atOlympics.com

• 1968 births
• Living people
• Russian male pair skaters
• Soviet male pair skaters
• Olympic figure skaters for the Unified Team
• Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics
• Olympic silver medalists for the Unified Team
• Figure skaters from Saint Petersburg
• Olympic medalists in figure skating
• World Figure Skating Championships medalists
• European Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics
• Goodwill Games medalists in figure skating
• Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
• 20th-century Russian sportsmen

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