Gennadi Karponosov - Biography

Gennadi Mikhailovich Karponosov (born 21 November 1950 in Moscow, Russian SFSR) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer and current ice dancing coach. Along with his partner, Natalia Linichuk, he was the 1980 Olympic gold medalist and a two-time World Champion.

Competitive career

Gennadi Karponosov initially competed with Yelena Zharkova under legendary coach Tatiana Tarasova, but had greater success with his second partner, Natalia Linichuk.

Linichuk and Karponosov were coached by Elena Tchaikovskaia at Dynamo in Moscow. They won the World Universiade in 1972, and were bronze medalists at the 1974 and 1977 World Championships. They also finished 4th at the 1976 Winter Olympics, the year ice dancing was introduced as an Olympic sport.

Linichuk and Karponosov became World champions in 1978 and 1979. They won the European Championships in 1979 and 1980, after winning a silver medal in 1978, and bronze medals from 1974 through 1977.

Linichuk and Karponosov won the 1980 Olympics, but failed to defend their World title, making them the only team ever to unsuccessfully defend a World title after winning the Olympics. In 1981, Linichuk and Karponosov retired from competition.

Coaching career

After coaching in Moscow, Linichuk and Karponosov moved to the U.S. in the early '90s and coached at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. In September 2007, they moved to the Ice Works Skating Complex in Aston, Pennsylvania.

Their current and former senior-level students include:

• Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto (coached from mid-2008 to 2010). 2009 World silver medalists for the U.S.
• Galit Chait / Sergei Sakhnovsky (World bronze medalists)
• Albena Denkova / Maxim Staviski (coached from mid-2005 to 2007). 2006, 2007 World Champions for Bulgaria.
• Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin (coached from mid-2008 to 2010). 2010 Olympic bronze medalists for Russia.
• Oksana Grishuk / Evgeny Platov (Olympic and World champions)
• Natalia Gudina / Alexei Beletski
• Anjelika Krylova / Vladimir Fedorov (World bronze medalists)
• Anjelika Krylova / Oleg Ovsyannikov (World champions, Olympic silver medalists)
• Irina Lobacheva / Ilia Averbukh (World champions, Olympic silver medalists)

Their current and former junior-level students include:

• Lauri Bonacorsi / Travis Mager (from May 2010) 2011 U.S. Junior silver medalists
• Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro (coached from mid-2010 to present). 2011 World Junior silver medalists for Russia.

Personal life

Gennadi Karponosov studied international relations at the Public Institute Moscow. Linichuk and Karponosov were married on 31 July 1981. Their daughter, Anastasiya Karponosova, was born in February 1985. The couple initially lived in Moscow and then moved to the United States in the early '90s. In 2001, Karponosov, who is Jewish, was admitted to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Competitive highlights

With Linichuk

With Zharkova

See also

• List of select Jewish figure skaters

External links

• Sports-reference profile
• Jewish sports bio
• Jews in Sports bio

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