Larisa Selezneva

Larisa Selezneva
Personal information
Full name	Larisa Yurievna Selezneva
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1963-09-12) September 12, 1963 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Partner	Oleg Makarov
Coach	Igor Moskvin
Skating club	Zenit St. Petersburg
Retired	1990
Medal record Representing Soviet Union Olympic Games 1984 Sarajevo Pairs World Championships 1988 Budapest Pairs 1985 Tokyo Pairs 1990 Halifax Pairs European Championships 1990 Leningrad Pairs 1989 Birmingham Pairs 1988 Prague Pairs 1987 Sarajevo Pairs 1985 Gothenburg Pairs World Junior Championships 1981 London, ON Pairs 1980 Megève Pairs 1979 Augsburg Pairs

Olympic medal record
Figure skating
	1984 Sarajevo	Pairs

Larisa Yurievna Selezneva (Russian: Лариса Юрьевна Селезнёва; born September 12, 1963 in Leningrad) is a Russian former pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With partner Oleg Makarov, she is the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, 1985 World silver medalist, 1988 World bronze medalist, and two-time European champion (1987, 1989). They were coached by Igor Moskvin.

Career

Selezneva trained in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). She was partnered with Oleg Vasiliev early in her pairs career but they split after three months.

Selezneva and Makarov were paired together by their coaches in 1978. They won the World Junior Championships in 1980 and 1981. They then rapidly progressed in the senior ranks. In 1984, they won the bronze medal at the Sarajevo Olympics, which was the first major international competition for the pair. Selezneva, along with Makarov, was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Labor (1984).

Armed with strong pairs skills and difficult side-by-side triple jumps, they won the silver medal at the 1985 World Championships in Tokyo, almost defeating the then-reigning World and Olympic champion team, Elena Valova / Oleg Vasiliev, also from the Soviet Union. Makarov broke his knee before the 1988 Winter Olympics and competed at the event with his knee in a cast and four pain-killing shots. They finished fourth at the event and won the bronze medal at the 1988 World Championships. They also won two European titles, in 1987 and 1989. They retired from competition in 1990.

Selezneva / Makarov were one of the first pairs to regularly include side-by-side triple jumps in their programs. They were coached by Igor Moskvin.

Personal life

Selezneva and Makarov married in 1987. The family moved from Saint Petersburg, Russia to New York in 2001, having been recommended as coaches by Tamara Moskvina and Igor Moskvin. The pair coach at various rinks in New York and New Jersey.

They have two children, a daughter, Ksenia (born December 20, 1992 in Saint Petersburg), and a son, Alexei, who was born nine years later in the United States. Their daughter became a competitive figure skater like her parents; she is the 2010 Russian national champion and represented Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The pair and their daughter became naturalized U.S. citizens on August 16, 2013.

Competitive highlights

Pairs with Oleg Makarov

International
Event	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
Olympics						3rd				4th
Worlds						4th	2nd	4th	4th	3rd		4th
Europeans						4th	2nd		1st	2nd	1st	2nd
NHK Trophy											1st	2nd
Moscow News				1st			1st	1st		3rd
Ennia Challenge				2nd	1st
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	2nd	1st	1st
National
Soviet Champ.				5th	4th	1st	1st		2nd	1st	1st	1st
Soviet Junior	1st	1st	1st

Other results

1990-1991

• World Professional Championships - 3rd
• World Challenge of Champions - 3rd

1991-1992

• World Challenge of Champions - 2nd

External links

• Sports-reference
• Selezneva & Makarov