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Tatiana Totmianina

Totmianina in 2005.
Personal information
Country represented:	Russia
Residence:	Perm, Russia
Height:	160 cm (5.2 ft)
Partner:	Maxim Marinin
Former coach:	Oleg Vasiliev, Natalia Pavlova
Skating club:	Yubileiny Sport Club
Retired:	2006
ISU personal best scores
Combined total:	204.48 2006 Olympics
Short program:	70.12 2005 Worlds
Free skate:	135.84 2006 Olympics

Tatiana Totmianina (Russian: Татьяна Тотьмянина) (born November 2, 1981 in Perm, Russia) is a retired pairs figure skater. With partner Maxim Marinin, she is the 2006 Olympic Champion.

Biography

Tatiana Totmianina and her skating partner Maxim Marinin began skating together in 1997. Both began their careers as singles skaters, and they were always noted for their superb single elements. Coached by 1984 Olympic Pairs Champion Oleg Vasiliev, Totmianina and Marinin made consistent progress on the world scene through the late 90's. They won their first major title at the 2002 European Championships, and went on to finish 4th at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Despite their success and obvious technical ability, Totmianina and Marinin were often criticized for lacking a specific identity or style in their skating. As a result, they were overshadowed throughout much of their career by more elegant and crowd-appealing pairs, particularly Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, as well as Chinese icons Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. Twice in a row they finished second at the World Championships to their Chinese rivals, then finally won gold over Shen and Zhao in 2004. Ironically, Totmianina and Marinin garnered the most attention and won the most fans due to an incident that nearly ended their career.

The Fall

In November 2004, during the free skate of Skate America in Pittsburgh, Marinin lost his balance while attempting a difficult lasso lift and Tatiana slammed to the ice head first. She suffered a severe concussion and spent the night in a local hospital. Totmianina recovered from her injuries rapidly and was able to return to the ice within days. She often stated that she has no memory of the incident and this made it easy for her to return to the ice. Marinin, however, had to start seeing a sport psychologist to overcome his fears. Both admitted that Marinin's fears were so great that it was nearly impossible for them to continue skating.

Continued career

Four months later, they returned to the World Championships, held in Moscow, Russia. They won the short program, posting the highest total score ever under Code of Points. They then conquered their fears and skated the same free program flawlessly, with the same dreaded lift. Their total score was well over 200 points, and they won their second consecutive World title easily.

Totmianina and Marinin dominated World competition from that point onward. They won their fifth consecutive European Championship in 2006. With their rivals Shen and Zhao recovering from a debilitating injury, Totmianina and Marinin were the clear favorites for Olympic gold in Turin, Italy. They won the gold and retired from the amateur ranks soon after.

Totmianina and Marinin later toured with the Champions on Ice show, with other notable skaters including Michelle Kwan, Evgeny Plushenko, and Viktor Petrenko, among others.

Personal life

Tragedy struck Tatiana in January 2009, when her mother, to whom she was very close, died in a car accident.

On November 20, 2009 she had her first child, a daughter named Liza. The father is fiance Alexei Yagudin.^[1]

Competitive highlights

with Marinin

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in figure skating

References

External links

• Michael Collins Enterprises Totmianina & Marinin Page
• Tatiana Totmianina at the International Skating Union

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