Ruslan Honcharov

Ruslan Goncharov
Grushina and Goncharov in 2004.
Full name	Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov
Born	(1973-01-20) 20 January 1973 Odessa, Ukrainian SSR
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Ukraine
Began skating	1979
Retired	2006
Event Olympic Games 0 0 1 World Championships 0 0 1 European Championships 0 2 1 Grand Prix Final 0 1 0 Ukrainian Championships 5 4 2 Medal list Olympic Games 2006 Turin Ice dance World Championships 2005 Moscow Ice dance European Championships 2005 Turin Ice dance 2006 Lyon Ice dance 2004 Budapest Ice dance Grand Prix Final 2005–06 Tokyo Ice dance Ukrainian Championships 1999 Kyiv Ice dance 2002 Kyiv Ice dance 2004 Kyiv Ice dance 2005 Kyiv Ice dance 2006 Kyiv Ice dance 1993 Odesa Ice dance 1995 Kyiv Ice dance 1997 Odesa Ice dance 1998 Kyiv Ice dance 1994 Kyiv Ice dance 1996 Kyiv Ice dance

Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov (Russian: Руслан Николаевич Гончаров or Ukrainian: Руслан Миколайович Гончаров Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov; born 20 January 1973) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner Elena Grushina, he is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.

Career

Goncharov began skating at the age of six. He was originally a single skater but grew too tall and switched to ice dancing when he was 13. He first competed with Elenora Gritsai but the partnership ended due to health problems. Goncharov is currently a coach teaching ice dance at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia and at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Maryland.

Having trained in the same group in Odessa, Goncharov and Elena Grushina were paired together in 1989. They finished fourth at the 1992 Junior Worlds. They were 18th in their senior Worlds debut at the 1994 World Championships. In early 1997, Grushina and Goncharov began training with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Newark, Delaware. They finished 15th at their first Olympics in 1998. They won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at 1999 Skate Canada International.

Grushina and Goncharov were 9th at the 2002 Olympics and 6th at the 2002 World Championships. In the summer of 2002, they changed coaches to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut. During the 2002–03 season, they won three gold medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2002 Skate America, 2002 Skate Canada International, and 2002 Trophée Lalique. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they finished fourth. They were also fourth at the 2003 European Championships and fifth at the 2003 World Championships.

During the 2003–04 season, Grushina and Goncharov won three silver medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2003 Skate America, 2003 Cup of China, and 2003 NHK Trophy. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they again finished fourth, but a couple months later they won their first European medal, bronze, at the 2004 European Championships. They were fourth at the 2004 World Championships.

During the 2004–05 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at one Grand Prix event, 2004 Cup of Russia, where they won the silver medal. Since they only competed at one event, they did not earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They won their second European medal, silver, at the 2005 European Championships. They capped off their season by winning their first World medal, bronze, at the 2005 World Championships.

During the 2005–06 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at two Grand Prix events. They won silver at 2005 Skate Canada International and gold at 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. They qualified for their third Grand Prix Final and came away with their first medal at the event, silver. They won their third European medal, silver, at the 2006 European Championships. At the 2006 Olympics, they were fifth in the compulsory dance but placed third in the original and free dances to capture their first Olympic medal. They retired after the Olympics.

Personal life

Goncharov and Grushina were married in 1995 and divorced in 2008. Goncharov's brother, Artur, 15 years younger, also competed in ice dancing.

Programs

(with Grushina)

Season	Original dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2005–2006	Samba, rhumba: Carneval of Batreada by Peter Prade	The Feeling Begins (from Passion) by Peter Gabriel	Adagio by Lara Fabian
2004–2005	Foxtrot, Charleston: Maybe Next Time by Liza Minnelli Quickstep: Life is a Cabaret	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
2003–2004	Swing: Sing, Sing, Sing Blues: Summer produced by Robert Kraft	Hanging / Escape by Craig Armstrong
2002–2003	The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Polka by Johann Strauss	Quixote by Magnus Fiennes performed by Bond
2001–2002	Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla España cañí by Pascual Marquina	Barcelona by Montserrat Caballé, Freddie Mercury
2000–2001	Foxtrot: I'm a Broadway Baby (from Fosse) Quickstep: Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima	Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
1999–2000	María by Ricky Martin Eres Todo En Mí by Ana Gabriel	Spente Le Stelle by Emma Shapplin
1998–1999	Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian	Songs from the Victorious City by Anne Dudley, Jaz Coleman
1997–1998	Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets	Unknown Ukrainian folk dances
1995–1996	El Torro Rojo performed by C. Willems, Manuelo Montez Orchestra	Jiger performed by Glenn Miller, Max Gregor Orchestra

Results

(with Grushina for Ukraine)

Results
International
Event	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
Olympics						15th				9th				3rd
Worlds		18th	22nd	19th		13th	8th	7th	8th	6th	5th	4th	3rd
Europeans			14th	13th	13th		7th	8th	7th	8th	4th	3rd	2nd	2nd
Grand Prix Final											4th	4th		2nd
GP Cup of China												2nd
GP Cup of Russia					9th					3rd			2nd
GP Lalique/Bompard											1st			1st
GP Nations/Sparkassen					10th		4th
GP NHK Trophy								4th	4th	5th		2nd
GP Skate America				8th							1st	2nd
GP Skate Canada							4th	2nd	4th		1st			2nd
Goodwill Games			4th				3rd
Karl Schäfer	3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy			2nd
Skate Israel				2nd
Universiade									1st
Centennial On Ice				9th
Polish FSA Trophy					1st
National
Ukrainian Champ.	2nd	3rd	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st			1st		1st	1st	1st
GP = Became part of Champions Series in 1995–1996, renamed Grand Prix in 1998–1999.

(with Grushina for the Soviet Union)

Event	1991–1992
World Junior Championships	4th

External links

• Official site
• Elena Grushina / Ruslan Goncharov at the International Skating Union
• Elena Grushina / Ruslan Goncharov at Tracings
• Care to Ice Dance? - Grushina & Goncharov