Michael "Misha" Shmerkin (born 5 February 1970) is an Israeli former competitive
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
.
[ He is a two-time Skate Canada International silver medalist (1994 and 1995), 1993 Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, and ]1995 Skate Israel
The 1995 Skate Israel was the 1st edition of a senior-level international figure skating competition held in Metulla, Israel. It was held at the Canada Centre. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skatin ...
champion. He competed in the final segment at two Winter Olympics (1994, 1998), six World Championships, and four European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
. He is currently a figure skating teacher/coach for many young adults and children . He is located in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York.
Career
Early in his career, Shmerkin competed internationally for the Soviet Union, most notably at the 1984 World Junior Championships, where he placed fifth.
Shmerkin moved with his family to Israel in 1991,[ and Shmerkin began representing his new country in international competition.][
At the ]1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...
, where he placed 16th, Shmerkin became the first skater to represent Israel at the Olympic Games.[ He placed 18th at the ]1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
.
In the late 1990s he skated to Jewish songs and had a tallis and menorah
Menorah may refer to:
* Jewish candelabra:
** Temple menorah, a seven-lamp candelabrum used in the ancient Tabernacle in the desert, the Temple in Jerusalem, and synagogues
** Hanukkah menorah or ''hanukkiyah'', a nine-lamp candelabrum used on the ...
embroidered on his costume.[
He retired from competitive skating following the 2001/2002 season.][
Shmerkin currently coaches in New York.][
]
Programs
Competitive highlights
''GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)''
See also
* List of select Jewish figure skaters
References
External links
*
Skate.org bio
Jews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shmerkin, Michael
1970 births
Sportspeople from Odesa
Soviet male single skaters
Israeli male single skaters
Olympic figure skaters of Israel
Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Soviet emigrants to Israel
Living people