Andrei Vladimirovich Lutai (; born 24 July 1986) is a Russian 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He is the 2006

Karl Schäfer Memorial The Karl Schäfer Memorial (other titles: Asko Cup (1987), Vienna Cup (1994), or Vienna Trophy) was a senior-level international figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Medals were awarded in four disciplines: single skating, men's si ...

champion, 2006 International Cup of Nice champion, and a three-time Russian national medalist (2007 & 2008 silver; 2009 bronze). He placed as high as 5th at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

(2007) and 10th at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

(2009).

Career

Lutai began skating in 1992 and was coached by his sister in his early years. After the rink in Belgorod closed, he moved to

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

for one year, and then to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 2001 after his sister asked Alexei Mishin to take him in his group. In summer 2005, he broke his foot which continued to bother him in later years. In August 2009, Mishin said that Lutai was very polite and responsible and that his host families spoke highly of him. In November 2009, following his 10th-place finish at the

2009 Skate America The 2009 Skate America was the fifth event of six in the 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, on 12–15 November. ...

, Lutai was arrested in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

, and charged with third degree grand larceny and third degree criminal possession of stolen property, both

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...

; and third degree unauthorized use of a vehicle and aggravated driving while intoxicated, which are misdemeanors. At a hearing on November 18, Lutai, who had no criminal history, pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was handed a one-year ban by Russia's figure skating governing body which meant he could not compete for a place on the Russian team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In September 2011, Lutai pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to time served. In early 2010, Lutai became a coach at Albena Denkova / Maxim Staviski's skating club in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria. He now coaches alongside his wife, Ina. Among his students include Georgi Kenchadze, Alexandra Feigin, and Chiara Hristova.

Personal life

Lutai was born on 24 July 1986 in

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. The youngest of three children, he has a sister, Elena Malakhova, a skating coach who is 15 years older, and a brother, Alexander, a manager in a firm who is 9 years older. In April 2010, Lutai married Bulgarian ice dancer Ina Demireva, sister of World champion Albena Denkova, in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Their daughter, Sylvia, was born in September 2010.

Programs

Results

''GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

References

External links

*
Andrei Lutai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutai, Andrei Russian male single skaters 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Belgorod Russian emigrants to Bulgaria Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade 21st-century Russian sportsmen