Galina Efremenko ( Maniachenko (: Halyna Yefremenko (Manyachenko); born 23 December 1980) is a Ukrainian 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 ...

. She competed as Galina Maniachenko from 1993 until 2005 when she began competing under her married name, Efremenko. She won the bronze medal at the 2003

Cup of Russia The Rostelecom Cup () – originally known as the Cup of Russia () – was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. The first i ...

, gold medals at the 2000

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...

, 2003

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 ...

, 2000 and 2003

Ondrej Nepela Memorial The Nepela Memorial () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia, by the Slovak Figure Skating Association (). The competition debuted in ...

, and three Ukrainian national titles. She competed twice at the Winter Olympics, placing 12th in 2002. Her highest placement 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 ...

was 4th in 2002.

Career

For most of her career, she competed under her birth name, Galina Maniachenko. In the early 1990s, she competed in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

with Evgeni Zhigurski, coached by

Nina Mozer Nina Mikhailovna Mozer (; born 28 August 1964) is a Russian pair skating coach based in Moscow. She is best known for coaching Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov and Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov, the 2014 Olympic gold and silver medalists. ...

. The pair won the bronze medal at the 1994 World Junior Championships. However, in 1995 she was severely injured after her partner's blade hit her face while they were practicing side-by-side camel spins. Maniachenko retired from skating but after a year and a half she decided to return to competition as a singles skater. Maniachenko won the Ukrainian national title three times and competed at two Olympics (2002, 2006). She won gold medals at

, and silver medals at the

Winter Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

and

Golden Spin of Zagreb The Golden Spin of Zagreb () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Croatian Skating Federation () and held in Zagreb, Croatia. The competition debuted in 1973, and ...

. Maniachenko won a Grand Prix bronze medal at 2003 Cup of Russia. At the European Championships, she finished as high as fourth in 2002. In 2005, she began competing as Galina Efremenko. She had a number of injuries towards the end of her career. After competing at her second Olympics, she decided to retire from competition.

Personal life

In the summer of 2005, she married

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

Mikhail Efremenko and took his name. By marriage, she is related to fellow skater Elena Liashenko who married her husband's brother, Andrei Efremenko. After retiring from competition, she began coaching in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and gave birth to a daughter in 2007. Her daughter's godmother is

Aliona Savchenko Aljona Savchenko (, ''Olena Valentynivna Savchenko''; German Romanization: ''Aljona Sawtschenko'', sometimes ''Aliona Savchenko''; born 19 January 1984) is a retired Ukrainian-born German pair skater. One of the most decorated pair skaters, she ...

Programs

Competitive highlights

Singles career

Pairs career

(with Evgeni Zhigurski)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Efremenko, Galina 1980 births Living people Figure skaters from Kyiv Ukrainian female single skaters Ukrainian female pair skaters Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Ukraine World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating FISU World University Games silver medalists for Ukraine Competitors at the 1999 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade 21st-century Ukrainian sportswomen