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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He is a two-time

Skate Canada International Skate Canada International is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organised and hosted by Skate Canada. The first Skate Canada competition was held in 1973 in Calgary, Alberta. When ...

silver medalist (1994 and 1995), 1993 Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, and 1995 Skate Israel champion. He competed in the final segment at two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

(1994, 1998), six

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 ...

, and four

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 ...

. 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 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 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 (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

, 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 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

. In the late 1990s he skated to Jewish songs and had a tallis and menorah 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)''

References

External links

*
Skate.org bio

Jews in Sports bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shmerkin, Michael 1970 births Figure skaters from Odesa Soviet male single skaters Israeli male single skaters Olympic figure skaters for Israel Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Soviet emigrants to Israel Living people

Career

Programs

Competitive highlights

See also

References

External links