Veronica Petrovna Pershina or Voyk (, born December 20, 1966) is a former competitive

pair skater 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 a ...

who competed 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 ...

. With

Marat Akbarov Marat Akbarov (, born February 3, 1961) is a former competitive pair skater for the Soviet Union. With Veronica Pershina, he is the 1985 European bronze medalist and 1979 World Junior champion. Career Akbarov began skating in 1968 at the Lok ...

, she is the 1985

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

bronze medalist and 1979 World Junior champion.

Career

Pershina teamed up with

in 1975. The pair moved to Moscow in 1978 to train with

Stanislav Zhuk Stanislav Alekseyevich Zhuk (, ; 25 January 1935 – 1 November 1998) was a pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With his wife Nina Zhuk, Nina, he won three silver medals at the European Figure Skating Championships and finished sixth at ...

. They won the World Junior title in 1979 ahead of Larisa Selezneva / Oleg Makarov. In 1980, Pershina/Akbarov made their senior World Championship debut, placing 6th. The following season, they won the Soviet national title ahead of Irina Vorobieva / Igor Lisovski. The pair changed coaches to

Irina Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina ( rus, Ирина Константиновна Роднина, p=ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skater, who is the only pair s ...

in 1982. Pershina/Akbarov were gold medalists at the 1982

Prize of Moscow News The Prize of ''Moscow News'' (), also known as the Moscow Skate, Nouvelles de Moscou, and the Moscow News Trophy, was an international, senior-level figure skating competition held in the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1990 (excluding 1989, in 1990 was ...

and 1983

NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Japan Skating Federation. The first NHK Trophy was held in 1979 in Tokyo. When the ISU launched the Champ ...

. In 1985, they were sent to their fourth

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 ...

and won the bronze medal. They took silver at the

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 ...

in their final season. From 1986 until 1990, Pershina performed with the Russian All Stars under the direction of Tatiana Tarasova. She toured worldwide with

Jayne Torvill Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. She and her partner Christopher Dean are considered amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Wint ...

and

Christopher Dean Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal ...

from 1988 until 1990. On January 24, 1990, Pershina defected to the United States rather than return from New York to London with the Torvill & Dean / Russian All Stars tour group. Others who defected with her were her future husband

Igor Shpilband Igor Yuryevich Shpilband (, born July 14, 1964) is an American ice dancing coach and former competitor for the Soviet Union. He is the 1983 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, World Junior champion with former partner Tatiana Gladkova. P ...

, future US ice dancing champion Gorsha Sur, and former World Junior ice dancing champion

Elena Krykanova Elena Krykanova, also romanized as Krikanova, () is a former ice dancer who represented the Soviet Union. With former partner Evgeni Platov, she is a three-time World Junior champion (1984–1986). They began skating together around December 1976 ...

. Pershina, also known as Veronica Voyk, has worked as a skating coach at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, at the Detroit Skating Club in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...

, and at the Onyx Skating Academy in

Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of ...

Personal life

Pershina was formerly married to

. Their daughter, Ekaterina "Katia" Shpilband, won the intermediate ladies division at the 2010 US Junior Championships and qualified for the 2013 US Championships on the junior level.

Results

(with Akbarov)

References

Navigation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pershina, Veronika 1966 births Living people Soviet female pair skaters Russian female pair skaters Russian expatriates in the United States Figure skaters from Yekaterinburg Sportspeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan European Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists 20th-century Russian sportswomen