Evgeni Platov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Evgeni Platov
Grishuk and Platov at the 1994 European Championships in Copenhagen
Personal information
Full name	Evgeni Arkadievich Platov
Alternative names	Evgeny Platov Yevgeny Platov
Former country(ies) represented	Russia  CIS  Soviet Union
Born	(1967-08-07) August 7, 1967 (age 58) Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Former partner	Oksana Grishuk, Larisa Fedorinova, Elena Krykanova, Maya Usova
Former coach	Tatiana Tarasova, Natalia Linichuk, Gennadi Karponosov, Natalia Dubova
Skating club	Army Sports Club, Odesa
Retired	March 1998
Medal record Figure skating: Ice dancing Representing  Russia Winter Olympics Gold 1998 Nagano Ice dancing Gold 1994 Lillehammer Ice dancing World Championships Gold 1997 Lausanne Ice dancing Gold 1996 Edmonton Ice dancing Gold 1995 Birmingham Ice dancing Gold 1994 Chiba Ice dancing Silver 1993 Prague Ice dancing European Championships Gold 1998 Milan Ice dancing Gold 1997 Paris Ice dancing Gold 1996 Sofia Ice dancing Silver 1994 Copenhagen Ice dancing Silver 1993 Helsinki Ice dancing Grand Prix Final Gold 1997–98 Munich Ice dancing Gold 1995–96 Paris Ice dancing Representing  CIS ( Unified Team) World Championships Bronze 1992 Oakland Ice dancing European Championships Bronze 1992 Lausanne Ice dancing Representing  Soviet Union World Junior Championships Gold 1986 Sarajevo Ice dancing Gold 1985 Colorado Springs Ice dancing Gold 1984 Sapporo Ice dancing

Evgeni Platov is a famous Russian former ice dancer. He was born on August 7, 1967. He is best known for his amazing partnership with Oksana Grishuk. Together, they won two Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 1998. They also won four World Championships and three European Championships.

Before teaming up with Oksana, Evgeni won three World Junior titles with his partner Elena Krykanova. During his career, he represented the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, and Russia. After he stopped competing, he became a figure skating coach and choreographer.

About Evgeni Platov

Evgeni Platov was born in Odesa, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. He lived there until 1982 when he moved to Moscow. He later married Maria Anikanova, who was also a figure skater and became an actress. They later divorced.

After his skating career, Platov moved to New Jersey in 1998. He now coaches figure skating at Palm Beach Ice Works in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Evgeni's Early Skating Days

Evgeni Platov started as a singles skater but switched to ice dancing in October 1976. His first coach, Boris Rublev, helped him find his first partner. A few months later, he was paired with Elena Krykanova. They trained in Odesa until 1982, then moved to Moscow to train with coach Natalia Dubova.

Krykanova and Platov were very successful. They won three World Junior titles in a row from 1984 to 1986.

Platov then started competing at the senior level with Larisa Fedorinova in 1987. They won a gold medal at the Karl Schäfer Memorial in 1988. Their partnership ended in August 1989.

Amazing Partnership with Oksana Grishuk

Coach Natalia Dubova paired Evgeni Platov with Oksana Grishuk in September 1989. They trained together in Moscow. Just three months later, they won a bronze medal at the Soviet Championships. In 1990, they placed fifth in their first World Championship.

Their first European and World medals, both bronze, came in 1992.

In 1992, Grishuk and Platov had some changes in their training. Grishuk decided to train with a different coach, Natalia Linichuk. Platov chose to stay with Grishuk, and they reunited in the fall of 1992.

During the 1992–93 season, Grishuk and Platov won silver medals at both the European and World Championships. In 1993–94, they won another silver at the European Championships.

Olympic Gold and World Titles

Grishuk and Platov won their first Olympic gold medal at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. They then won their first World title at the 1994 World Championships. After this, they moved to Newark, Delaware, in the United States, to continue training with Linichuk.

They missed most of the 1994–95 season due to an injury but came back strong to win the 1995 World Championships. In the 1995–96 season, they had a full schedule and won more European and World titles.

In 1996, Grishuk and Platov started training with a new coach, Tatiana Tarasova, in Marlborough, Massachusetts. An injury kept them from competing in the first half of the 1996–97 season. However, they returned to win their second European and fourth World titles.

Making History at the Olympics

In the 1997–98 season, Grishuk and Platov used music from "Memorial Requiem" for their free skating program. They dedicated this performance to the people of Sarajevo. They won their third European Championship.

At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, they made history. They became the first ice dancers ever to win two Olympic gold medals in a row!

Grishuk and Platov won 20 competitions in a row from 1994 to 1998. They were even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for their Olympic achievement. Their skating was known for its speed, difficult moves, and how they could perform many different dance styles.

Platov once said about their partnership, "It's like being a husband and a wife. Sometimes, you fight. Sometimes, you walk away and calm down." He also mentioned, "It's hard to change her mind. She fights every step. But it works out. That's why she is so good."

Grishuk and Platov stopped competing after the 1998 Olympics. They skated together in shows until the summer of 1998. After that, Platov decided to skate with their former rival, Maya Usova, for a while.

They reunited to skate together again for a Russian ice show in 2006. They also performed in February 2008 in Nagano, Japan, to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their 1998 Olympic gold medal win.

Coaching Career

After retiring from competitive skating, Evgeni Platov became a successful coach. From 2002 to 2004, he was an assistant coach to his former coach, Tatiana Tarasova. He helped coach Olympic Champion Shizuka Arakawa to her World title in 2004. He also briefly worked with famous skaters like Sasha Cohen and Johnny Weir.

In 2005, Platov moved to New Jersey. He became an assistant coach to Alexander Zhulin, another former rival. He helped coach the ice dancing team of Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov to win European and Olympic gold medals.

Platov later started coaching on his own. Some of the skaters he has coached include:

• Galit Chait / Sergei Sakhnovski
• Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland
• Sinead Kerr / John Kerr
• Alexandra Zaretsky / Roman Zaretsky
• Allison Reed / Otar Japaridze
• Olivia Smart / Joseph Buckland

He has coached at various ice rinks, including the Princeton Sports Center and the Igloo ice rink in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. In 2017, Platov also worked with the Imperial Ice Stars for their "Cinderella on Ice" show.

Competition Results

With Oksana Grishuk

With Larisa Fedorinova

With Elena Krykanova