Maya Belenkaya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maya Belenkaya
Personal information
Native name	Майя Петровна Беленькая
Full name	Maya Petrovna Belenkaya
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1931-05-01) 1 May 1931 (age 94) Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height	1. m (3 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Former partner	Igor Moskvin
Former coach	Pyotr Orlov, Nina Leplinskaya, Nikolai Panin, A. Zhdanov
Retired	1958

Maya Petrovna Belenkaya (Russian: Майя Петровна Беленькая; born May 1, 1931) is a former Soviet figure skater. She was a very talented athlete. With her skating partner Igor Moskvin, she won the Soviet national championship three times in a row, from 1952 to 1954.

About Maya's Life

Maya Belenkaya was born on May 1, 1931, in a city called Leningrad. Today, this city is known as Saint Petersburg. She lived in the city her whole life. Maya survived a very difficult time known as the Siege of Leningrad. This was when the city was surrounded for a long time during a war. For her bravery during this time, she received a special award called the Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad".

Maya's Skating Journey

Maya Belenkaya started learning to skate when she was 12 years old. She trained at the Pioneers Palace. Her first coach was A. Zhdanov. Maya was a versatile skater, meaning she competed in both singles (skating alone) and pairs (skating with a partner).

Partnership with Igor Moskvin

Maya teamed up with Igor Moskvin for pair skating. They quickly became a strong team. In 1950, they won their first national medal, which was a silver. They earned another silver medal in 1951.

Then, they achieved great success! Maya and Igor won the gold medal at the Soviet Championships for three years in a row. This was from 1952 to 1954. After that, they won silver medals for the next two years. They placed second behind another strong pair, Lidia Garasimova and Yuri Kiselev.

In 1956, Maya and Igor competed in their first and only European Championships. This big event took place in Paris, France. They finished 11th in the competition. In their final two years of competing, 1957 and 1958, they won bronze medals at the Soviet Championships. They placed behind two other famous pairs: Nina Zhuk and Stanislav Zhuk, and Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov.

After Competition

After Maya stopped competing in 1958, she became a coach. She helped many other skaters achieve their dreams. She coached both singles and pairs skaters to win national titles. Some of her most famous students include Alexei Mishin and the pair Liudmila Smirnova and Andrei Suraikin.

Competition Results

Singles Results

Pairs Results with Igor Moskvin