Oleg Protopopov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oleg Protopopov
Protopopov in 1965
Personal information
Full name	Oleg Alekseyevich Protopopov
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1932-07-16)16 July 1932 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR
Died	31 October 2023(2023-10-31) (aged 91) Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Partner	Ludmila Belousova
Former partner	Margarita Bogoyavlenskaya
Former coach	Igor Moskvin, Pyotr Orlov, Stanislav Zhuk
Retired	1969
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Pairs' Figure skating Olympic Games Gold 1968 Grenoble Pairs Gold 1964 Innsbruck Pairs World Championships Bronze 1969 Colorado Springs Pairs Gold 1968 Geneva Pairs Gold 1967 Vienna Pairs Gold 1966 Davos Pairs Gold 1965 Colorado Springs Pairs Silver 1964 Dormund Pairs Silver 1963 Cortina d'Ampezzo Pairs Silver 1962 Prague Pairs European Championships Silver 1969 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Pairs Gold 1968 Västerås Pairs Gold 1967 Ljubljana Pairs Gold 1966 Bratislava Pairs Gold 1965 Moscow Pairs Silver 1964 Grenoble Pairs Silver 1963 Budapest Pairs Silver 1962 Geneva Pairs

Oleg Alekseyevich Protopopov was a famous Russian pair skater. He represented the Soviet Union in competitions. With his wife, Ludmila Belousova, he became a two-time Olympic champion. They won gold medals in 1964 and 1968. They were also four-time World champions from 1965 to 1968.

In 1979, Oleg and Ludmila moved to Switzerland. They became Swiss citizens in 1995. Even in their seventies, they continued to perform in ice shows.

Skating Career and Achievements

Early Days and First Partner

Belousova and Protopopov in 1966

Oleg Protopopov started skating a bit later than most. He was 15 years old when he began. Nina Lepninskaya was his first coach. In 1951, he joined the Baltic Fleet military. He used every chance he got to skate during his leaves.

His first skating partner was Margarita Bogoyavlenskaya. With her, he won a silver medal. This was at the Soviet Championships in 1953.

Meeting Ludmila Belousova

Oleg met Ludmila Belousova in Moscow in the spring of 1954. She moved to Leningrad in 1955. They started training together in 1956. This was after Oleg finished his military service.

They trained at the VSS Lokomotiv sports club. They competed for the USSR. Their first coach was Igor Moskvin. Later, they worked with Pyotr Orlov. After some disagreements, they trained without a coach for a while. In 1961, they decided to work with Stanislav Zhuk. They wanted to make their routines more difficult.

Rise to International Fame

Belousova and Protopopov in 1968

Belousova and Protopopov first competed at the World Championships in 1958. They finished in 13th place. Two years later, they were at their first Olympics. They placed ninth there.

In 1962, they won their first World Championship medal. It was a silver medal. They were the first pair from the Soviet Union to win a world medal. This was since pair skating became a discipline in 1908. Later in 1962, they won silver at the European Championships. They were the second Soviet pair to win medals there.

Olympic and World Champions

Their first big international gold medal was at the 1964 Winter Olympics. This was the first Olympic pairs gold for the Soviet Union. Belousova and Protopopov started a long winning streak. Soviet and Russian pairs won gold medals from 1964 to 2006. This is the longest streak in Olympic sports history.

They won their first World and European gold medals in 1965. They were the first Soviet/Russian pair to win these titles.

Belousova and Protopopov won their second Olympic gold medal in 1968. They were 32 and 35 years old. This made them some of the oldest figure skating champions. The next season, they won silver at the European Championships. They also won bronze at the World Championships. This was when Irina Rodnina started her winning streak.

These were their last major international competitions. But they kept competing in the Soviet Union until 1972.

Legacy and Contributions

In total, Belousova and Protopopov won two Olympic titles. They also won medals eight times at both the World and European Championships. This included four gold medals in a row at both events. After they stopped competing, they still skated in shows for many years. In 2015, they performed in a charity event in Boston.

Belousova and Protopopov helped develop pair skating. They created three death spirals. These were the backward inside, forward inside, and forward outside. They called them the "Cosmic spiral," "Life spiral," and "Love spiral."

Famous skater Dick Button said they were great skaters. He said their creative ideas were amazing. Figure skating historian Ellyn Kestnbaum said they improved how classical dance was shown on ice. She also noted that they expressed romantic love in their skating. Their performances set a high standard for pair skating. They influenced singles and [ice] dance as well.

Personal Life

Belousova and Protopopov in 2007

Oleg Protopopov was born on July 16, 1932. His mother was a professional ballet dancer. His stepfather was a poet named Dmitry Tsenzor. Oleg studied at Herzen University. He graduated from the physical education department.

Oleg married Ludmila Belousova in December 1957. Ludmila kept her maiden name after they married. But people often called them "The Protopopovs." They loved skating so much that they decided not to have children. This allowed them to keep skating.

On September 24, 1979, Oleg and Ludmila moved to Switzerland. They asked for political asylum. They settled in Grindelwald. They became Swiss citizens in 1995. Switzerland was their winter home. Their summer home and training place was Lake Placid, New York.

On February 25, 2003, they visited Russia again. It was their first visit after 23 years away. Vyacheslav Fetisov invited them. They went to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They performed their last exhibition dance in 2016. Oleg was 84 years old then.

Ludmila Belousova passed away on September 29, 2017. She was 81. Oleg Protopopov died on October 31, 2023. He was 91 years old.

Competitive Highlights

(with Bogoyavlenskaya)

(with Belousova)

See also

In Spanish: Oleg Protopopov para niños