Sergei Shakhrai

This article is about a figure skater. For a Russian politician, see Sergey Shakhray.

Sergei Shakhrai
Personal information
Full name	Sergei Semenovich Shakhrai
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	June 28, 1958 (1958-06-28)
Former partner	Marina Cherkasova
Former coach	Stanislav Zhuk
Medal record Competitor for Soviet Union Pairs' Figure skating Olympic Games Silver 1980 Lake Placid Pairs World Championships Gold 1980 Dortmund Pairs Silver 1979 Vienna Pairs European Championships Bronze 1981 Innsbruck Pairs Silver 1980 Gothenburg Pairs Gold 1979 Zagreb Pairs Silver 1978 Strasbourg Pairs Bronze 1977 Helsinki Pairs

Olympic medal record
Figure skating
Silver	1980 Lake Placid	Pairs

Sergei Semenovich Shakhrai (Russian: Сергей Семёнович Шахрай; born June 28, 1958 in Soviet Union) is a Russian retired pair skater. With partner Marina Cherkasova, he is the 1980 Olympic silver medalist, 1980 World champion, and 1979 European champion.

Career

Cherkasova and Shakhrai trained in Moscow with Stanislav Zhuk. Their main rivals included fellow Soviets Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, whom they never defeated, Irina Vorobieva & Igor Lisovsky, Marina Pestova & Stanislav Leonovich, and Veronika Pershina & Marat Akbarov.

Cherkasova and Shakhrai were 12 and 18 respectively when they were paired together. Initially, there was a 35 cm height difference between the pair, with Cherkasova only 138 cm tall.

With his 12-year-old partner, he won the bronze at their first European Championship in 1977. Their height difference facilitated innovation in twist and lift elements. In fact, they became the first pair to perform the split quadruple twist in 1978. Later, the judging standards were changed to value physical harmony between the partners, which handicapped Cherkasova and her partner.

They won the European title in 1979. By 1980 Cherkasova had grown 20 cm. The change affected their technical elements, however, the pair managed to win silver at 1980 Europeans, silver at the 1980 Olympics, and gold at Worlds. Cherkasova was only 15 years old when she competed at the Olympics while Shakhrai was 21.

Shakhrai's problems lifting his now 45 kg partner eventually resulted in them splitting up. By 1981, Cherkasova had grown so tall that Shakhrai could no longer effectively lift her. This caused them to miss the medal podium at the World Championship in Hartford, Connecticut, finishing in fourth place.

Cherkasova and Shakhrai continued to train into the 1982 season; however, they did not make the podium at the Soviet Nationals, placing behind Irina Vorobieva & Igor Lisovsky, Marina Pestova & Stanislav Leonovich, and Veronika Pershina & Marat Akbarov. This caused Cherkasova and her partner to miss the trip to the World Championships for the first time since their debut in 1977 and, subsequently their partnership dissolved.

Shakhrai is currently an ice skating coach in Sydney, Australia.

Competitive highlights

(with Cherkasova)

Event	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Winter Olympic Games				2nd
World Championships	4th	4th	2nd	1st	4th
European Championships	3rd	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Soviet Championships	3rd	1st	1st		3rd	4th
Prize of Moscow News	1st