Denis Petukhov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||
| Gregory & Petukhov at the 2004 Four Continents Championships. | ||
| Personal Info | ||
| Country: |  United States |
|
| Date of birth: | October 6, 1978 | |
| Residence: | Newark, Delaware | |
| Height: | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Partner: | Melissa Gregory | |
| Former Partner: | Oksana Potdykova | |
| Coach: | Priscilla Hill | |
| Former Coach: | Natalia Linichuk, Gennadi Karpanosov, Nikolai Morozov, Shae-Lynn Bourne |
|
| Skating Club: | SC of New York | |
| ISU Personal Best Scores | ||
| Ice Dance Total: | 183.97 | 2005 4CC |
| Comp. Dance: | 38.02 | 2005 4CC |
| Original Dance: | 55.61 | 2006 Skate America |
| Free Dance: | 92.74 | 2003 Skate America |
Denis Petukhov (born October 6, 1978 in Kirov, Russia) is a Russian-American ice dancer. With partner and wife Melissa Gregory, he is the 2004-2007 U.S. silver medalist.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Petukhov was raised in Kirov by a single mother, Lubov, who worked as a secretary.[1] He has one younger sister, Natalia.[2]
Petukhov originally competed for Russia with partner Oksana Potdykova, with whom he was the 2000 Russian national bronze medalist and a two-time medalist at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. That partnership ended in the spring of 2000 when she ruptured her achilles tendon and was forced to retire from skating.[3]
Petukhov met American ice dancer Melissa Gregory through an online partner search for pairs skaters. He came to the United States on a tourist visa at the end of August, 2000 to test with her and other prospective partners, but after skating with Gregory first, he canceled his other tryouts.[4] He never used his return plane ticket to Russia, and he and Gregory were married on February 2, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The next month they flew to Russia so that Petukhov's family could celebrate their marriage, as well.[5] Together they have won four silver medals and two bronze medals at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics.[6]
Petukhov became a U.S. citizen on February 22, 2005.[7] He is one of the few skaters to have competed at both the European Figure Skating Championships and Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.[8]
Gregory and Petukhov both suffered injuries in a fall during the warmup before the free dance at 2007 Skate Canada International on November 4, 2007. Petukhov lost his footing while practicing a one-handed rotational lift, dropping Gregory onto the ice and injuring her ribs and hip and skidding into the boards himself, hurting his own knee and neck. Gregory was taken to a hospital following the fall but released that night. [9] They were then forced to withdraw from competition for the rest of the season while they healed from their injuries.[10]
Petukhov choreographs the majority of his and Gregory's programs himself and has also choreographed programs for other skaters such as American singles skater Johnny Weir.[11]
[edit] Coaching changes
Gregory and Petukhov were originally coached by Oleg Epstein and Sandra Hess but made a change in 2003 to Nikolai Morozov and Shae-Lynn Bourne.[12] Following the 2005/2006 season, they switched again to Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karpanosov[13] at the University of Delaware in Newark. On September 7, 2007, they announced another coaching change, this time to Priscilla Hill at The Pond Ice Arena, also in Newark.[14]
[edit] Competitive highlights
(with Gregory)
| Event | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 14th | ||||||
| World Championships | 12th | 11th | 9th | 10th | |||
| Four Continents Championships | 6th | 4th | 2nd | ||||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | |
| Grand Prix Final | 6th | ||||||
| Skate Canada International | 8th | 3rd | WD | ||||
| Skate America | 5th | 5th | 2nd | ||||
| Cup of Russia | 4th | ||||||
| Trophée Eric Bompard | 4th | ||||||
| NHK Trophy | 4th | 3rd | |||||
| Cup of China | 4th | ||||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 2nd |
(with Potdykova)
| Event | 1996-1997 | 1997-1998 | 1998-1999 | 1999-2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Championships | 12th | |||
| World Junior Championships | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Russian Championships | 7th | 3rd | ||
| Cup of Russia | 7th | |||
| Finlandia Trophy | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | 1st | |||
| Skate Israel | 5th | |||
| Challenge Lysiane Lauret | WD | |||
| ISU Junior Series Final | 2nd | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany | 1st | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Hungary | 3rd |
- WD = Withdrew
[edit] References
- ^ USA Today, December 22, 2005: "U.S. Ice Dancers Keep it in the Family"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site: Athlete Bio
- ^ New York Times, January 30, 2006: "Behind All That Glitter, Ice Dancing's Daily Grind"
- ^ WNBC.com, January 2006: "Figure Skating: Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov"
- ^ About.com: Marriage "Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site: Athlete Bio
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site, February 23, 2005: "Denis Petukhov Becomes a United States Citizen"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site: Athlete Bio
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site, November 5, 2007: "Melissa Gregory Expected to Make Full Recovery after Fall during Warm-up at Skate Canada"
- ^ U.S. Figure Skating Official Site, January 11, 2008: "Ice Dancing Team Gregory and Petukhov Withdraw from 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships"
- ^ Minneapolis Star-Tribune, January 25, 2008: "New Focus Slides Structure Ahead of Schtick"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site, April 24, 2003: "Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov Switch Coaches"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site, May 31, 2006: "Ice Dancers Gregory and Petukhov Announce Coaching Change"
- ^ US Figure Skating Official Site, September 7, 2007: "Gregory and Petukhov Change Coaches"
[edit] External links
