Veronica Pershina

Veronica Petrovna Pershina or Voyk (Russian: Вероника Петровна Першина, born December 20, 1966) is a former competitive pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With Marat Akbarov, she is the 1985 European bronze medalist and 1979 World Junior champion.

Veronica Pershina
Personal information
Native nameВероника Петровна Першина
Full nameVeronica Petrovna Pershina
Alternative namesVeronica Voyk
Country representedSoviet Union
Born (1966-12-20) December 20, 1966
Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Spouse(s)Igor Shpilband (divorced)
Former partnerMarat Akbarov
Former coachIrina Rodnina, Stanislav Zhuk
Former training locationsMoscow
Sverdlovsk
Retired1986

Career

Pershina teamed up with Marat Akbarov in 1975.[1] The pair moved to Moscow in 1978 to train with Stanislav Zhuk.[1] They won the World Junior title in 1979 ahead of Larisa Selezneva / Oleg Makarov.[2]

In 1980, Pershina/Akbarov made their senior World Championship debut, placing 6th. The following season, they won the Soviet national title ahead of Irina Vorobieva / Igor Lisovski. The pair changed coaches to Irina Rodnina in 1982.[1]

Pershina/Akbarov were gold medalists at the 1982 Prize of Moscow News and 1983 NHK Trophy. In 1985, they were sent to their fourth European Championships and won the bronze medal.[3] They took silver at the Skate Canada International in their final season.

From 1986 until 1990, Pershina performed with the Russian All Stars under the direction of Tatiana Tarasova. She toured worldwide with Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean from 1988 until 1990. On January 24, 1990, Pershina defected to the United States rather than return from New York to London with the Torvill & Dean / Russian All Stars tour group. Others who defected with her were her future husband Igor Shpilband, future US ice dancing champion Gorsha Sur, and former World Junior ice dancing champion Elena Krykanova.

Pershina, also known as Veronica Voyk, has worked as a skating coach at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and at the Onyx Skating Academy in Rochester, Michigan.[4][5]

Personal life

Pershina was formerly married to Igor Shpilband. Their daughter, Ekaterina "Katia" Shpilband, won the intermediate ladies division at the 2010 US Junior Championships and qualified for the 2013 US Championships on the junior level.

Results

(with Akbarov)

International[6][7][8]
Event 77–78 78–79 79–80 80–81 81–82 82–83 83–84 84–85 85–86
Worlds6th6th6th5th8th6th
Europeans5th4th4th3rd
Skate Canada2nd
NHK Trophy4th1st2nd
Moscow News2nd2nd1st2nd2nd2nd
International: Junior[2]
Junior Worlds1st
National[6][7]
Soviet Champ.1st2nd2nd3rd3rd
Spartakiada2nd J
USSR Cup1st
J = Junior level

References
  1. "Marat Akbarov". Wheaton Ice Skating Academy. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014.
  2. "World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2013.
  3. "Russians Retain Pairs Skate Title". UPI. The New York Times. February 6, 1985.
  4. "Veronica Pershina". Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007.
  5. "U.S. Pairs Team Spielberg & Joeright Engaged". U.S. Figure Skating. August 19, 2003. Archived from the original on February 6, 2004.
  6. Першина Вероника [Veronica Pershina] (in Russian). fskate.ru.
  7. Першина Вероника [Veronica Pershina] (in Russian). solovieff.ru.
  8. "Pershina & Akbarov". Pairs on Ice. Archived from the original on October 7, 2007.
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