Alexei Ulanov

Alexei Nikolaevich Ulanov is a retired pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With Irina Rodnina, he is the 1972 Olympic champion and a four-time World [Figure Skating Championships|world champion]. With his then-wife Lyudmila Smirnova, he is a two-time world silver medalist.

Career

Ulanov began figure skating in 1954 and became a member of the USSR National Team in 1964. Rodnina / Ulanov began skating together in the 1960s and won several World and European Championships. They were coached by Stanislav Zhuk and trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Moscow. The culmination of their career was their 1972 Olympics win. By this point Ulanov had fallen in love with fellow skater Lyudmila Smirnova. Rodnina and Ulanov separated, and Ulanov began skating with Smirnova.
Smirnova and Ulanov competed together for two seasons. They won silver medals at the World Figure Skating Championships|1973 World] and European Championships. The next season, they won European bronze and world silver medals.
Ulanov was awarded the Order of the [Red Banner of Labour] in 1972.

Ulanov and Smirnova married and later divorced after having two children, Nikolai Ulanov and Irina Ulanova. Irina became a pair skater, who skated with Alexander Smirnov and Maxim Trankov for about three years. Ulanov moved to the United States in 1995 and currently lives in South Florida.