Ilia Averbukh

Ilia Izyaslavich Averbukh is a Russian ice dancer. With his then-wife Irina Lobacheva, he is the 2002 Olympic silver medalist, the 2002 World champion and the 2003 European champion.
With Marina Anissina, he is the 1990 and 1992 World Junior champion.

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Career

Averbukh started skating at the age of 5. He initially competed with Marina Anissina. They won two World Junior Championships. Averbukh teamed up with Irina Lobacheva in 1992. After the Goodwill Games in the summer of 1994 their coaches moved with many of their students to the United States to train at the University of Delaware. Lobacheva and Averbukh joined them the next year.
In September 2001, Lobacheva injured her knee in training, causing them to miss the Grand Prix season. They won the silver medal at the 2002 Olympics behind Marina Anissina / Gwendal Peizerat.
Lobacheva / Averbukh won gold at the 2002 World Championships and at the 2003 European Championships. They retired from competition at the end of the 2002–2003 season.

Post-competitive career

Following his retirement from competitive skating, Averbukh became a producer of skating shows and tours. Among his projects are Ice Symphony/Ice Age; City Lights; Bolero ; and Small Stories of a Big City, an ice show during the 2012 Olympics in London. In January 2013, Averbukh was named an ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Averbukh works as a choreographer. His past and current clients include:

Programs

Season	Original dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2002–2003	The Blue Danube Unter Donner und Blitz by Johann Strauss II	Baby Face version by Little Richard Fever version by Elvis Presley Jumpin' Jack performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
2001–2002	Tanguera by M. Mores Bulerias Magna Mafa by Thomas Espanner	To Everything There is a Season Time for Peace by Rita Ronde de Vigo
2000–2001	Foxtrot: Come into my house Quickstep: Dancing Fool	Toccata from Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 Johann Sebastian Bach	The Same Sun by Chris de Burgh ---- Hava Nagila performed by Russian Jewish Choir
1999–2000	Ritmo de Bom Bom by Vimi Rhumba de le more	Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber ---- Alegría (Cirque du Soleil) Release by Sinéad O'Connor
1998–1999	Die Fledermaus The Gypsy Baron by Johann Strauss II	Diablo	Tutti Frutti by Little Richard
1997–1998	Tutti Frutti by Little Richard	Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber
1996–1997	Argentine Tango:	The Mask	This Business of Love by Domino
1995–1996	Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona	O Sole Mio Santa Lucia Tarantella	Malagueña
1994–1995	Sing, Sing, Sing	Hava Nagila
1993–1994	Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps	Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms

Hall of Fame

Averbukh is Jewish and elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame's induction class of 2015.

Other sports

Averbukh will play a role in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Bandy World Championship.

Personal life

Lobacheva and Averbukh married in 1995. Their son, Martin, was born in 2004. They divorced in 2007.
Since December 20, 2020, he has been married to the Russian actress Elizaveta Arzamasova.
On August 14, 2021, the couple had a son.

Politics

In February 2023, he stated that Russian athletes should boycott the Olympics if the pre-requisite for their participation is the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April, Averbukh was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government, with all his assets in Ukraine frozen and a 50-year ban on entering the country, due to his support for the invasion.