ISU

The President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation Alexander Gorshkov at the opening ceremony of the 2021 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Rostelecom Cup in Sochi, Russia.© ISU

It is with deep sorrow and regret that the International Skating Union (ISU) learned of the death of the President of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia and ISU Honorary Member Alexander Georgievitch Gorshkov who passed away on November 17, aged 76.

Alexander Gorshkov was born on October 8, 1946 in Moscow and took up Figure Skating at the age of six. He was first a Single Skater and later switched to Pair Skating before he eventually became an Ice Dancer in 1965. He started his Ice Dance career with Irina Nechkina and a year later teamed up with Liudmila Pakhomova.

Pakhomova/Gorshkov rose quickly in the ranks of the young discipline. In 1969, the couple won the National title (and again in 1969-1971 and 1973-1975) and then bronze at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships followed by silver at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. A year later, Pakhomova/Gorshkov won the first of six European (1970-1971, 1973-1976 ) and six World titles (1970-1974 and 1976). The couple got married in 1970.

At the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Pakhomova/Gorhskov won the first Olympic Ice Dance title in history. They ended their career after their triumph. Pakhomova/Gorshkov’s best known program is their Tango “La Cumparsita”. The Couple and their Coach Elena Tchaikovskaia developed the “Tango Romantica” in 1974 that was later adopted as a Compulsory Dance by the ISU.

 Ice Dancers Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov (RUS) win the Gold medal on February 10, 1976 during the Winter Olympic Games event in Innsbruck, Ausria..© AFP

Following his career as an athlete, Mr. Gorshkov first started coaching in 1977 but soon focused on a career as an official. He was a member of the ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee from 1984 to 1998 and subsequently served as Chair of the Technical Committee from 1998 to 2010. In 2010 he was elected President of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia and was re-elected every year since then. Mr. Gorshkov was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Olympic Committee from 2001 and in 2016 he became an ISU Honorary Member.

Alexander Gorshkov is survived by his second wife Irina, his daughter Julia and his grandchildren. His first wife and Ice Dance partner Liudmila Pakhmova had passed away in 1986.

The ISU pays tribute to Mr. Alexander Gorshkov, expresses its most heartfelt condolences to the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, his family and friends and will remember him with affection.

“No one has defined the category of happiness, and everyone has a different concept of it. I've been lucky that my whole life, from the age of 6 to the present day, is connected to a cause that is very, very dear to me.” Alexander G. Gorshkov