Marina Klimova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Marina Klimova
Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko.jpg
Klimova and Ponomarenko in 1989
Personal information
Full name Marina Vladimirovna Klimova
Country represented  Soviet Union
Olympic flag.svg Unified Team
Born (1966-07-28) 28 July 1966 (age 47)
Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Former partner Sergei Ponomarenko
Oleg Volkov
Retired 1996
Marina Klimova
Medal record
Figure skating
Competitor for the  Soviet Union
Silver 1988 Calgary Ice dancing
Bronze 1984 Sarajevo Ice dancing
Competitor for the Unified Team
Gold 1992 Albertville Ice dancing

Marina Vladimirovna Klimova (Russian: Марина Владимировна Климова; born 28 July 1966) is a former competitive ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified Team. With skating partner and husband Sergei Ponomarenko, she is the 1992 Olympic champion, the 1988 Olympic silver medalist, the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, and a four-time European champion.


Klimova trained at Spartak in Moscow. Early in her career, she skated with Oleg Gennadyevich Volkov.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were fourth in their European Championships debut in 1983. Their breakthrough came the following season when they won the bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and 1984 European Championships. In 1985, they won their first World medal, silver. They were four-time consecutive World silver medalists from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, they also won the Olympic silver medal, behind Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin.

In 1989, Klimova and Ponomarenko won the first of their four consecutive European titles. They also won the 1989 World Championships and followed that up with another World gold the following year.

At the 1991 World Championships, they had a setback when they placed second to Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay. Four months before the Olympics, they decided to leave coach Natalia Dubova.[2] They re-established themselves as the top ice dancers in the world by winning another 1992 European title and then capturing the 1992 Olympic title. They ended their season with their third World title. They retired from eligible skating after the World Championships and turned to professional and show skating.

In addition to winning three World Championships and four European Championships, Klimova and Ponomarenko are the first figure skaters in any discipline to have won Olympic medals in three different colors. They won the bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, the silver medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics for the Soviet Union and the gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics for the Unified Team.

Klimova and Ponomarenko were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.[3] They coach young figure skaters at Sharks Ice in San Jose, California.

Personal life[edit]

Klimova and Ponomarenko married in September 1984 and have two sons, Tim Ponomarenko born in 1998 and Anthony Ponomarenko in 2001. Anthony is also an ice dancer.[4] They now reside in the United States in Morgan Hill, California.


(With Ponomarenko)

Season Original set pattern
/ Original dance
Free dance Exhibition

  • Clowns March to Sousa

  • Masquerade Waltz
    by Aram Khachaturian



(ice dance with Sergei Ponomarenko)

Olympics 3rd 2nd 1st
Worlds 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st
Europeans 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
Goodwill Games 1st
Fujifilm Trophy 1st
Moscow News 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st
Nebelhorn 1st 1st
Golden Spin 2nd
Int. St. Gervais 1st 1st
Soviet Champ. 1st 1st 1st 1st

Professional career

Event 1994–1995 1995–1996
World Pro. Championships 2nd 2nd


External links[edit]