Elena Berezhnaya

Quick Facts

Full Name	Elena Berezhnaya
Occupation	Figure Skater
Date Of Birth	Oct 11, 1977(1977-10-11)
Age	47
Birthplace	Nevinnomyssk
Country	Russia
Horoscope	Capricorn

Elena Berezhnaya Biography

Elena Berezhnaya is one of the most popular and richest Figure Skater who was born on October 11, 1977 in Nevinnomyssk, Russia. Elena Viktorovna Berezhnaya (Russian: Елена Викторовна Бережная , born 11 October 1977) is a Russian former pair skater. With partner Anton Sikharulidze, she is the 1998 and 1999 World champion, 1998 Olympic silver medalist and 2002 Olympic champion.

The Latvian federation appealed to renowned coach Tamara Moskvina to take on the pair and she eventually invited them to train with her in May or June

1995. They spent a few months training in Colorado Springs, Colorado and then trained mostly at Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, despite the deteriorating and crowded facilities of the 1990s. Berezhnaya/Shliakhov won bronze at Skate America, gold at Trophée de France and bronze at Nations Cup. Shliakhov was well behaved for half a year, but then dropped her from a lift. Moskvina had professional psychologists work with him regularly, however, after brief periods of calm with apologies and professions of affection, he would start to slip back to his old behavior. Berezhnaya thought he showed some improvement, however, Moskvina told her it was not enough and advised her to end the partnership. Shliakhov was registered at a mental hospital in Riga.

Berezhnaya wished to return to the ice and doctors agreed that physical exercise would be therapeutic. On 15 March 1996, only two months after the accident, she began skating carefully with Sikharulidze’s help and Moskvina observing. Berezhnaya said, “I didn’t have any false dreams about the future. All I thought about was those first steps.” Moskvina felt the pair looked promising, “They’re a natural pair. They’ve got it – something magical.”

On 9 January 1996, Berezhnaya was seriously injured when Shliakhov’s blade sliced into her skull while the pair were practicing a side-by-side camel spin in Riga. Two surgical operations were performed to remove bone fragments from her brain. The accident caused partial paralysis on her right side, and doctors were unsure if she would walk again. She also briefly lost the ability to speak.

After unsuccessful partnerships with Ruchkin and another skater, the 14-year- old Berezhnaya teamed with Latvian-born Oleg Shliakhov, who had been dumped by his seventh partner. The partnership went well at first, however, over time he started to become physically and verbally abusive, hitting Berezhnaya and dropping her from lifts. He decided to move to Riga, Latvia, saying they would have better and cheaper training conditions. Seeing no alternative partner, she went with him. Although not violent outside the rink, he became abusive again in training. Berezhnaya kept quiet and did not tell her mother, worrying it would worsen her poor health. She continued for her mother’s sake, “I knew that she would watch me skate on TV and that it gave her strength. She was the only reason for me to continue.” They trained on their own for a year as no coach wanted to take the pair but eventually found a coach unaware of Shliakhov’s reputation. They had a strong showing at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, finishing eighth. The next season they won a pair of silver medals at the 1994 Skate Canada International and 1994 Trophée de France and finished 7th at the 1995 World Championships. Having little success in keeping Shliakhov in line, their coach resigned at the end of the season.

Elena Berezhnaya Net Worth

Elena Berezhnaya is one of the richest Figure Skater from Russia. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Elena Berezhnaya 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

The next season, Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze won the European Championship, defeating 1992 Olympic champion Artur Dmitriev with his new partner Oksana Kazakova, and the reigning World Champions Mandy Wötzel/Ingo Steuer. At only 20 and 21 years of age respectively, Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze had established themselves as gold-medal favorites going into the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Observers were impressed by their rapid progress. Ekaterina Gordeeva selected the pair as her and Sergei Grinkov’s skating doubles in a documentary on the legendary team after her husband’s death.

Berezhnaya had begun to develop friendships with the other skaters at Yubileyny, becoming particularly close to Anton Sikharulidze, the 1994 and 1995 World Junior champion with Maria Petrova. Shliakhov began to perceive Sikharulidze as his rival. At the end of 1995, Shliakhov demanded that they train in Riga for three weeks in preparation for the 1996 European Championships. Sikharulidze urged her to stay in Saint Petersburg but she believed she could manage a few weeks.

Berezhnaya first competed with Oleg Shliakhov for Latvia and won gold at the 1995 Trophée de France. While training together in January 1996, she suffered a serious injury, leaving her partly paralyzed and unable to speak. She recovered rapidly and began competing again in November 1996 with new partner, Anton Sikharulidze. Within two years of the accident, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze had established themselves as one of the best pair teams in the world. During their competitive career, they were coached by Tamara Moskvina at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Elena Berezhnaya height Not available right now. Elena weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Elena Berezhnaya Dating?

According to our records, Elena Berezhnaya is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Elena Berezhnaya’s is not dating anyone.

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At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, both pairs skated strong short programs, after which Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze were in first and Salé/Pelletier, who had a fall at the end of their program, second. In the long program, Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze skated a good program although Sikharulidze had a stumble on a jump element before quickly regaining unison with his partner. Salé/Pelletier, meanwhile, had no obvious mistakes. Four judges placed the Canadians first, while five had Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze as the winners, with the Canadians receiving higher technical scores and the Russians higher presentation scores. They were awarded the gold and the Canadians the silver. The result sparked a controversy with the media emphasizing Sikharulidze’s stepout, although there was no media criticism a year earlier when Salé/Pelletier were awarded gold at the 2001 World Championships.

Facts & Trivia

Elena Ranked on the list of most popular Figure Skater. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Russia. Elena Berezhnaya celebrates birthday on October 11 of every year.

Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya had an on-and-off romantic relationship between 1996 and 2002; they remain close friends. With former husband Steven Cousins, Berezhnaya has a son Tristan – born 6 October 2007 in London, England – and daughter, Sofia Diana (diminutive: Sonia) – born on 21 June 2009 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In August 2010, the children were baptized in an Orthodox church in Saint Petersburg, with Sikharulidze becoming her son’s godfather.