Oksana Baiul
Personal information
Country represented	Ukraine
Born	(1977-11-16) November 16, 1977 (age 34) Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	5'3" (160 cm)[1]
Former coach	Galina Zmievskaya
Retired	1994
Medal record Ladies' Figure Skating Competitor for  Ukraine Olympic Games Gold 1994 Lillehammer Ladies' singles World Championships Gold 1993 Prague Ladies' singles European Championships Silver 1994 Copenhagen Ladies' singles Silver 1993 Helsinki Ladies' singles

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Ukraine
Figure skating
Gold	1994 Lillehammer	Ladies' singles

Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul (Ukrainian: Оксана Сергіївна Баюл; born November 16, 1977) is a Ukrainian professional figure skater. She is the 1994 Olympic champion in ladies' singles and the 1993 World champion.

Early and personal life[link]

Baiul was born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, her father disappeared from her life, and she was raised by her mother, Marina.^[2] Marina died of ovarian cancer when Oksana was 13; Oksana had already lost her maternal grandparents and believed at the time that she was an orphan and had no other relatives.^[2][3]

Her coach looked after her for a while, but when he emigrated to Canada, she was on her own and sleeping on a cot at her hometown ice rink. She was eventually taken in by Galina Zmievskaya, the top-ranked figure-skating coach in Odessa, sharing a small bedroom in her new mentor's crowded three-room apartment with one of the woman's own daughters. Zmievskaya's pupil and son-in-law, Olympic figure-skating champion Viktor Petrenko, helped cover Baiul's expenses.^[4]

She thought she was of Russian Orthodox background, until she discovered her Jewish roots in 2003.^[2] Following up on an old rumor that she had Jewish ancestry, she found her father and he confirmed that the rumor was true – her Romanian maternal grandmother was Jewish.^[2][5][6][7] Oksana Baiul also considers herself Jewish due to matrilineality in Judaism.^[5] Her reaction when asked about it in 2005 was: "Being Jewish, that feels good. It feels natural, like a second skin."^[2] Formerly engaged to a Jewish man, she said that she was thrilled to discover she would not be intermarrying.^[2] After residing for 14 years in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Baiul moved to Pennsylvania in March 2012.^[8]

Career[link]

Baiul won the 1993 World Championships in her first senior competitive season at the age of 15. She then won the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, defeating Nancy Kerrigan of the United States. Baiul had nearly missed competing in the free skate altogether, having been injured after a collision with Tanja Szewczenko of Germany during a warm-up session following the ladies' short program. She required stitches in her leg, and received two Olympic-approved pain-killing injections of anesthetics in her lower back and shoulder which enabled her to perform and complete her free skate.

Despite their status as Olympic champions, Baiul and Viktor Petrenko faced the same difficulties back home in Odessa as their fellow Ukrainians, living in a financially-strapped country where even meat was a luxury and utility outages were a common occurrence. Conditions at their rink in Odessa had deteriorated severely due to the lack of financial support from the government for figure skating since the breakup of the Soviet Union. They had no working ice resurfacer, so coaches and skaters often had to resurface the ice by hand. The conditions influenced her decision to turn professional after the 1994 Winter Olympics, even though she was only 16 years old at the time and had competed in only four major international events (winning the two highest ranked — World Championships and the Olympics – and finishing second in the European Championships in 1993 and 1994). Her coach and surrogate mother, Zmievskaya, negotiated a very profitable contract for her to tour the United States following the Olympics, an opportunity she could only take advantage of as a professional.

Baiul was soon plagued by physical ailments that affected her skating ability. She required arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer of 1994, after which she was advised by her doctor not to return to the ice for two months. Due to the million-dollar touring contract signed by her coach/manager/surrogate mother, Zmievskaya, Baiul ignored doctor's wishes and was skating again in two weeks; she was performing again in six. This move, along with changes in her maturing body, drastically hindered her jumping ability.

Involvement with skating after retirement[link]

In 1994, Baiul and Petrenko were invited to train at the newly-built International Skating Center of Connecticut in the United States, and Zmievskaya was asked to lead the coaching staff there. The entire "family," including Nina, Petrenko's wife and Zmievskaya's daughter, left Ukraine and moved to the United States to start a new life.^[9] Since her retirement from amateur skating, Baiul has continued to skate professionally from time to time, including an engagement with the touring show "Broadway on Ice."

In December 2006, Baiul skated at the Red Square ice rink in Moscow alongside famous champions from Russia, China, France and other countries. In February 2007, she collaborated with renowned ballet dancer Saule Rachmedova to bring together Ice Theatre of New York and couture fashion for the debut of innovative fashion designer Levi Okunov's "Winter Collection." The following month, Baiul appeared on MTV's Total Request Live. She was there to promote the new ice skating film Blades of Glory (2007), starring Will Ferrell.

Baiul currently has a role in the skating stage musical, Cold as Ice. The story surrounds six skaters from Canada, Russia, and the United States preparing for their national championships and the Olympics while dealing with demanding coaches, stage mothers, and other trials. The story itself was conceived and written by former skater Frank D'Agostino.^[10] A full stage version of Cold As Ice was produced and presented by the Gateway Playhouse in May 2007.

On March 8, 2009, and again on March 14, 2010, Baiul made guest appearances at the Kate Wollman Skating Rink at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY, as part of the skating center's annual show. She also took part in meet-and-greet sessions with skating students after each performance.^[11]

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, Oksana skated at the One Step Closer HIV AIDS figure skating exhibition. Directed and produced by Tim David, the benefit was for the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children. She performed her signature Swan Lake program and was part of the meet-and-greet after the show.^[12] In January 1997, Baiul was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after crashing her car into a tree in Connecticut. The charges were eventually dropped after she met the terms of probation and completed an alcohol education program.^[13] Baiul is mentioned in the Family Guy episode, "Wasted Talent" (season 2, episode 20), during brewmaster Pawtucket Pat's song about his brewery ^[14]

Baiul lived in Richmond, Virginia for several years in the late 1990s before moving to her current residence in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.^[15] She ended an engagement to her long-time boyfriend, clothing entrepreneur Gene Sunik, in 2005. She has her own line of clothing and jewelry. In November 2005, Baiul appeared on the Bravo television program Celebrity Poker Showdown. She was also part of the celebrity panel of judges (along with Steve Garvey and Jonny Moseley) on the ABC show Master of Champions, which aired briefly in 2006.

Although Baiul was raised as a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian, her maternal grandmother was a Jew.^[16] Partially for this reason, she supports the Tikva Children's Home Charity, which works to aid the Jewish children of Odessa, Ukraine. In addition, Baiul supports and is a member of the International Museum of Women, a world-class cultural and educational institution with the mission to celebrate the lives of women around the world.

Results[link]

See also[link]

• List of Olympic medalists in figure skating
• List of select Jewish figure skaters

References[link]

• Baiul, Oksana. (1997). Oksana: My Own Story. Random House Books. ISBN 0-679-88382-7.
• Baiul, Oksana. (1997). Secrets of Skating. Universe / Rizzoli. ISBN 0-7893-0104-0.

External links[link]

• OksanaStyle.com Official Website
• Golden Skate – Interview
• View Zone – Interview
• "Oksana’s New Spin; Gold medal figure skater now embracing her recently discovered Jewish roots, with the help of an ex-chasidic fashion designer," 2/16/07
• The documentary film "Oksana Baiul. The edge of the possible" (Rus-ukr)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oksana Baiul

Viktor Petrenko
Petrenko skates in 2002.
Personal information
Country represented	Soviet Union  Ukraine
Born	(1969-06-27) June 27, 1969 (age 42)
Residence	New Jersey
Height	178 cm (5'10")
Former coach	Galina Zmievskaya
Retired	1994
Medal record Men's Figure skating Competitor for the Unified Team Winter Olympic Games Gold 1992 Albertville Men's singles Competitor for  Ukraine World Championships Gold 1992 Oakland Men's singles European Championships Gold 1994 Copenhagen Men's singles Silver 1992 Lausanne Men's singles Competitor for the  Soviet Union Winter Olympic Games Bronze 1988 Calgary Men's singles World Championships Silver 1991 Munich Men's singles Silver 1990 Halifax Men's singles Bronze 1988 Budapest Men's singles European Championships Gold 1991 Sofia Men's singles Gold 1990 Leningrad Men's singles Bronze 1988 Prague Men's singles Bronze 1987 Sarajevo Men's singles World Junior Championships Silver 1984 Sapporo Men's singles

Olympic medal record
Men's Figure skating
Competitor for the Unified Team
Gold	1992 Albertville	Men's singles
Competitor for the  Soviet Union
Bronze	1988 Calgary	Men's singles

Viktor Vasylovych Petrenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Васильович Петренко; born June 27, 1969) is a Ukrainian former competitive figure skater who represented the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, and Ukraine during his career. He is the 1992 Olympic Champion for the Unified Team. Petrenko currently lives in the United States and works as an ISU Technical Specialist, tours professionally, and coaches figure skating.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Viktor was born in Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, the first of two sons born to engineers Tamara and Vassily Petrenko.^[1] His younger brother Vladimir Petrenko was also a competitive skater and the 1986 World Junior Champion.^[2] Petrenkos spoke Russian as many others did and still do in Central and Eastern Ukraine. Russian was commonly spoken in all areas of the USSR and was used as a means to inter-ethnic communication. Viktor attended a Russian-speaking school where he chose to study English as a foreign language. Because Ukrainian was not used in his family or his school, he never learned to speak the native language of his own country fluently.

Viktor was often sick as a young child and doctors suggested to his parents that they put him in a sport in order to improve his strength and stamina, so when he was five years old, they took him to the local ice rink and started him in figure skating.^[3] At the age of nine, his talent was noticed by Ukrainian figure skating coach Galina Zmievskaya and she took him on as a pupil at Spartak in Odessa.^[4]

Competitive career[link]

For the Soviet Union, Viktor was the 1984 World Junior Champion^[5] and won the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympic Games.^[6] He then went on to win his first two European Championships in 1990 and 1991.^[7] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991,^[8] athletes from former Soviet states went to the Olympics together for the last time in 1992 on a Unified Team.^[9] Petrenko competed for this Unified Team and with a free skate that was ranked above American Paul Wylie's by seven of the nine judges, he won the gold medal, the first ever for a singles skater from the former Soviet Union.^[10] A month later he went to the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships and won the gold medal there, as well, earning two 6.0's for presentation in his free program and receiving first place ranking from all nine judges.^[11]

Petrenko turned professional following his Olympic win, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, but when the International Skating Union ruled that professionals could return to competitive status in 1993, he moved back to Odessa, Ukraine and began training for another Olympics.^[12] He won his third European Championships in January 1994, competing for the first time for the independent nation of Ukraine,^[13] and went on to represent his homeland at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, where it was widely expected that he, 1988 Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano and World Champion Kurt Browning would be the main challengers for medals. After the short program, Petrenko was in ninth place after stepping out of his triple axel and incompleting the rotation on his triple lutz, and Boitano and Browning were in eighth and twelfth, respectively. Of the three, Petrenko went the farthest to redeem himself in the long program with a brilliant free skate that pulled him up to a fourth place finish.^[14]

Life Beyond Competition[link]

In 1992, Petrenko convinced his coach Galina Zmievskaya to take in a 14-year-old Ukrainian orphan named Oksana Baiul and become both her guardian and coach, with Petrenko covering Baiul's expenses. With their guidance, Baiul went on to win the 1993 World Figure Skating Championship and the gold medal at the 1994 Olympic Games.^[15][16]

Petrenko married Zmievskaya's oldest daughter, Nina Milken, on June 19, 1992 and their daughter Victoria was born on July 21, 1997.^[17] After the 1994 Winter Olympics, Viktor, Nina, Zmievskaya, Baiul and Viktor's brother Vladimir all left Ukraine and moved to Simsbury, Connecticut, where Petrenko and Baiul were invited to train and Zmievskaya and Vladimir Petrenko joined the coaching staff at the new International Skating Center of Connecticut.^[18]

In March 2001, Petrenko organized the Viktory for Kids ice show in Simsbury, Connecticut and invited his celebrity friends from the international figure skating community to perform in order to raise public awareness and funds for the thousands of children still being affected by elevated radiation levels from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that had occurred in his homeland of Ukrainian SSR fifteen years earlier. $108,000 was raised, and later that year was used to open The Viktor Petrenko Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Odessa, Ukraine with state-of-the-art medical technology.^[19] In October 2003, Petrenko organized a second "Viktory for Kids" show, this time in Danbury, Connecticut. The show included such skating luminaries as Olympic Champions Ekaterina Gordeeva (and her daughter, Daria Grinkova [Petrenko's goddaughter]), Ilia Kulik, Evgeni Plushenko, Brian Boitano, Kazakov & Dimitriev, and of course, Viktor, himself.

In January 2004, Petrenko was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing his car into a utility pole in Connecticut and refusing to take a breathalyzer test.^[20] His record was cleared after he completed an adult alcohol education program.^[21]

Petrenko, wife Nina and mother-in-law Zmievskaya left the International Skating Center of Connecticut in 2005 and moved to New Jersey, where they all began coaching together at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, New Jersey.^[22] They have coached American men's figure skater Johnny Weir since the summer of 2007 ^[23] and they coached Swiss skater Stéphane Lambiel for several months until injury forced his retirement from competitive skating in October 2008.^[24][25]

Petrenko toured as a performing skater with the US company of Champions on Ice for a record twenty seasons, until COI went out of business after the 2007 season.^[26][27] He is an ISU Technical Specialist for Ukraine ^[28] and was the Assistant Technical Specialist for the men's event at the 2006 Winter Olympics.^[29][30] In June 2008, he was elected to the Presidium of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation.^[31]

Programs[link]

Results[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Viktor Petrenko

• Athlete Profile - Petrenko
• Champions on Ice
• Sports Reference

Navigation[link]