Margarita Drobiazko
Margarita Aleksandrovna Drobiazko (Russian: Маргарита Александровна Дробязко; born 21 December 1971) is a Russian retired ice dancer. She began competing for Lithuania in 1992 when she teamed up with Povilas Vanagas. With Vanagas, she is the 2000 World bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a two-time European bronze medalist (2000, 2006), the 1999 Skate Canada champion, and competed in five Winter Olympics, finishing as high as 5th. CareerDrobiazko began skating at age six – she became interested after seeing children learning to skate at an outdoor rink.[1] She convinced her mother, who wanted her to become a ballerina, to let her try skating.[1] At age 12, she took up ice dancing and was coached first by Natalia Linichuk and then Natalia Dubova.[1] She initially competed with Oleg Granionov for Russia.[2][3] Drobiazko was paired with Lithuanian skater Povilas Vanagas by Tatiana Tarasova in Moscow.[1] After the breakup of the Soviet Union, they decided to represent Lithuania. Vanagas said, "It was difficult at the beginning because there was a lot of friction between Russia and Lithuania. Since Rita is Russian, it caused many problems."[1] They moved to Kaunas, Lithuania and began training with Elena Maslennikova.[1] In 1995, they began working also in England with Betty Callaway, Jayne Torvill, and Christopher Dean.[1] In 1999, Drobiazko and Vanagas began spending time with Elena Tchaikovskaia in Moscow, while continuing to work with Maslennikova in Kaunas.[1] They were also coached by Lilija Vanagiene and Anatoliy Petukhov.[2][4] Drobiazko and Vanagas retired from competition following the 2001–2002 Olympic season, but returned to competition in 2005 to compete at their fifth Olympics.[5] In preparation for the 2005–2006 season, they worked with Maslennikova, Rostislav Sinicyn, Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva, Gintaras Svistunavicius, and David Liu, in the United States, Germany, Russia, and Lithuania.[5] Drobiazko and Vanagas became the first and only figure skaters to compete at five Olympics. They retired again in 2006 following the World Championships. Their choreographers included Elena Maslennikova,[1][6] Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean,[1] Elena Tchaikovskaia,[1] Tatiana Pomerantseva,[4] Elena Kholina,[4] Yuri Puzakov,[4] Vasily Kleimenov,[2] and Gintaras Svistunavicius.[5][6] TelevisionShe appeared in the 1-7 seasons of ice show contest Ice Age. Personal lifeDrobiazko was born in Moscow, but lived in Magadan, the Russian far north-east, until the age of six.[2] Since the Olympics require citizenship of the country represented, Drobiazko obtained Lithuanian citizenship in 1993.[7] She has been married to Vanagas since June 2000.[6][8][9] In the summer of 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Drobiazko played a role in a ballet Swan Lake on ice with Vanagas in Sochi that was organized by former Olympic champion Tatiana Navka. On 10 August 2022, Lithuania's president Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree stripping off the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas from both skaters.[10] On 15 September 2023, Lithuania's president Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree stripping Margarita Drobiazko of her Lithuanian citizenship due to her "public support for the Russian Federation during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine". [11][12][13][14] Programs(with Povilas Vanagas)
Competitive highlights(ice dance with Povilas Vanagas)
References
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