Championships. In 1985, the pair won gold at both the European and World Championships but 1986 saw the emergence of the young Moscow pair Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov. Although Valova/Vasiliev were awarded gold at the 1986 Europeans, they finished second to the Muscovites at both the 1986 and 1987 Worlds. In their final amateur season, Valova/Vasiliev took silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics behind Gordeeva/Grinkov but then prevailed over the reigning Olympic champions at the 1988 World Championships. After winning their third World title, Valova/Vasiliev retired from ISU competition. After performing for a year in Igor Bobrin's ice theatre, they signed a U.S. contract – the first Soviets to do so without losing their citizenship. The pair performed together in various shows and events until the end of 1997. Vasiliev was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples. Coaching career Vasiliev initially had no interest in coaching but changed his mind. He coached one season for the Latvian federation and then about two years for the French federation near Paris. Since 1998, Vasiliev has coached in Chicago and Saint Petersburg. During his time in the United States, he worked at the Oakton Ice Arena in Park Ridge, Illinois. He has coached the following skaters: Vera Bazarova / Andrei Deputat: From April 2014 to 2016. Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin: From January 2001 to March 2006. (2006 Olympic champions and two-time World champions) Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov: From December 2006 to March 2010. (2008 European silver medalists) Viktoria Volchkova: From spring 2002 to mid-2003. (2002 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist) Fumie Suguri: From autumn 2004 to 2005. Katarina Gerboldt / Alexander Enbert: From May 2013 to April 2014. Ivan Righini Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise Programs (with Valova) 1979–1988 1989–1997 Results Amateur career with Valova Professional career with Valova References External links Navigation 1959 births Living people Russian male pair skaters Soviet male pair skaters Olympic figure skaters of the Soviet Union Figure skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Russian figure skating coaches Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Figure skaters from Saint Petersburg Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Honoured Coaches of Russia Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics