Sergei Semyonovich Shakhrai

Sergei Shachrai
Full name	Sergei Semyonovich Shakhrai
nation	Soviet Union
birthday	June 28, 1958
place of birth	Moscow
size	178 cm
Career
discipline	Pair skating
Partner	Marina Cherkassova
society	VS Moscow
Trainer	Stanislav Schuk
status	resigned
End of career	1982
Medal table
Olympic medals 0 × 1 × 0 × World Cup medals 1 × 1 × 0 × EM medals 1 × 2 × 2 ×
winter Olympics silver Lake Placid 1980 Couples  World figure skating championships silver Vienna 1979 Couples gold Dortmund 1980 Couples  European figure skating championships bronze Helsinki 1977 Couples silver Strasbourg 1978 Couples gold Zagreb 1979 Couples silver Gothenburg 1980 Couples bronze Innsbruck 1981 Couples

Sergei Semjonowitsch Schachrai ( Russian Сергей Семёнович Шахрай ; born June 28, 1958 in Moscow ) is a former Russian figure skater who started in pair skating for the Soviet Union .

Shachrai's figure skating partner was Marina Cherkassova . The pair was trained by Stanislaw Schuk . Shachrai was 18 and Cherkassova 12 when they first started dating. There was a difference in size of 35 cm between the two at the time, as Cherkassova was only 1.38 m tall.

With his 12-year-old partner, Schachrai won the bronze medal on his European championship debut in Helsinki in 1977 . The couple finished their first world championship in fourth place that same year. The enormous difference in size caused innovations in throwing and lifting elements. Due to the relief of these elements through the physical constellation of the couple, the term “throwaway couple” came up. As a result, the regulations were changed and large differences in size between the partners, which opposed the physical harmony, were penalized with points. In 1978, in the absence of Irina Rodnina and Alexander Saizew , Shachrai and Cherkassova became Soviet champions for the first time and vice-European champions in Strasbourg behind their outstanding compatriots Rodnina and Saizew. As in the previous year, they missed a medal in fourth place at the World Cup . In 1979 Rodnina and Saizew did not take part in any competitions due to a baby break. Thus, Shachrai and Cherkassova defended their national championship title and became European champions in Zagreb . At the 1979 World Cup in Vienna , they won their first world championship medal with silver behind the Americans Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner . By 1980 Marina Cherkassova had grown 20 cm. This change affected the couple's technical elements. Nevertheless, they were now perceived more as a couple and 1980 was their most successful year. Both at the European Championships in Gothenburg and at the Olympic Games in Lake Placid , they won the silver medal behind their fellow countrymen Rodnina and Saizew. When Rodnina had to cancel the world championship due to an injury , the way was clear in Dortmund for chachrais and Cherkassova's first and only world championship title.

By 1981 Cherkassova had grown so much in size and weight that Shachrai could no longer lift her well enough. The couple won their last medal with bronze behind Irina Vorobjowa and Igor Lissowski and Tina Riegel and Andreas Nischwitz at the 1981 European Championships in Innsbruck . At the world championship it was only enough for fourth place. Shachrai and Cherkassova competed again in the Soviet championships in 1982, but could no longer qualify for an international competition as fourth behind Vorobyova / Lisovsky, Pestova / Leonowitsch and Perschina / Akbarow . Then they ended their careers.

Schachrai works as a figure skating coach in Sydney , Australia .

Results

Pair skating

(with Marina Cherkassova )

Competition / year	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
winter Olympics				2.
World championships	4th	4th	2.	1.	4th
European championships	3.	2.	1.	2.	3.
Soviet championships	3.	1.	1.		3.	4th

Web links

• Sergei Semjonowitsch Schachrai in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.