Marina Klimova: biography, personal life, roles and films, photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Klimova Marina Vladimirovna - athlete, figure skater, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. Three-time world champion and four-time European champion, children's coach. In addition, Klimova Marina is an actress who starred in films about herself, as well as in feature and documentary series, and a participant in ice shows. Today, Klimova lives and works in America with her husband Sergei Ponomarenko and two sons.

The first steps of the figure skater

Marina Klimova was born in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg, on June 28, 1966. She came to figure skating at the age of 7, her first platform was the Yunost stadium. Later, as a budding athlete, she was transferred to an Olympic reserve school. When Marina learned to skate well, she began to dance in a duet. Her first partner was Oleg Volkov. At the Winter Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in 1978, when Marina was 12 years old, their couple took third place amongjuniors.

Meeting Marina and Sergey

In 1980, Marina was noticed and taken under her wing by a young Moscow coach Natalya Ilyinichna Dubova. She puts Klimova in a pair with Sergei Ponomarenko, who is six years older than her. By this time, Sergey already has notable achievements in figure skating:

• champion of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, 1978;
• World Cup Winner 1978;
• World Cup Winner 1979;
• bronze medalist of the international tournament Nebelhorn Trophy, 1980.

Dubova trains the guys in an emphatically classic style, and this brings success to the duo. The couple starts to take prizes one by one.

Beautiful duet

Sergey treats his new young partner reverently and tenderly, their dances are distinguished by a refined and elegant manner of performance, perfection of movements, harmony and musicality. Many believe that Klimova and Ponomarenko are the best performers of the so-called Dubov skate. Their feelings on the ice go beyond the ice arena and predetermine the personal life of Marina Klimova. In 1984, as soon as the girl turns 18, Marina and Sergey Ponomarenko play a wedding.

Achievements on Ice

The first notable achievement for the guys is the victory at the 1984 Olympic Games, where they won bronze with a program to the music of Kalman from the operetta "Princess of the Circus". Next, the spouses take silver in other competitions:

• European Championship 1985-1987;
• World Cup 1985-1988;
• Olympic Games, 1988

Then they win gold at the European and World Championships in 1989 and 1990, at the 1991 European Championship. However, they lose the World Cup in the same year to their main rivals, the French Duchesnay.

For the sake of fairness, it must be said that in the same 1991 at the Olympic Games, Klimova and Ponomarenko become the only athletes in the history of figure skating who won bronze, silver and gold.

Not an easy decision

In 1988, Olympic champion Lyudmila Pakhomova published the book "Monologue after Applause", in which she critically spoke about the Klimov-Ponomarenko couple. She says that figure skaters are marking time, dancing exclusively in the classical style, denying other forms of dance. This allows them to consistently remain among the winners, but over time this becomes not enough to get gold.

The couple are thinking about finding a new style for themselves, but their coach Natalya Dubova is categorically against innovation, insists on the classics. And after Duchene bypass Marina and Sergey at the 1991 championship, the guys make a difficult decision for them - they go to coach Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova. She is very sympathetic to the skaters, their sincere and strong feelings for each other, their hard work and dedication. Tarasova begins to train the couple in a completely new avant-garde style for them.

Successfigure skaters in 1992

Choreography, costumes are changing, they are becoming more daring and fresh. These changes allow Klimova and Ponomarenko to take first place in the 1992 World Championships, beating their main competitors - the French duet Duchesnay - in their homeland in the city of Albertville. The Russian couple performed the free program with Bach's accompaniment so brightly that the entire film "Alberville 1992: 16th Olympic Winter Games" (USA) is accompanied by this music. Tarasova herself considers this victory a unique event, since earlier in the history of figure skating there were no examples of skaters after second places being able to win gold again.

Besides this, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko win European Championship gold and Olympic gold in 1992.

Klimova and Ponomarenko leave Russia

After brilliant victories in 1992, Marina Klimova and Sergey Ponomarenko end their amateur sports career and begin their professional career. In 2003, their names appear in the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The couple moved to America, California, the city of Morgan Hills, where they still live today. Twice more Klimova and Ponomarenko win silver at the World Championship among professionals in 1995 and 1996. In addition, they participate in various ice shows.

Actress Marina Klimova

It's not a well-known fact, but Marina has quite a track record of film credits.

Even before moving to America, Klimova was filming in a Russian historical mini-TV series "White Horse" by Geliy Ryabov based on the novel by Viktor Ropshin, which tells about the fate of Admiral Kolchak, the last days of the royal family and the investigation into the circumstances of their death. This film was released in 1993 and is considered one of the best historical reconstructions.

Also, actress Marina Klimova starred in two films in which she plays herself:

• Golden Skates 2, USA, 1995;
• Romance on Skates, USA, 1996.

In addition, it is known about the participation of Klimova in films such as

• Greatest Hits on Ice, USA 1994;
• "Beauty and the Beast: Live on Ice", USA, 1996 (based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast")

In the latest film, Marina starred with her husband Sergei Ponomarenko.

In 2007, Marina and Sergey were invited to Russia, in the show "Dancing on Ice: Velvet Season" (RTR channel). At that time, tired of wandering for eight years of participating in competitions and satisfied with a sedentary lifestyle, teaching activities, they doubt for a long time before agreeing. But still they decide, which they later do not regret at all. Only when they return to the ice do they realize how much they missed him and training. In this show, Marina dances in tandem with actor Anatoly Zhuravlev.

On the photo is Marina Klimova with her sons Tim and Anton (Anthony). They live in America.

Personal life of actress Marina Klimova today

In America, Klimova's personal life is going very well. The couple had two sons, Tim andAnton. Now, in 2018, Tim is 20 years old, Anton is 18. Both Marina and Sergey work as coaches at the San Jose skating rink, teaching juniors the art of figure skating. As Marina and Sergey themselves say, they have absolutely no cult of their former victories at home. Although the grandfather showed the videos to his grandchildren, they themselves do not review the performances, do not keep photos and medals from the competition in a conspicuous place. They simply do not want the boys to become hostages of these achievements, to look up to them. The couple believe that everyone should go their own way.

Nevertheless, the youngest son Anton followed in the footsteps of his parents, became a figure skater and is making progress. He competes in ice dancing with partner Cristina Carreira for USA.

Tim also liked sports, but he preferred swimming.

In household, traditions and communication, the family adheres to Russian traditions, instills in their sons a love for Russian literature.