Aleksandr Gorshkov was Olympic champion in 1976 and served as president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation
The news of Gorshkov’s death was reported on Thursday. © RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Vilf
Tributes have poured in for former Olympic and world ice dance champion Aleksandr Gorshkov, who has died at the age of 76. Gorshkov was president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) at the time of his passing.
“Alexander Georgievich [Gorshkov] devoted his whole life to figure skating, his contribution to the development of Russian and world figure skating is invaluable,” said the general director of the FFKKR, Aleksandr Kogan, as he confirmed the news of Gorshkov’s death to TASS.
“A bright man has left, now it’s hard to find words. The most sincere condolences to his family and friends. For us, this is a huge loss.”
The Moscow-born Gorshkov won the Olympic ice dance title at the Innsbruck Games in 1976 alongside his wife, Lyudmila Pakhomova. The pair were the first-ever Olympic gold medalists in the discipline.
They also won six world and European titles together, before Pakhomova’s untimely death at the age of 39 in 1986 after a battle with leukemia.
Following his glittering career on the ice, Gorshkov went on to become president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation in 2010. He was reelected to the post on three subsequent occasions, the most recent of which was May of this year.
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin mourned Gorshkov’s passing a “grave loss” for the country’s figure skating and beyond.
“The whole life of Aleksandr Georgievich was devoted to his beloved work, until the last days he was devoted to his work – he headed the Russian Figure Skating Federation for more than 12 years,” said Matytsin in a statement.
“He was a professional leader, a sincere and intelligent interlocutor. We will remember him as a person who made a huge contribution to the development of world figure skating.”
Other figures to pay tribute to Gorshkov included iconic figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova, who praised him as “an honest, decent, wonderful person.”
The cause of Gorshkov’s death was not immediately reported.
