Andrey SURAYKIN

Andrey Suraykin and Lydmila Smirnova were probably the number two pair in the World behind Irina Rodnina and Aleksey Ulanov at the start of the 1970s. They won silvers at the 1970, 1971 and 1972 World and European Championships and 1972 Olympic Games, always finishing behind Rodnina and Ulanov. They also won silvers behind Rodnina and Ulanov at the 1970 and 1971 Soviet Championships and won a gold at the 1970 Winter Universiade, where Rodnina and Ulanov did not compete. After the 1972 Olympic Games, when Smirnova became romantically involved with Ulanov, they started to skate pairs together, leading Suraykin to retire from competition. He worked as a figure skating coach in his native St. Petersburg until his untimely death in the early 1990s.