Irina MOISEYEVA

Irina Moiseyeva and Andrey Minenkov, known in North America as Minnie and Mo, began to skate together in 1967 and their first accomplishments came in 1972-73, when they won two bronzes in a row at the Soviet Championships. They established themselves as a top international ice dancing pair in 1975, when they won a World title in the absence of Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov. In 1976 Moiseyeva and Minenkov won silvers at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships, always behind Pakhomova and Gorshkov. But in 1977, after Pakhomova and Gorshkov had retired, Moiseyeva and Minenkov won both the World and European titles, also winning their only Soviet title in 1977. In 1978 they repeated their European title and had the following podium finishes at major tournaments: bronze at the 1980 Olympics, silvers at the 1978 and 1981 World Championships, bronzes at the 1979, 1980 and 1982 World Championships, silvers at the 1979 and 1981 European Championships and bronzes at the 1980 and 1982 European Championships. After her sporting career Moiseyeva worked as a children’s coach in Moscow.