Oleg Protopopov

Oleg Protopopov, born in 1932, Russian figure skater, who, with his partner Liudmila Belousova, won the gold medal in the pairs figure skating competition at both the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympic Games. The two skaters from Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia, were married in 1957 and were often referred to as the Protopopovs, although Belousova retained her own name in professional life. The two were the first Soviets to win world, European, and Olympic championships in figure skating and were known for their elegant, balletic style. They are often credited with having pioneered several skating moves, including the inside death spiral.

Protopopov and Belousova placed ninth at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. In 1964, however, at the Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, the pair edged Germany’s Marika Kilius and Hans-Jorgen Baumier for the gold medal. The next year the Protopopovs won their first gold medals at both the European championships, which were held in Moscow, and the world championships, which were held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They again won both of these titles in 1966, 1967, and 1968. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, Protopopov, 36 years of age, and Belousova, 33 years of age, successfully defended their Olympic title. A year later, their reign as champions ended when they were defeated at the European championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, by fellow Soviet skaters Irina Rodnina and Aleksei Ulanov.

The Protopopovs ended their competitive careers in 1973. They were both named to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1978.