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Elena Betchke
Elena Betchke
Full name	Elena Yurievna Betchke
Other names	Yelena Bechke; Elena Betchke
Born	7 January 1966 (age 58); Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Unified Team ; CIS ; Soviet Union
Retired	1992
Medal record
Pairs' Figure skating
Representing CIS ( Unified Team)
Olympic Games
European Championships
Representing Soviet Union
World Championships
European Championships

Elena Yurievna Bechke (Russian: Елена Юрьевна Бечке; born 7 January 1966) is a Russian former pair skater. She competed for the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Unified Team. With her then-husband Denis Petrov, she is the 1992 Olympic silver medalist, the 1989 World bronze medalist, and the 1991 and 1992 European silver medalist.

Career

As a young skater, Bechke was told by her coaches that she had no talent and that she should quit skating.^{[citation needed]} She did not give up and skated with Valery Kornienko from 1979 to 1987. Their notable competitions included a gold medal at the inaugural pairs event of the 1984 Skate Canada International, as well as the 1986 European Championships, where they won the bronze.^[1]

Bechke began skating with Denis Petrov, two years her junior, in 1987. They trained with Tamara Moskvina^[2] at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg. They won their first international title at the 1988 Grand Prix International de Paris, although they missed the 1988 Olympic team as they finished fourth at the Soviet Figure Skating Championships. Their first appearance at the Worlds was at the 1989 World Championships. Again, Bechke and Petrov had finished fourth and initially did not qualify for the Soviet Worlds team, but they won a skate-off to replace an injured team. They captured the bronze medal at their first Worlds showing, but they again placed fourth at the Soviet Nationals in 1990, missing the World Championships. In 1991, they placed third at the Nationals and fourth at the Worlds. In 1992, they won the Soviet Nationals over the teams of Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov and Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov (Bechke and Petrov's training partners and chief rivals, Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev, missed the Nationals but qualified for the Olympics as they were the reigning World Champions). Bechke and Petrov also won silver medals at the 1991 and 1992 European Championships, and the silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games behind Mishkutenok and Dmitriev.^[3] Their choreographer was Alexander Matveev.^[2] They retired from amateur competition after the 1992 Worlds.

Bechke and Petrov's moderate success as amateurs stemmed from Bechke's inconsistency in competition due to her nerves, as well as many uninspiring (and some downright questionable) competitive programs, such as the infamous "Dialogue of Cats," created by their coach that did little to showcase their talents. After turning professional in 1992, the pair steadily improved as competitors and performers, and were regarded by many as one of the best professional pairs teams of their time. They won every single competition they entered in 1996, including the World Professional Championships. They placed second at their last World Professional Championships, in 1999.

They toured with Stars on Ice for seven years (1994–2000).^[4] They resided and trained as professionals in Lake Placid, New York, before relocating to Richmond, Virginia, in 1997 to train and coach there. Bechke retired from skating after the 1999–2000 season, while Petrov continued to skate with Stars on Ice for another two seasons.

As both amateurs and professionals, Bechke and Petrov were known for their exquisite posture and lines, inventive moves (such as the "Impossible" death spiral), great unison and proximity on their jumps and side-by-side spins, as well as many difficult and intricate lift sequences.

Personal life

Bechke is of Hungarian descent on her father's side (the Hungarian spelling of her last name being Becske). Her Hungarian heritage is reflected in two professional programs with Petrov: Joue Jusqu'au Matin (1997–1998) to a medley of songs by Hungarian Gypsy composer Yoska Nemeth, and Czardas by Leahy (1999–2000).

Bechke and Petrov began dating in 1988, were married in 1990, but divorced in 1995. In Steve Milton's book, Skate Talk, Bechke has said that while the marriage was not one of "convenience" (as was many times the case in the USSR), she did feel pressured by her parents to get married as she was getting "so old". Bechke and Petrov remained best friends and both said that their skating and friendship improved after the divorce. They even continued vacationing together after ending their off-ice relationship.

Bechke married Wayne Ellis in 2001. They have a son, Alex, born in 2002, and a daughter, Sophia, born in 2004. As of 2009, she is a coach in North Carolina.^[5]

Programs

(with Petrov)

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
1999–2000			Czardas by Leahy Snowstorm by Georgy Sviridov
1998–1999			Eva by Andrei Petrov Liebesträume by Franz Liszt
1997–1998			Joue Jusqu’au Matin traditional; Yoska Nemeth Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin Liebesträume by Franz Liszt
1996–1997			Romance by Anton Rubinstein The Lady and the Hooligan by Dmitri Shostakovich On the Beautiful Blue Danube/Radetzky March by Josef Strauss Russian Dance (traditional)
1995–1996			When You Tell Me That You Love Me by Diana Ross Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian
1994–1995			Limelight from the Charlie Chaplin movie Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi You Don't Bring Me Flowers by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond Kalinka trad.; Red Army Choir
1993–1994			Morning Mood from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg Grand Pas de deux from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Wabash Blues by Isham Jones Once Upon a Dream from the Jekyll & Hyde musical I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi
1992–1993			Grand Pas de deux from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Wabash Blues by Isham Jones Yellow Submarine by The Beatles (instrumental) Once Upon a Dream from the Jekyll & Hyde musical I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi
1991–1992	Milord by Edith Piaf (instrumental)	Grand Pas de deux from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi
1990–1991	Money, Money, Money (ABBA) performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
1989–1990	The Dialogue of Cats by Gioachino Rossini	8½ by Nino Rota
1988–1989		8½ by Nino Rota

Competitive highlights

With Petrov

International
Event	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Olympics					2nd
Worlds		3rd		4th	4th
Europeans				2nd	2nd
Goodwill Games				3rd
Int. de Paris	1st		1st		3rd
Moscow News	6th	2nd
Nations Cup			1st
NHK Trophy		2nd	1st	1st
St. Ivel		2nd
National
Soviet Champ.	4th	4th	4th	3rd	1st
USSR Cup	2nd	1st

Event	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1999
World Pros	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd
US Open Pro	2nd	1st	1st		1st
Challenge of Champions	4th	2nd	3rd	3rd	1st
ESPN Pro						1st
Jefferson Pilot Pro						2nd
Canadian Professional Championships					1st
Miko Masters		1st
Metropolitan Open				3rd
North American Open			3rd

With Kornienko

International
Event	80–81	81–82	82–83	83–84	84–85	85–86	86–87
European Champ.						3rd
Skate America						2nd
Skate Canada					1st
Int. St. Gervais					1st
Moscow News				3rd	3rd	3rd	2nd
Nebelhorn Trophy					1st
Prague Skate			2nd				2nd
Universiade							2nd
National
Soviet Champ.		6th		3rd	4th	5th
Spartakiada						2nd
USSR Cup	5th		2nd	1st	2nd