Konstantin Menshov

Konstantin Menshov
Menshov in 2014
Full nameKonstantin Alexandrovich Menshov
Native nameКонстантин Александрович Меньшов
Born (1983-02-23) 23 February 1983 (age 41)
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Figure skating career
CountryRussia
Skating clubOlympic School St. Petersburg
Began skating1989
RetiredJune 1, 2016
Medal record
Representing  Russia
Figure skating: Men's singles
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Budapest Men's singles

Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov (Russian: Константин Александрович Меньшов; born 23 February 1983) is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 European bronze medalist, the 2015 Finlandia Trophy champion, a two-time (2010, 2012) Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalist, a two-time (2007, 2012) NRW Trophy champion, and the 2011 Russian national champion. Menshov is one of the skaters to have landed two quad jumps in a short program and three quad jumps in a free program.

Personal life

Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov was born on 23 February 1983 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union,[1] along with a fraternal twin brother, Nikita.[2] In 2011, he received his diploma from the Lesgaft University for Physiculture and Sport in Saint Petersburg.[2]

Career

Menshov's first coach was Galina Kashina.[3] He later trained under Evgeni Rukavicin in Saint Petersburg.[4] During summers, he also had training camps in Luleå, Sweden and Jelgava, Latvia.[2][5]

2010–11 season

Menshov won the silver medal at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy. At the 2011 Russian Championships, Menshov placed first in both the short and long program, to win the title.[6][7] He was the only contender to attempt a quadruple toe loop in the long program.[7] He finished 7th in his first trip to the European Championships.

2012–13 season

In the 2012–13 season, Menshov won another silver medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy.[8] He placed 4th at both of his Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate America and 2012 Rostelecom Cup, setting a new personal best overall score at his second event. He won again at the 2012 NRW Trophy with an overall score of 238.63 points, more than 26 points ahead of silver medalist Michal Březina. He won the bronze medal at the 2013 Russian Championships but was not named in the Russian team for the 2013 European Championships.[citation needed] The decision did not contravene regulations which stated that only the top two qualified automatically and the third skater could be determined by the coaches' council.[citation needed] However, an appeal was signed by the president of the Saint Petersburg figure skating federation, Oleg Nilov, and some competitors.[9] Russian Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko ordered the executive committee of the Russian figure skating federation to review the issue.[10] They voted to uphold their original decision.[11][12] Menshov was assigned to the 2013 World Team Trophy and placed third in the short program with a personal season's best score (80.60).[13] In the free skate, he dislocated his right shoulder attempting a triple Axel and withdrew from the event.[14][15] He had sustained that type of injury only once before, four years prior.[16]

2013–14 season

In the 2013–14 season, Menshov finished 8th at the 2013 NHK Trophy and 4th at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. Making his second European appearance, aged 30, he won the bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships in Budapest.

2014–15 season

During the 2014–15 Grand Prix series, he placed fifth at the 2014 Skate Canada International and fourth at the 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.[17] He finished third in the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series standings after winning bronze both at the 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy and at the 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb.

2015–16 season

Competing in the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series, Menshov took bronze at the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy before winning gold at the 2015 Finlandia Trophy, his first international victory since the 2012 NRW Trophy.[18] He went on to win gold at the Merano Cup.

Menshov sustained a shoulder injury at the 2016 Russian Nationals.[3] On June 1, 2016, he announced his retirement from competitive skating and his transition to a coaching career.[19] Commenting in July 2016, he said, "I already had the same kind of injury with my other shoulder and, of course, it's quite problematic to compete with both those injuries. I was able to recover almost all of my jumping elements to the previous level, but the fact is that the performance of choreographic movements causes me pain."[3]

Skating technique

Menshov practiced different quadruple jumps, such as the 4T, 4S, 4Lo, and 4T-3T combination, and also attempted a 4T-4T combination.[20] Beginning in 2014, he included two quads in his short program – a 4T-3T combination and a solo 4S. He landed both of the jumps at his Grand Prix events and 2015 Russian Championships.

In the 2015–16 season, at the age of 32, Menshov attempted three quads in his free skate. He landed 4T-3T combination and 4S in his free skate at the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy while falling on his 4T attempt in the second half. He landed three quads – 4T-3T, 4S and 4T – in the free program at the 2015 Merano Cup, although he stepped out on the last quad.[21]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2015–16
[22]
  • Radioactive
    by Imagine Dragons
    covered by Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix
2014–15
[23]
2013–14
[24]
  • Coultergeist
    by Phil Coulter
2012–13
[25]
2011–12
[5]
  • Dead Silence
    by Charlie Clouser
  • Worms lounge
    (from Men in Black II)
    by Danny Elfman
  • Worms in Black
    (from Men in Black II)
    by Danny Elfman
2010–11
[26]
  • Silver Guitar
    by Tomas Balazs
2009–10
[27]
  • Sway
2008–09
[28]
  • Saw II
    by Charlie Clouser

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

International[29]
Event 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16
Europeans 7th 3rd
GP Bompard 4th
GP Cup of Russia 10th 8th 4th 4th
GP NHK Trophy 6th 8th 6th
GP Skate America 4th 5th
GP Skate Canada 5th
CS Finlandia 1st
CS Golden Spin 3rd
CS Nebelhorn 3rd 3rd
Universiade 11th 11th 7th
Cup of Nice 4th 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 3rd 2nd
Finlandia Trophy 5th 4th 5th 6th
Merano Cup 1st
Nebelhorn Trophy 13th 11th 2nd 7th 2nd
NRW Trophy 1st 1st
National[30]
Russian Champ. 9th 5th 11th 8th 5th 4th 6th 4th 1st 7th 3rd 4th 4th 7th
Team events
World Team
Trophy
5th T
12th P
WD
WD: Withdrew; T: Team result; P: Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

References

  1. ^ Меньшов Константин Александрович [Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Flade, Tatjana (11 September 2011). "Late bloomer Menshov still in the game". Golden Skate. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Luchianov, Vladislav (14 July 2016). "Menshov moves to coaching after turbulent career". IceNetwork.com.
  4. ^ Malinsky, Andrei (25 August 2010). "Душечка" из Петербурга [From Saint Petersburg]. Nevskoye Vremya (in Russian). Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012.
  6. ^ Kondakova, Anna (26 December 2010). "Menshov in front at Russian Nationals". Golden Skate.
  7. ^ a b Kondakova, Anna (28 December 2010). "Menshov wins Gold at Russian Nationals". Golden Skate.
  8. ^ Flade, Tatjana (30 September 2012). "2012 Nebelhorn Trophy". Golden Skate.
  9. ^ "Skating Stars Protest Menshov Omission". RIA Novosti. 29 December 2012.
  10. ^ Виталий Мутко поручил вернуться к обсуждению состава сборной России по фигурному катанию на чемпионат Европы в Загребе [Mutko requested a review of the selection of the Russian national figure skating team for the European Championships]. allsportinfo (in Russian). 29 December 2012.
  11. ^ Simonenko, Andrei (11 January 2013). Фигурист Меньшов: мне больно и обидно, но опускать руки не собираюсь [Figure skater Menshov: I'm hurt but I don't want to give up]. rsport.ru (in Russian).
  12. ^ Фигурист Ковтун все-таки заменил Меньшова в составе сборной на ЧЕ [Figure skater Kovtun still in the team for the European Championships instead of Menshov]. rsport.ru (in Russian). 10 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Team Japan leads at ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating 2013". International Skating Union. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Team USA skates to the lead at ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating". International Skating Union. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014.
  15. ^ Gallagher, Jack (13 April 2013). "Takahashi triumphs in men's singles competition". Japan Times.
  16. ^ Luchianov, Vladislav (15 May 2013). "Menshov tries to move past tumultuous season". IceNetwork.com.
  17. ^ "July 10, 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2014.
  18. ^ Flade, Tatjana (11 October 2015). "Veteran skater Menshov still in the game". Golden Skate.
  19. ^ "Константин Меньшов: Устал биться в закрытые ворота" [Konstantin Menshov interview] (in Russian). sovsport.ru. Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  20. ^ Konstantin Menshov: Quad Salchow / Quad loop / Quad toe-Triple toe / Quad toe-Quad toe attempt
  21. ^ MERANO CUP 2015 SENIOR MEN FREE SKATING JUDGES DETAILS PER SKATER
  22. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014.
  25. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
  26. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011.
  27. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010.
  28. ^ "Konstantin MENSHOV: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009.
  29. ^ "Competition Results: Konstantin MENSHOV". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016.
  30. ^ Меньшов Константин Александрович [Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov] (in Russian). fskate.ru.

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