About

The first World Figure Skating Championship in pair skating was held in 1908. At first, this discipline was dominated by German, Austrian, and French skaters. A pair from Germany Anna Hubler/Heinrich Burger won the consecutive World Championships held between 1908-1910; another German pair Maxi Herber/Ernst Baier achieved the same result in 1936-1939. An Austrian skater Helene Engelmann won the World Championships in 1913, 1922 and 1924 in pair with Alfred Berger and later with Karl Mejstrik. Finnish figure skaters Ludowika Jakobsson/Walter Jakobsson were three-time World champions as well. All these pairs also became the Olympic champions at different times. Famous French skaters Andree Brunet/Pierre Brunet, who are considered groundbreakers in early pair skating, won the World Championships in 1926, 1928, 1930, and 1932. They are credited with creating mirror skating, and new jumps, lifts, and spins.

After World War II, despite the sad situation in single skating, European pairs held up against Americans and Canadians. Among the most famous pairs were: Micheline Lannoy/Pierre Baugniet from Belgium in the 1940s, Ria Baran/Paul Falk from West Germany and Sissy Schwarz/Kurt Oppelt from Austria in the 1950s, Marika Kilius/Hans-Jurgen Baumler from West Germany in the 1960s. Undefeated champions Ria Baran/Paul Falk was the first couple which performed side by side double jumps. Since 1950 the Canadian figure skating school has made great progress, and its representatives Barbara Wagner/Robert Paul became the 1960 Olympic champions, and four-time World champions.

Two-time Olympic champions (1964, 1968) and four-time World champions (1965-1968) Ludmila Belousova/Oleg Protopopov were the first to perform a 'cosmic' spiral (a variaton of a death spiral) and some other transitional movements and decorative elements. They revolutionised the physiological aspect of pair skating, perfectly embodying classical pieces of music on ice and creating unique programs with subtle atmosphere (usually romantic). Since then the Soviet school turned into the best school in the world and gained a legendary status. Soviet pairs won all 12 Olympic gold medals in 1964-2006 and most of various championships held between 1965 and 2007.

Irina Rodnina teamed up with Alexei Ulanov and later with Alexander Zaitsev to win three Winter Olympics (1972, 1976, 1980) and 10 World Championships (1969-1979, except 1978). They demonstrated great athletism, speed and complicated technical elements, such as a double axel jump and triple twist lifts.

Among other successful Soviet pairs were Tamara Moskvina/Alexei Mishin, later famous coaches, Lyudmila Smirnova/Andrei Suraikin, Elena Valova/Oleg Vasiliev, Natalia Mishkutionok/Artur Dmitriev, and of course Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov, one of figure skating's most recognized teams in the 1980s-early 1990s. Their programs were masterpieces, performed with almost complete synchronicity, coordinated technique and filled with complex elements, such as a quadruple twist lift. Since the late 1990s, pair skaters from China achieved considerable success. Chinese skaters, most notably the 2010 Olympic champions Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, are the strongest in the world.