# Ruslan Honcharov

Ruslan Nikolaevich Goncharov (Russian: Руслан Николаевич Гончаров or Ukrainian: Руслан Миколайович Гончаров Ruslan Mykolayovych Honcharov; born 20 January 1973) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner Elena Grushina, he is the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, 2005 World bronze medalist, and two-time (2005, 2006) European silver medalist.

## Career

Goncharov began skating at the age of six. He was originally a single skater but grew too tall and switched to ice dancing when he was 13. He first competed with Elenora Gritsai but the partnership ended due to health problems. Goncharov is currently a coach teaching ice dance at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia and at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Maryland.
Having trained in the same group in Odessa, Goncharov and Elena Grushina were paired together in 1989. They finished fourth at the 1992 Junior Worlds. They were 18th in their senior Worlds debut at the 1994 World Championships. In early 1997, Grushina and Goncharov began training with coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Newark, Delaware. They finished 15th at their first Olympics in 1998. They won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at 1999 Skate Canada International.
Grushina and Goncharov were 9th at the 2002 Olympics and 6th at the 2002 World Championships. In the summer of 2002, they changed coaches to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut. During the 2002–03 season, they won three gold medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2002 Skate America, 2002 Skate Canada International, and 2002 Trophée Lalique. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they finished fourth. They were also fourth at the 2003 European Championships and fifth at the 2003 World Championships.
During the 2003–04 season, Grushina and Goncharov won three silver medals on the Grand Prix series, at 2003 Skate America, 2003 Cup of China, and 2003 NHK Trophy. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final where they again finished fourth, but a couple months later they won their first European medal, bronze, at the 2004 European Championships. They were fourth at the 2004 World Championships.
During the 2004–05 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at one Grand Prix event, 2004 Cup of Russia, where they won the silver medal. Since they only competed at one event, they did not earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They won their second European medal, silver, at the 2005 European Championships. They capped off their season by winning their first World medal, bronze, at the 2005 World Championships.
During the 2005–06 season, Grushina and Goncharov competed at two Grand Prix events. They won silver at 2005 Skate Canada International and gold at 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard. They qualified for their third Grand Prix Final and came away with their first medal at the event, silver. They won their third European medal, silver, at the 2006 European Championships. At the 2006 Olympics, they were fifth in the compulsory dance but placed third in the original and free dances to capture their first Olympic medal. They retired after the Olympics.

## Personal life

Goncharov and Grushina were married in 1995 and divorced in 2008. Goncharov's brother, Artur, 15 years younger, also competed in ice dancing.

## Programs

(with Grushina)
| Season | Original dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2005–2006 | Samba, rhumba: Carneval of Batreada by Peter Prade | The Feeling Begins (from Passion) by Peter Gabriel | Adagio by Lara Fabian |
| 2004–2005 | Foxtrot, Charleston: Maybe Next Time by Liza Minnelli Quickstep: Life is a Cabaret | Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi | |
| 2003–2004 | Swing: Sing, Sing, Sing Blues: Summer produced by Robert Kraft | Hanging / Escape by Craig Armstrong | |
| 2002–2003 | The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Polka by Johann Strauss | Quixote by Magnus Fiennes performed by Bond | |
| 2001–2002 | Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla España cañí by Pascual Marquina | Barcelona by Montserrat Caballé, Freddie Mercury | |
| 2000–2001 | Foxtrot: I'm a Broadway Baby (from Fosse) Quickstep: Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima | Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard | |
| 1999–2000 | María by Ricky Martin Eres Todo En Mí by Ana Gabriel | Spente Le Stelle by Emma Shapplin | |
| 1998–1999 | Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian | Songs from the Victorious City by Anne Dudley, Jaz Coleman | |
| 1997–1998 | Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets | Unknown Ukrainian folk dances | |
| 1995–1996 | El Torro Rojo performed by C. Willems, Manuelo Montez Orchestra | Jiger performed by Glenn Miller, Max Gregor Orchestra | |

## Results

(with Grushina for Ukraine)
Results :
| International |||||||||||||||
| Event | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 |
| Olympics | | | | | | 15th | | | | 9th | | | | 3rd |
| Worlds | | 18th | 22nd | 19th | | 13th | 8th | 7th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | |
| Europeans | | | 14th | 13th | 13th | | 7th | 8th | 7th | 8th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Grand Prix Final | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 4th | | 2nd |
| GP Cup of China | | | | | | | | | | | | 2nd | | |
| GP Cup of Russia | | | | | 9th | | | | | 3rd | | | 2nd | |
| GP Lalique/Bompard | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | | | 1st |
| GP Nations/Sparkassen | | | | | 10th | | 4th | | | | | | | |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | | | | | | 4th | 4th | 5th | | 2nd | | |
| GP Skate America | | | | 8th | | | | | | | 1st | 2nd | | |
| GP Skate Canada | | | | | | | 4th | 2nd | 4th | | 1st | | | 2nd |
| Goodwill Games | | | 4th | | | | 3rd | | | | | | | |
| Karl Schäfer | 3rd | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebelhorn Trophy | | | 2nd | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Skate Israel | | | | 2nd | | | | | | | | | | |
| Universiade | | | | | | | | | 1st | | | | | |
| Centennial On Ice | | | | 9th | | | | | | | | | | |
| Polish FSA Trophy | | | | | 1st | | | | | | | | | |
| National |||||||||||||||
| Ukrainian Champ. | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | | | 1st | | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| GP = Became part of Champions Series in 1995–1996, renamed Grand Prix in 1998–1999. |||||||||||||||
(with Grushina for the Soviet Union)
| Event | 1991–1992 |
| World Junior Championships | 4th |