Maxim Trankov

Maxim Leonidovich Trankov (Максим Леонидович Траньков; born 7 October 1983) is a Russian pair skater.

Trankov first stepped onto the ice in the fall of 1987 in Perm; his parents wanted him involved in a sport.

He left skating for a while but returned and joined the husband-and-wife coaches Valeri Tiukov and Valentina Tiukova.

Trankov was growing quite tall and a coach suggested he take up pair skating when he was 11.

He recalled, "I said no at first because I was afraid to grab the hand of a girl, but I tried it and then I liked it."

He first skated with Olesya Korchagina for two years, then Ksenia Vasilieva for two years, then Irina Bogomolova.

In the summer of 1999 at age 15, he was invited to Saint Petersburg to skate with Irina Ulanova, the daughter of Lyudmila Smirnova and Alexei Ulanov.

Trankov and fellow pair skater Alexander Smirnov lived at the rink, sleeping in the stands or in the coaches' room, and struggled for food but told their parents they were staying in a dormitory.

After about a year and a half, Trankov moved in with soldiers who had quarters under the tribune.

He was given one free cafeteria meal a day and someone would occasionally bring him food.

After three years, he was able to get his own apartment.

Ulanova/Trankov skated together for three years and were fifth at the Russian Junior Championships, but the partnership dissolved when he was 18 due to height and jumping issues.

An acquaintance suggested a partner in the United States but Trankov's visa application was declined.

He joined husband-and-wife coaches Ludmila Velikova and Nikolai Velikov shortly after in 2002.

He skated for one year with Natalia Shestakova; had he joined the group a few months earlier, the Velikovs would have paired him with Julia Obertas.

Maria Mukhortova / Pavel Lebedev were also in the same practice group; in 2002, Mukhortova declined to switch partners due to her good results with Lebedev but friction with him would lead her to accept Trankov's offer a year later.

Trankov teamed up with Mukhortova in 2003.

They were coached by Ludmila Velikova and Nikolai Velikov.

In their first season together, they won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final and at the World Junior Championships, both times placing behind Shestakova/Lebedev.

They also won the Russian junior title.

The following season, they won gold medals on the junior Grand Prix circuit and also debuted on the senior Grand Prix circuit at 2004 Cup of Russia where they finished 6th.

They went on to win the Junior Grand Prix Final and then the 2005 World Junior title.

During the 2005–06 season, Mukhortova/Trankov were given two senior Grand Prix assignments.

They placed seventh at Skate Canada and fourth at Cup of Russia.

Having taken the bronze medal at the senior Russian Nationals, the pair was sent to the 2006 World Championships following the withdrawal of Olympic champions Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin.

With former partner Maria Mukhortova, Trankov is the 2008 European silver medalist, the 2007 Russian national champion, and the 2005 World Junior champion.

Trankov and Volosozhar are the first figure skaters to win two gold medals at the same Olympics, having taken gold in pairs and in the inaugural team event.

Maxim Trankov was born in Perm.

His mother competed in running and 400 meter hurdles, while his father Leonid was involved in equestrian sports and taught him to ride a horse.

They finished 12th in their senior World debut.

Leonid Trankov died on 20 January 2013.

Trankov is a fan of Russian hip-hop and writes music himself.

He has an older brother, Alexei.

With Tatiana Volosozhar, he is a two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 World champion, a four-time (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) European champion, the 2012 Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time (2011, 2013, 2016) Russian national champion.

They have also won six events on the Grand Prix series.

In February 2015, it was publicly announced that he and his skating partner, Tatiana Volosozhar became engaged.

They got married on 18 August 2015.

They welcomed a daughter, Angelika, in February 2017.

On 27 January 2021, Volosozhar announced that they were expecting a son in late May/early June 2021.

They welcomed a son, Theodore, in May 2021.