Vera Bazarova

Vera Yevgenyevna Bazarova (Ве́ра Евге́ньевна База́рова, born 28 January 1993) is a Russian pair skater.

Bazarova was born on 28 January 1993 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

She enrolled at Perm State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Physical Education.

She then studied tourism in Yekaterinburg; her father and sister work in tourism.

Bazarova began skating in 1997.

She trained in Yekaterinburg mostly as a singles skater until the age of 12.

At that time, coach Ludmila Kalinina invited her to Perm to train in pair skating.

In spring 2005, Kalinina paired Bazarova with Yuri Larionov.

Bazarova/Larionov took silver at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

In October, they won their first senior international medal when they claimed the bronze at 2007 Skate America.

In December of the same year, the pair won gold at the 2007 Junior Grand Prix Final.

However, in January 2008, they were disqualified and stripped of the medal due to a doping violation found in a blood sample Larionov gave before the Final.

Larionov was also suspended for two years, beginning on 18 January 2008.

His sentence was later reduced to 18 months and ended on 17 July 2009.

Bazarova decided to wait for Larionov: "There were offers from others, but I said right away that I'm not going to skate with someone else."

Bazarova/Larionov made their return to competition during the 2009–10 season.

Their first event was the 2009 Cup of Russia where they placed fourth and they won the bronze medal at Russian Nationals, earning them further assignments.

In January 2010, the pair finished 5th at the European Championships.

They were named Breakthrough of the Year (pair skating) at the 2010 Crystal Ice Awards held in October 2010 in Moscow.

Bazarova/Larionov began the 2010–11 season with a win at 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy in September.

Their first Grand Prix event was the 2010 NHK Trophy in October, where they won the silver medal.

At 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, they won another silver medal, in doing so setting new personal best scores in the short program (64.18) and long program (118.82).

Their results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final, their first at the senior level, where they finished fifth.

At the Russian Nationals they won their second bronze medal.

They trained in Perm at the Orlenok Ice Palace until 2011.

In February, they placed 11th at the Olympics and then completed their season with an 8th-place finish at the World Championships in March.

At the 2011 European Championships, they won the bronze medal after finishing third in both programs and setting personal best scores in the long program and combined total (188.24).

Although many skaters, including those based at other Russian training centers, criticized the freezing conditions at the arena, Bazarova said, "At home in our ice rink in Perm, it can also be very cold so we are kind of used to it."

At the 2011 World Championships, they finished 5th.

In June 2011, it was reported that Bazarova/Larionov would move along with their coach, Ludmila Kalinina, from Perm to Saransk.

Bazarova said they were comfortable in Saransk, also the host of the 2011 and 2012 Russian national championships.

The pair's first event of the 2011–2012 season was Nebelhorn Trophy, where they won silver.

They were 5th at 2011 Skate America, their first Grand Prix event of the season.

At 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard, they won the silver medal with a new personal best in the free program.

With former partner Yuri Larionov, she is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2012; bronze in 2011 and 2014), the 2007 World Junior silver medalist, and the 2012 Russian national champion.

They won six senior Grand Prix series medals outside the final, including gold at the 2012 NHK Trophy.

After their partnership ended, Bazarova competed with Andrei Deputat.

Bazarova/Larionov won their first national title at the 2012 Russian Championships.

At the 2012 European Championships, they set new personal bests in their short and long programs.

They scored a total of 193.79 points overall and won the silver medal.