Lyudmila Belousova, who with her husband began the Soviet Union’s Olympic pairs dominance, died at age 81, according to Russian media.
“It is a big loss, for me especially, as I spent nearly half of my life in a common changing room with her and [pairs partner and husband] Oleg [Protopopov],” Russian coach Alexei Mishin said Friday, according to TASS news agency. “They dedicated their entire lives to their profession, the cause they have been serving — figure skating.”
Belousova and Protopopov, who is now 85, won Olympic pairs titles in 1964 and 1968, the first two of 12 straight gold medals for Soviet or Russian pairs.