Georgi "Gorsha" Sur was born on January 1,1967 and is a former ice dancer who represented the United States and the Soviet Union.
13 Facts About Gorsha Sur
1.
2.
Early in his career, Sur competed in partnership with Svetlana Liapina.
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In January 1990, Gorsha Sur was taking part in a month-long Russian All-Stars skating tour in the US, headlined by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, when he defected to the US, on January 24,1990.
4.
Gorsha Sur was joined by Elena Krikanova, Igor Shpilband, Veronica Pershina and a tour official.
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Gorsha Sur has a classically elegant and dramatic flair, more like a ballerina than a ballroom dancer.
6.
Roca and Gorsha Sur hoped to win the United States' single berth to the ice dancing event at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
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Roca and Gorsha Sur returned to competition the following season and defeated Punsalan and Swallow at the 1995 US Championships to reclaim their national crown.
8.
Roca and Gorsha Sur retired from eligible competition at the end of the season.
9.
In 1997, Roca and Gorsha Sur won the Word Professional Figure Skating Championship and went on to tour with Stars on Ice from 1997 until 2002.
10.
On February 24,2002, Roca and Gorsha Sur performed at the Closing Ceremony of the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, skating to "The Prayer" choreographed by Christopher Dean and sang live by Charlotte Church and Josh Groban as the Olympic cauldron was extinguished.
11.
Gorsha Sur has been credited as being the indirect cause of the Rent-A-Russian phenomenon in American skating, although he had moved to the United States with no intention of ever competing again.
12.
Concurrently with his skating career, Gorsha Sur worked as a coach and choreographer at the Broadmoor Word Arena and later at the Oakland Ice Center.
13.
In 2003, Gorsha Sur was accepted to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law which he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 2006.