Vladimir Morozov (figure skater)

Personal life

Vladimir Evgenyevich Morozov was born on 1 November 1992 in Potsdam, Germany. He is studying psychology at the Moscow State University for the Humanities.

Early career

Advised by his singles coach to try pairs due to his height and build, Morozov joined Nina Mozer's group in 2007. He skated three seasons with his first partner, Irina Moiseeva. They won three medals at Warsaw Cup — novice gold in 2007 and 2008 and junior silver in 2009 — and junior gold at the 2009 NRW Trophy. They split at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Morozov competed the next two seasons with Ekaterina Krutskikh. Their coach was Stanislav Morozov. In the 2011–12 season, they debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing 6th and 8th at JGP events in Latvia and Estonia. Krutskikh/Morozov withdrew from the 2012 Russian Junior Championships following the short program and parted ways at the end of the season.

Partnership with Tarasova

At the suggestion of Nina Mozer, Morozov teamed up with Evgenia Tarasova in spring 2012. The pair's main coach was Stanislav Morozov. Vladimir Morozov broke his foot one week into the new partnership and was out for three months.

2012–13 season

The pair's international debut came at a Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia, where they finished 5th. They withdrew from their next assignment in Germany.

Tarasova/Morozov won their first senior international title at the 2012 Warsaw Cup. At the Russian Championships, they placed fifth on the senior level and then won the silver medal on the junior level. The pair finished fifth at the 2013 Junior World Championships.

2013–14 season

Tarasova/Morozov won silver in Latvia and bronze in Estonia on the JGP series. They qualified for the JGP Final in Fukuoka, Japan, where they finished fourth in both segments and overall. The pair won the silver medal at the 2013 Winter Universiade behind teammates Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov. At the 2014 Russian Championships, Tarasova/Morozov finished eighth after placing third in the short program and tenth in the free skate. He fell on both of their jumping passes and she was hurt when a lift collapsed near the end of their free program but was able to resume and complete the final element, a pair spin. Tarasova was taken to the hospital and found to have no serious injury. After winning the national junior title a month later, the pair was assigned to the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. They won the silver medal after placing second in both segments and finishing 5.57 points behind China's Yu Xiaoyu / Jin Yang.

2014–15 season

After parting ways with Stanislav Morozov in the off-season, Tarasova/Morozov turned to Andrei Hekalo, who had worked with them in the past, and Robin Szolkowy, who joined them in September 2014. The pair began the 2014–15 season by taking silver at a Challenger Series event, the 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy. They were assigned to two Grand Prix events, the 2014 Skate Canada International and 2014 Rostelecom Cup. Earning bronze and silver, respectively, the pair finished seventh in the Grand Prix standings, leaving them as first alternates to the Grand Prix Final.

Tarasova/Morozov won silver at the 2015 Russian Championships, ahead of Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov. They were awarded the bronze medal at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, before placing 6th at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China.

2015–16 season

Tarasova/Morozov began their season with bronze at a Challenger Series event, the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy. Competing in the Grand Prix series, the pair won silver at the 2015 Skate Canada International and placed 7th in the short program at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard, before the event's cancellation due to the November 2015 Paris attacks. The short program standings were accepted as the final result.

In December, Tarasova/Morozov finished second in the CS standings after winning gold at the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and then took the bronze medal at the Russian Championships after placing third in both segments. In January 2016, they won their second continental bronze medals, at the European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. At the 2016 World Championships in Boston, they placed 6th in the short, 5th in the free, and 5th overall.

2016–17 season

Opening their season on the Challenger Series, Tarasova/Morozov took gold at the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial after placing first in both segments. During the free skate, they performed their first quadruple twist in competition. On the Grand Prix series, they won the bronze medal at the 2016 Skate America, having placed first in the short and fifth in the free, and then silver at the 2016 Trophée de France, having placed second in the short and third in the free. They qualified as the fifth pair to the Grand Prix Final, held in December in Marseille, France. Ranked first in both segments, they were awarded gold ahead of China's Yu Xiaoyu / Zhang Hao.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

With Tarasova