Alexei Ulanov
He soared to Olympic gold with Irina Rodnina, forming one of pair skating's most formidable and explosive partnerships.
Born 1947 (age 79)·Soviet pair skater·Birthday: November 4·Baby Boomers
Biography
Alexei Ulanov's career was defined by power, precision, and a dramatic personal narrative on ice. Emerging from the Soviet sports system, he first found success with Lyudmila Smirnova, his wife at the time, capturing world silver medals. But it was his pairing with the intensely focused Irina Rodnina that catapulted him to the pinnacle of the sport. Together, they were virtually unbeatable, claiming four consecutive world titles from 1969 to 1972. Their victory at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics was a crowning moment, though their partnership was famously tense and dissolved soon after. Ulanov's skating was marked by formidable lifts and a commanding presence, helping to define the technical ambition of pairs skating in that era. His later marriage to Smirnova and their continued competitive career added a layer of human complexity to his athletic story.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Alexei was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alexei Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Alexei's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Olympic gold medal in pairs skating with Irina Rodnina at the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo.
- Secured four consecutive World Championship titles (1969–1972) in partnership with Irina Rodnina.
- Earned two World Championship silver medals (1973–1974) skating with his then-wife, Lyudmila Smirnova.
Did You Know?
He and his skating partner Irina Rodnina reportedly did not speak to each other for a year during their partnership.
He married his former skating partner Lyudmila Smirnova after his partnership with Rodnina ended.
His 1972 Olympic gold medal was the first of three consecutive Olympic golds won by Irina Rodnina with two different partners.
“The ice is not a surface; it is a partner in the creation of something powerful.”
