Andrey Minenkov

Andrey Minenkov and Irina Moiseyeva, known in North America as Minnie and Mo, began to skate together in 1967 and their first accomplishments came in 1972-73, when they won two consecutive bronzes at the Soviet Championships. They established themselves as a top international ice dancing pair in 1975, when they won a World title in the absence of Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov.

In 1976 Moiseyeva and Minenkov won silvers at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships, always behind Pakhomova and Gorshkov. But in 1977, after Pakhomova and Gorshkov had retired, Moiseyeva and Minenkov won both the World and European titles, also winning their only Soviet title in 1977. In 1978 they repeated their European title and had the following podium finishes at major tournaments: bronze at the 1980 Olympics, silvers at the 1978 and 1981 World Championships, bronzes at the 1979, 1980 and 1982 World Championships, silvers at the 1979 and 1981 European Championships and bronzes at the 1980 and 1982 European Championships.

After finishing his sporting career Minenkov studied at the Moscow State Institute of Radiotechnics, Electronics and Automation, graduating in 1989. In 1993 he founded a firm, Kholod, which now is the main distributor of Mars, Inc. products in the former Soviet states.