Eteri Tutberidze


Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze is a Russian figure skating coach who works mainly with single skaters. She is head coach at the Sambo 70 skating club in Moscow. She has coached several skaters to success in international competitions, including Olympic and World Champion Alina Zagitova, two-time World champion Evgenia Medvedeva, and team Olympic Champion Yulia Lipnitskaya.

Personal life

Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze was born 24 February 1974 in Moscow. The youngest of five children, she is half-Georgian, a quarter Russian, and a quarter Armenian. Her mother was a senior engineer at the Ministry of Agricultural Construction and her father worked at the Likhachev plant's foundry and as a taxi driver.
Tutberidze studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Malakhovka and received a degree in choreography from the Institute of Contemporary Art. During her six years in the United States, she lived in Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. Her daughter, Diana, was born on 16 January 2003 in Las Vegas.

Skating career

Tutberidze began skating at the age of four and a half, guided by Evgenia Zelikova and then Edouard Pliner. After sustaining a spinal fracture and growing 22 cm, she switched from singles to ice dancing. She was coached by Lidia Kabanova for two years and then joined Elena Tchaikovskaya, who paired her with Vyacheslav Chichekin. After briefly training under Natalia Linichuk, Tutberidze switched to Gennady Akkerman, her coach for the next three years. She skated with Alexei Kiliakov until he emigrated to the United States.
During the 1991–1992 season, Tutberidze trained under Tatiana Tarasova before deciding to perform in ice shows. Appearing as an adagio pair skater with Nikolai Apter, she toured with Ice Capades for several years.

Coaching

Tutberidze began coaching in San Antonio, Texas. After returning to Russia, she coached at several Moscow rinks, including a hockey rink Serebrianyi, where ice time was limited for figure skaters. She then moved to Sambo 70 in Moscow, where she collaborates with Sergei Dudakov and Daniil Gleichengauz.

Seniors

Other Former Students