READER QUESTION

A reader wrote with a question about Ludmila Smirnova, the woman whom Ulanov left Irina Rodnina for:

Hi,

My friend has a professor in grad school in education with that name who is in her late fifties and is Russian. Could this woman be the figure skater?

Ludmila Smirnova the skater was born July 21, 1949, which would put her at almost 59 years old now.

However, there is a Dr. Ludmila Smirnova who teaches in the Education Department at Mount Saint Mary College, who I believe is not the same person.

This Dr. Smirnova writes:

I am an educator with more than 30 years of experience with a global perspective on learning and teaching. I was a Professor, Dean of School of Foreign Languages at Volgograd State Pedagogical University (Russia) for more than 20 years... In Russia, I started as a school teacher and administrator (Vice-principal, responsible for Extra-curricular programs), then I was a University professor, a Ph.D student, Dean of school of Foreign languages, Supervisor of Master's and Ph.D programs.

Ludmila Smirnova the skater was still competing in 1974 (she and Ulanov finished 2nd at Worlds and 3rd at Europeans that year, behind, naturally, Irina Rodnina and her new husband/partner), so it's unlikely she was also getting a PhD at the same time.

Furthermore, in 2007, Ludmila Smirnova was listed as the former coach of the Russian pair Shestakova and Lebedev.

Interestingly enough, a Ludmila Smirnova is listed as co-author of an article entitled Pressure Measurements on Amputee's Residuum in Classification for Standing Ice Hockey in the publication The Bulletin of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education.

Could this be the champion skater -- or a third Ludmila Smirnova all together?

For more on Rodnina/Ulanov/Smirnova, click here!

Thanks for writing!