The message reads, in part:
“Being a top level professional, an energetic, dedicated person, you have made outstanding achievements as a coach and mentor, you have raised a constellation of talented athletes, Olympic champions and champions of other prestigious competitions. With your creative, eagerly sought work you have made a great contribution to the development of the victorious traditions of Russian figure skating, and to promoting this beautiful, spectacular sport.”
Figure skater and coach Yelena Chaikovskaya was born on December 30, 1939. She is a Merited Coach of the USSR (1970), Merited Person of Art of Russia (1994), USSR Champion (1957), coach of the USSR and Russian national teams. Among her students are the first Olympic ice dancing champions Lyudmila Pakhomova, Alexander Gorshkov and many other prominent figure skaters.