Rodnina and Zaitsev win third straight Olympic pairs gold at Lake Placid

In February 1980, at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, Soviet skaters Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev won the pairs figure skating title. It was Rodnina's third consecutive Olympic gold, after victories in 1972 and 1976.

Rodnina had won her first Olympic title in 1972 with partner Alexei Ulanov. After their split she formed a new pair with Zaitsev, and the two won gold at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck. They also dominated world championships through the 1970s, and later became a married couple.

The 1980 victory cemented her reputation as one of the greatest pairs skaters in history. Pairs from East Germany and the USSR took the other medals. For decades the result served as a benchmark of Soviet sporting success, and it explains why Rodnina's later opinions on the sport, including the upbringing of skaters' children, still attract attention in Russia and beyond.