Eteri Tutberidze

Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze (Georgian: ეთერი გიორგის ასული თუთბერიძე; Russian: Этери Георгиевна Тутберидзе; born 24 February 1974) is a Russian figure skating coach who works mainly with female single skaters. She is head coach at the Sambo 70 skating club in Moscow. She has coached several Russian skaters to success in international competitions, including 2022 Olympic and 2021 World champion Anna Shcherbakova, 2022 Olympic silver medalist and two-time Junior World champion Alexandra Trusova, 2020 Junior World champion Kamila Valieva, 2020 European Champion Alena Kostornaia, 2018 Olympic and 2019 World champion Alina Zagitova, two-time World champion and 2018 Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva, and 2014 Olympic Team champion Yulia Lipnitskaya, as well as the Georgian skater and 2026 European champion Nika Egadze.

Early life

Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze was born 24 February 1974 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. Her father was Georgian, while her mother was of mixed Russian-Armenian heritage. She was the youngest of five children. 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. Growing up in Moscow, Tutberidze has stated that she was singled out in school for being a "Georgian girl" and had to work harder than others. Tutberidze studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Malakhovka and has received a degree in choreography from the Institute of Contemporary Art.

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.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tutberidze moved to the United States. There, she skated in ice shows for six years in the 1990s, including in Oklahoma at the time of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, for which she received compensation as a survivor. During her six years in the United States, she lived in Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.

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 (SDUSSHOR 37) in Moscow, where she collaborates with Sergei Dudakov and Daniil Gleikhengauz.