Tatiana "Tanya" Navka was born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine on April 13, 1975.
Aleksandr "Sasha" Zhulin was born on July 20, 1963 in Moscow, Russia.
Alexsandr and Tatiana were married c.2000.
They have one daughter, Daughter Alexandra (Sasha), born on May 2, 2000.
Tatiana and Aleksandr live in Montclair - Park Ridge region of New Jersey.
Tatiana was a skater in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 Olympics. She has thoughts of being a model.
Aleksandr was in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics skating with Maya (Maia) Usova, his former wife. He retired in 1999 and is working as a coach and choreographer for skaters.
Tatiana's skating partner, Roman Kostomarov married skater Julia Lautowa on June 4, 2004.
Tatiana enjoys traveling to Europe, Mexico, and Italy, attending shows in New York City, music, cooking, movies, horses, and skiing.
Aleksandr is teaching her how to play golf. He also enjoys soccer and music.
Aleksandr was married previously.
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Maya Usova: Maya was born on May 22, 1964 in Gorki, Russia. Maya and Aleksandr were married early in their skating career and skated together for 18 years. After Alexansandr's affair in 1992 with Pasha Grishuk, Maya and Aleksandr legally separated in 1995. They continued to skate together until their marriage ended in July, 1998. Maya is a skating coach.
Tatiana, about their daughter: "It's not easy to skate and have a family but I'm strong. Women can do everything if they really want to. Psychologically it is hard. Sometimes the child helps me. If I have a bad practice and come home upset when I see her face it gives me energy and a focus away from skating."
Source: Ice Dance
Tatiana, about her relationship with Zhulin: "Love fell on us from G-d knows where. I was just a girl, while Sasha had a rich life experience. We both realized we didn’t need this affair, that we had to stop it… Neither I, nor Sasha, nor anyone else around us believed that it would come to a wedding. But I guess nothing could have slowed down that torrent. Now that we have a family and a daughter, I don’t think that 12 years is such a big difference."
Source: Golden Skate Forums
Robin Kostomarov, about being coached by Zhulin: "Kostomarov has said that in the past it was awkward being coached by his partner's husband, though Navka points out that often when she argues with Kostomarov, Zhulin takes his side over hers."
Source: NBC Olympics
Aleksandr, about his former wife, Maya Usova: "We skated together 18 years. I just say, thank you, Maya, for many, many years of skating together. I'm famous now. I'm one of the best skaters in the world. I'm thankful for her, and I just want to say, I'm sorry for the past. I wish them good luck."
Source: Amy Shipley, "The Washington Post", Dec. 11, 1998, pg. C.03
