Their main rivals included fellow Soviets Irina Rodnina / Alexander Zaitsev, whom they never defeated, Irina Vorobieva / Igor Lisovsky, Marina Pestova / Stanislav Leonovich, and Veronika Pershina / Marat Akbarov.

[5] According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, their twist lift was possible due to their "enormous differences in their height and weight",[3] leading the International Skating Union to adopt a rule that penalized pairs teams with a "serious imbalance" in their physical appearances.

[6][2][3][1] At the age of 15 years, 93 days, Cherkasova was one of the youngest figure skating Olympic medalists.

Shakhrai's problems lifting his now 45 kg (99 lb) partner eventually resulted in them splitting up.

[1] Cherkasova and Shakhrai skated together for another year, but "were less successful than they had been",[1] and the Soviet federation eased them out of competition.