Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin skated a strong free dance that seemed to ensure the title, but had drawn first in the final flight, and received a wide spread of marks from the judges.

[3] Usova wore a short, Empire-style beige dress and according to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, represented both a muse and inanimate object.

Kestnbaum also reported that they skated their program with "intense emotion" and created "an overall aura of Romanticism and uncanniness", using little runs and turns on their toepicks, knee slides, and "sensuous flowing and intertwining movements" that were enhanced by their billowing costumes.

[5] The next season, they were third at the 1994 European Championships in Copenhagen, behind Jayne Torvill / Christopher Dean and Oksana Grishuk / Evgeni Platov.

After the loss Usova & Zhulin withdrew from the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, where they had planned to end their amateur career and immediately went professional.

[citation needed] Usova and Zhulin were known for excelling technically and artistically and according to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, "leaned toward drama and passion".

Coach Tatiana Tarasova discussed the challenges of pairing Platov, in prime competitive shape, with Usova, a long-time smoker who was nearing retirement.

Their career started out with mixed results, with marks as low as 4.5 at the Canadian Open, but also an upset win at the World Professional Championships.

From 2002 to 2004, Usova was an assistant coach to Tatiana Tarasova and Platov, working with Galit Chait / Sergei Sakhnovsky and Shizuka Arakawa.

With Zhulin for the Soviet Union (URS), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Unified Team at the Olympics (EUN), and Russia (RUS): Media related to Maya Usova at Wikimedia Commons