Early years Pestova began skating in 1968 at the Spartak Skating Club in Sverdlovsk (now
Yekaterinburg) with coach
Igor Ksenofontov. She moved to Moscow in 1976 to train with
Stanislav Zhuk. In the 1976–77 season, she competed in partnership with Mikhail Vazhenin.
Partnership with Leonovich Pestova teamed up with
Stanislav Leonovich in 1977. In the 1977–78 season, they won silver at the Soviet Championships and were granted their European and World Championship debuts, placing 7th at both competitions. They began the next season by winning gold at the
Prize of Moscow News. They placed fourth at Europeans and 5th at Worlds in 1979. In the 1979–80 season, Pestova/Leonovich won their first national title and went on to win bronze at the
1980 European Championships. The pair was sent to the
1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and finished fourth. They were bronze medalists at their final event of the season, the
1980 World Championships. The following season, Pestova/Leonovich placed fourth at the Soviet Championships and did not receive any assignments. They rebounded in 1981–82, taking their second national title and then winning silver at both the
1982 European Championships and
1982 World Championships. In their final competitive season, Pestova/Leonovich won their third national title and placed sixth at the
1983 World Championships.
Post-competitive After retiring from competition, Pestova performed with the Russian All Stars under the direction of
Tatiana Tarasova. She now coaches at the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in
Wheaton, Maryland. == Competitive highlights ==