Famous Russian figure skater. Olympic victories of Russian figure skaters (photo)

In the last century, when our state was still called the Soviet Union, the whole world knew the names of the skaters - our compatriots. Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova, Irina Rodnina, Andrey Bukin and Natalya Bestemyanova, Alexander Gorshkov and Lyudmila Pakhomova - these athletes had world fame. Today, Russian figure skaters, of course, although they are not considered the best on the planet, show decent results, their performances continue the traditions of Russian ice skating. The most famous, best skaters of Russia are presented in today's article.

History of figure skating

First, a little about the history of figure skating. Skates first appeared in Holland in the 14th century; this country is considered the birthplace of this sport. Ice skating was constantly improving, skates were changing their shape. The main indicator of skill was the ability to draw various figures with runners and at the same time maintain balance in beautiful poses. In England, back in 1772, a “Treatise on Ice Skating” was published; since then, this country has been assigned the authorship of all the main figures of ice skating. Sports historians consider Jason Gainz to be the founder of modern figure skating. This American played a leading role in the development of the sport around the world, including in Russia.

Even under Peter I, figure skating became popular in the Russian Empire. The emperor himself brought skates from Europe. It was Peter I who came up with the idea to attach skates directly to shoes; in fact, this became the prototype of modern skates. All Russian figure skaters know that in 1838 the first Russian manual for figure skaters was published; it was compiled by Pauli. The first skating rink was opened in Yusupov Garden in 1865. This is where the skaters began to practice professionally. In 1878, the best figure skaters in Russia took part in the competition.

Figure skating is actively developing in Russia, one generation of champions is being replaced by another. Today our country has something to be proud of. We present the best modern representatives of this sport.

Alexey Urmanov

Russian male singles skaters have always been considered a strong link in our country. One of these skaters is Alexey Urmanov. The skater’s homeland is Leningrad, where he was born in 1973. From an early age, his mother took him to the skating rink, where he began to learn the basics of figure skating. Alexey's first world championship took place in 1990, here in the junior competition he received a silver medal.

Since 1991, Urmanov has been a member of the Russian national team, in which he won bronze at the national championship. Participation in competitions in Albertville did not bring results, the guy began to train even harder to achieve the highest skill. Alexey devoted himself completely to training, and this often led to injuries. Anyone could envy the athlete's willpower. Thanks to perseverance, he became the European champion in 1997.

It was thanks to Alexei Urmanov that many fans became ardent fans of figure skating. His artistry touches many. Alexey always turns ice skating into a small performance, where in a few minutes the audience manages to experience a lot of touching impressions.

Ilya Kulik

Ilya Kulik is a native of the capital, born in 1977. At the age of five he began studying in coach Gromov’s group. Later, Viktor Kudryavtsev became his mentor, who trained many champions.

Ilya Kulik lived up to the expectations of his coach and already in 1990 he won a competition in Norway, where the most talented skaters competed. The Russian Junior Championship in 1994 brings victory to Kulik, and he also deserves silver in the adult championship. This opened the door for him to join the national team.

In 1995, Ilya Kulik took part in the European Championship for the first time, unexpectedly snatching victory from Urmanov. In the new season (1995-96), Ilya begins to study with Tatyana Tarasova. An experienced choreographer makes numerous adjustments to his performances, adding complex elements, including the famous triple axel, performed twice in a row. However, unable to cope with his excitement, Ilya fails the European Championship. But at the world championship the skater manages to win silver. Kulik begins to prepare for the Olympic Games. Intensive training next season under the leadership of Tarasova gives the expected result - Olympic gold. After this triumph, Ilya moves on to professional sports and continues to delight his fans.

Alexey Yagudin

Alexey Yagudin was born in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) in 1980. He began skating at the age of four with coach Alexander Mayorov, and Alexander was under his wing until he was 12 years old. Already at the age of 13, the boy began to take pride of place in competitions. In 1996 he won the World Championship. In 1997, Alexey conquered the European Championship. At the Olympic Games in Nagano, with the participation of Russian figure skaters (men), Yagudin managed to take 5th place. Since 1998, he began training with the famous Tatyana Tarasova. He trained in the USA, participated in many tournaments, from where he returned as a winner.

The championship, held in Vancouver, turned out to be unsuccessful for the skater. He was injured and barely managed to make it to 5th place. The fight for the champion title has not stopped. After treatment, Alexey returns to training again. His skill reached second place after Evgeni Plushenko. The next world championship brought him gold.

The Olympics in Salt Lake City brought triumph. Yagudin performed brilliantly, the judges' scores were the highest and he won. In 2002, health problems began again, and in 2007, during performances in Germany, due to an injury, the skater was forced to interrupt the performance.

After treatment in the USA, the athlete returned. He began to be active in show business. He performed in an ice show, starred in a TV series, and judged a KVN game.

Maxim Kovtun

The young but already famous Maxim Kovtun was born in 1995 in Yekaterinburg. With the mentorship of Buyanova and Tarasova, the athlete won the highest award, the Grand Prix for Emerging Talents. He has the title of Master of Sports, Champion of Russia.

Maxim’s family is athletic, and from the age of 4, his father began taking him with him to sports school. The older Kovtun brothers are also active figure skaters and participate in a variety of ice shows.

The boy's first coach was Voitsekhovskaya. In the famous competitions where young Russian figure skaters participate, Maxim managed to win the Crystal Skate. Already at the age of 15, the skater performed an axel in three turns. At the Olympic level among juniors, he wins silver.

In 2012, under the mentorship of Tarasova and Vodorezova, Maxim took fifth place in the national championship. At international skating in Zagreb, where he was sent, he also skated fifth place.

A program was developed especially for Maxim, in which he does five jumps with four rotations.

Evgeni Plushenko

Singles skater (Russia) Evgeni Plushenko was born in the Khabarovsk Territory in 1982. As a child, he and his parents moved to Volgograd, where he began figure skating. For further training, the boy has to move to St. Petersburg. There he hones his skills at a sports school. In 2005, Evgeniy graduated from Lesgaft University of Physical Education.

The first sports victory was in the 1996-97 season. At the World Junior Championships, Evgeniy became the winner. Then he took third place at the World Championships, second at the European Championships. He became the world champion in 2001 and repeated his results in 2003 and 2004. Plushenko won the European Championship five times. He has more than a dozen gold medals in his sports collection.

In 2008, Evgeniy and Dima Bilan performed at Eurovision, winning again. Evgeni Plushenko leads an active social life.

Roman Kostamarov and Tatyana Navka

Famous Russian figure skaters Roman Kostamarov and Tatyana Navka are considered one of the most beautiful and artistic couples at our skating rink. Roman and Tatyana were invited to perform by coach Linichuk. At that time, the athletes were in Delaware. For some time, their duet broke up, Roman performed with the figure skater Semenovich. But as soon as Navka returned to the ice after the birth of her daughter in 2000, the couple reunited again and began to show very impressive results. In 2004 in Germany they became world champions. Then they became Olympic champions, became Russian champions three times, and European champions the same number of times. The result is three-time world champions. Athletes actively take part in show business and become participants in ice shows. Roman appears in films and television projects.

Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya

Famous Russian figure skaters Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya did not immediately start skating together. Until 1996, Elena performed with Shlyakhov. After receiving a severe head injury, Berezhnaya was literally on the verge of death. She recovered with difficulty and went back onto the ice, learning to skate again. Anton became her new partner, who supported her in everything. Together they managed to achieve incredible success. Their coach was Moskvina. Soon the couple achieved significant success at competitions in Paris. Further victories rained down on the athletes: prizes at the Olympic Games in 1998, then in 2002. They won the Russian championships for four years in a row from 1999 to 2002.

In 2006, Sikharulidze decides to leave sports and go into business. As an amateur, he still goes on the ice. He took part in television shows. Anton Sikharulidze headed the Committee on Physical Education and Sports for several years.

Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva

Famous Russian figure skaters Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva not only had a joint sports career. Lived in America. This couple was married and had a son, Martin. Unfortunately, after returning to Russia, the sports couple also broke up. But figure skaters managed to leave a significant mark on the history of big sport. During the period from 1993 to 2002, the star couple became national champions four times and winners of the World and European Championships. They won silver at the 2002 Olympics.

Sports injuries made themselves felt, and skating gradually faded away. Returning from America, Ilya created the Ice Symphony company. He became the organizer of famous ice shows and television projects that were so loved by viewers. He achieved great results in the production field.

Irina Slutskaya

Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya was born in 1979 in Moscow. From the age of four she began training at the Moskvich sports club. At the age of six, coach Gromova began working with her. Already in 1993, Irina won the junior category at the Russian Championships and became a bronze medalist at the World Championships. In Sofia in 1996 she received the European champion title.

In 1998, Irina became a participant in the Nagano Olympics and came in fifth place. In 1999, Ira married Sergei Mikheev, at the same time her sports career was going up. Slutskaya takes prizes in all competitions and performs brilliantly in Salt Lake City.

For some time, Irina Slutskaya leaves the sport due to injuries, but soon returns and regains her position as a leader. The ultimate goal is the Olympics. Russian figure skaters perform at the games in Turin in 2006, here Slutskaya wins bronze. This victory cost the athlete a lot of effort. With this, she ended her sports career.

Alexey Tikhonov

Alexey was born in Samara in 1971. The skater's first coach was Vera Birbraer. According to her instructions, at the age of 16, Alexey went to Sverdlovsk, where he trained with Rennik for a year. After this, Tikhonov arrived in the capital and became Zakharov’s student. Next in the biography is life in Japan. Upon returning to his homeland, Alexey began to participate in an ice show under the leadership of Tarasova.

The first victory in 1989 was a bronze medal at the World Championships paired with Irina Sayfutdinova. In 1998, he began performing in tandem with Petrova, a year later they became European champions, and confirmed the title in 2000. At the Russian Championship for four years (from 1999 to 2005) he was a silver medalist. The main victory was the gold medal at the World Championships in 2000. He repeatedly became a silver and bronze medalist at championships and Grand Prix. In 2007, the couple announced their retirement.

However, if you look at the state of affairs through the eyes of a 15-year-old figure skater, it is impossible to draw any other conclusions. Indeed, already in 2009, when Zagitova was 7 years old and she was training in Izhevsk, the first two places at the adult national championship were taken by 12-year-old Adelina Sotnikova and 13-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. Then they were joined by Polina Shelepen, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Elena Radionova and Anna Pogorilaya. And at her debut Russian Junior Championships in February 2016, Alina became only ninth. It was last season that Zagitova managed to move into the championship reality, and this season she managed to get used to it at the adult level.

But back in 2006, everything looked incredibly pessimistic. The Olympic Games in Turin, golden for all our skaters, turned out to be bronze-bitter for long-time leader Irina Slutskaya: the Olympic dream never came true, and in November Irina announced her retirement. It seemed that the victorious page in the history of Russian women's singles skating had ended. And indeed, the story of the reign of the Italian Caroline Costner in Europe began, as well as the confrontation between the Korean Yuna Kim and the Japanese Mao Asada at the world championships.

We had to wait 7 whole years for European championship medals, when Adelina Sotnikova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva made their debut at the adult level. The young stars, the hopes of the Sochi Olympics, won silver and bronze - beating Kostner was not so easy. “That grandiose leap in Russian women’s figure skating that we are now seeing happened, it seems to me, primarily thanks to Adeline and Lisa. When they cross paths at tournaments, they begin to “spur” each other so excitedly that it’s a pleasure to watch “, said Sotnikova’s coach Elena Buyanova in December 2010 after her student’s victorious junior Grand Prix final.

GIRLS ARE STRONGER IN CHARACTER

And in parallel, another victorious vector began to appear - the first two places in the junior Grand Prix finals 2011/12 were won by students of Eteri Tutberidze - Yulia Lipnitskaya and Polina Shelepen. Although, as the group’s choreographer Alexey Zheleznyakov says, it all started even earlier: “I joined Eteri Georgievna’s team exactly 10 years ago, when she just started working at the Belyaevo skating rink. Then she had a group of 15 people, and there were boys and girls equally, among them are Yulia Lipnitskaya, Zhenya Medvedeva, Adyan Pitkeev, Maurice Kvitelashvili and Polina Shelepen. Now everyone really wants to go to Tutberidze. If we talk about the ice shows that then began to be shown on TV, then, of course, the children drew from them. something for themselves and filled their inner world, realizing that before them was not just a sports program, but a whole performance with a plot.”

“In general, boys lack character; they grow up in warmer conditions than our generation,” continues Zheleznyakov. “We made something, fought, both just like that and for the girls. Parents worked from morning to evening, they were not up to us, and this really strengthened my character. Based on the results of 10 years of working in Tutberidze’s group, I came to the conclusion: girls are now stronger in character, and Eteri herself is a person with a very strong inner core, and this is transmitted to the athletes. moment Shelepen was the leader of our group, everyone followed her. That’s where it all came together: Eteri’s core, plus a fanatical approach to work: no missed training, holidays, rest, just plowing!”

At the same time, Zheleznyakov notes that the concentration of almost all talents in one specialist is in some way a pattern: “Today’s Russian single skating is very similar to rhythmic gymnastics, in which there is Irina Viner-Usmanova. Eteri has also taken a leading position. At the same time, the most talented children from other schools will strive to join the group with the highest results. But I don’t think that other coaches and their students will give up because of this: there will still be a desire to reach the same heights as Zhenya Medvedeva.”

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SOCHI

The flourishing of Russian women's singles skating is not only the work of Tutberidze's team. Elena Radionova, a student of Inna Goncharenko, who has now moved to Elena Buyanova, became a two-time world champion among juniors and a bronze medalist at the World Championships. Pyeongchang Olympics participant Maria Sotskova, who also trains with Buyanova, was trained and led to high results by Svetlana Panova. 10-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was noticed at regional competitions and raised to become a world and European champion by Alexei Mishin. Anna Pogorilaya, who competed at four world championships and became a bronze medalist there, as well as a multiple medalist at the European championships - Anna Tsareva. All of these are specialists with sometimes diametrical views on the training process. Maybe this is all the magic of preparing for the home Olympic Games in Sochi?

“To think like that is a big mistake,” says Alexei Mishin. The coach is generally inclined to assess what is happening in a philosophical manner: “All phenomena in nature are oscillatory, and at different historical stages their circumstances arise. Previously, there was a group in which Yagudin, Plushenko, Urmanov, Tataurov trained, they could defeat the entire men's team of the world. And now the Eteri Tutberidze team can just as well defeat the entire women’s team of the world. There are objective and subjective points here. Firstly, there is a whole scattering of talents, take the same Alena Kostornaya and Sasha Trusova. And secondly, the talents are currently based on creative potential. coach. After one of Liza Tuktamysheva’s victories, one of our specialists told me: “This is a new word in world figure skating!”

However, any extreme competition is not only an increase in the general level, the excitement of the fight and an incredibly exciting spectacle. These are also those who at some stage could not stand it and found themselves outside the distribution of medals. One may get the impression that a new technically stronger generation will easily sweep away the current leaders in the near future, including two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, but this is far from a fact.

DON'T TURN ATTENTION TO 12 YEAR OLDERS

“If no force majeure occurs, I think that Medvedeva’s character and performance will allow her to skate even after 18 years old, young people will not trample her,” says Alexey Zheleznyakov. “Take the same Carolina Costner, Mao Asada and Javier Fernandez. Yes, now there are girls "They're doing quadruple jumps. Perhaps soon many people will have quadruple jumps and triple axels in their programs. The main thing is not to go overboard so that girls don't start dropping out due to injuries."

Could it happen that due to incredible competition, some of our girls will simply stop fighting, which will eventually lead to regression? Mishin believes that if this happens, it will not happen soon: “At the same time, did anyone after Sochi expect that we would not be the absolute hegemon in pair skating? And the fact that at the post-Olympic World Championships the Ilinykh/Katsalapov pair will not be included in three? - says the specialist. - And after the triumphant season with Tuktamysheva, I didn’t even doubt that we would insert a solo triple axel and a cascade into the free program. And then a month later she came to the skating rink, and we could hardly do a triple ritteberger. Salchow".

“I have seen more than once situations when an athlete could grow up over a period of time, and then a completely different figure skater came to the competition,” continues Mishin. “But when there is a certain supply of talent, then such cataclysms are not terrible. Only 15 will win -year-old girls? Our Figure Skating Federation has a very sound approach, plus the sports principle applies. At one time, its violation, in fact, led to Maxim Kovtun’s collapse, when in 2013 he was thrown to a level that he was still very poor at. It’s important not to shift all attention to 12-13-year-old girls, but to save such figure skaters as Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva for the national team.”

People in Russia have always loved ice skating. In the 19th century, a skater who had no equal appeared on the St. Petersburg ice - Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin. The loudest was his victory at the IV Olympic Games in London in 1908. At the beginning of the 20th century, only the Summer Olympic Games were held, but figure skating was included in the program of the London Olympics for the first time. The figures proposed by Panin - Kolomenkin amazed everyone with their complexity, and the judges watched with particular passion for the correctness of their execution. But there was nothing to complain about - the Russian skater brilliantly completed the stated program. The judges unanimously awarded Panin-Kolomenkin first place. This was the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Russian sports. It is noteworthy that the athlete himself was already 36 years old at that time.

The first Olympic champions in pair skating were those who won gold medals in 1964 and 1968. They were the ones who came up with and were the first to perform many of the elements that were later included in the mandatory competition program for figure skaters around the world. Their performances made an impression the world of figure skating had never known at that time.

By the way, the “golden” couple had their “golden” wedding in 2007. After leaving big sport, Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov They didn’t give up figure skating, they worked at the Leningrad Ice Ballet. In 1995 they received Swiss citizenship.

In 1972, the Olympic champions in pair skating were Irina Rodnina And Alexey Ulanov. However, the day before the 1972 World Championships, during training, Irina fell from the support and was hospitalized with a concussion and intracranial hematoma. The couple skated the short program cleanly, receiving scores up to 6.0; in the free program, Irina felt ill and completed the program in a semi-fainting state. After the World Cup the couple broke up.

Soon Stanislav Zhuk Rodnina picked another partner - Alexandra Zaitseva. For the first time Irina Rodnina performed together with Alexander Zaitsev at the 1973 World Championships, where for several minutes they had to skate without musical accompaniment, but they did not interrupt their program and finished it to the applause of the audience.

Since 1974, the couple trained with Tatiana Tarasova. From 1973 to 1978 Rodnina And Zaitsev constantly took first places at the European and World Championships. In 1976 and 1980, the Rodnina/Zaitsev couple won Olympic gold. In 1981, Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev switched to professional sports. We performed on tour and coached.

In 1976, a pair of figure skaters won gold at the Olympic Games. Alexander Gorshkov / Lyudmila Pakhomova. Together they became six-time world champions. The coach of the "golden couple" was Elena Anatolyevna Tchaikovskaya and remained the coach of this couple until their retirement from amateur sports. Pakhomova and Gorshkov changed the style of ice dancing. Before them, strict, academic dances dominated mainly to classical melodies. They also brought lively, emotional folk dance to figure skating: “The Nightingale”, “Along the Piterskaya Street”, “Mischievous ditties”, “Kumparsita”.

Olympic champions Natalya Linichuk And Gennady Karponosov won gold in 1980. Linichuk and Karponosov trained with Elena Tchaikovskaya and played for the Dynamo Moscow club. Already in 1981, they both finished their sports careers and became successful ice dancing coaches. In their coaching duo, Gennady is responsible for the compulsory dances, and Natalya is responsible for the original dance and free program. In the 90s they left to train in the USA.

At the 1984 Winter Olympics they won the pairs figure skating competition. Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev. Valova and Vasiliev became the first sports couple to perform a triple parallel jump. The couple was married from 1984 to 1992.

Figure skater Sergey Grinkov with his partner Ekaterina Gordeeva managed to win two Olympic golds. Under the guidance of a trainer Stanislav Zhuk the couple won the title of world champions for the first time in 1986. At that time, young Katya was only 14 years old - then a record age in the entire history of world figure skating championships. Grinkov and Gordeeva approached the 1988 Olympic Games as the main favorites. In 1988, Sergei was 21 years old, Katya had just turned 17. The free dance, which went down in the history of figure skating as a real masterpiece, was performed to the “Mendelssohn March”. As it turned out, for a reason. On April 20, 1991, their wedding took place.

A year later, the couple had a daughter, Daria. At this time, they performed a lot at foreign tournaments and took part in a large number of commercial projects. In 1994 Gordeeva And Grinkov win gold again at the Olympic Games. Exactly one year after the victory, on November 20, 1995, Sergei Grinkov suffered a massive heart attack during training in Lake Placid and died right on the ice during training. In 1996, Ekaterina Gordeeva returned to the ice. Her first performance was dedicated to her late husband.

Skaters Oksana Grischuk And Evgeniy Platov won Olympic gold in 1994 and 1998. The Nagano Olympics made Grischuk and Platov record holders - they were the first in the world to become two-time Olympic champions in ice dancing (despite the fact that Grischuk had broken her wrist shortly before).

In the summer of 1998, a couple Oksana Grischuk / Evgeny Platov fell apart. Grischuk received an invitation to work together from Alexandra Zhulina. The collaboration continued throughout the year. Left alone again, Oksana performed solo. Evgeniy paired up with Maya Usova.

In 1988, Olympic gold was won in pairs figure skating. Natalya Bestemyanova And Andrey Bukin. Charismatic and for their time, even eccentric, the pair of skaters was remembered by the audience for their performances to the music of the operas “Carmen” by Bizet and “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninov. They also loved their numbers to music from the films of Charlie Chaplin and Bob Fosse’s “Cabaret,” their “Kumparsita” and the “Blue Danube” waltz.

Russian singles skater Alexey Urmanov- 1994 Olympic champion. Alexey won both the technical and free program thanks to the clean execution of all elements (among all the participants he performed the largest number of triple jumps - 8, including two triple axels). In August 1999, he completed his amateur career and won the World Professional Singles Championships in Washington (USA) in December 1999. He has been working as a coach since 2001, and his most successful student is a two-time Russian champion Sergey Voronov.

Olympic champion Ilya Kulik in the short program of the 1998 Olympic Games in avant-garde style to the music of J.-M. Jarre, he performed a purely triple axel-triple toe loop cascade and took the lead. In an exceptionally harmonious free program, with elegant choreography to the music of J. Gershwin, with well-inscribed elements, Kulik, the only one of all the participants, performed all the jumps absolutely cleanly, including the only one of the leaders and, for the first time in his career at international competitions, a quadruple jump - sheepskin coat , two triple axels (one in a cascade with a triple toe loop), as well as five triple jumps.

Arthur Dmitriev became the first male figure skater to win the Olympic Games with two different partners. In 1992 he won gold with Natalya Mishkutenok, in 1998 - from Oksana Kazakova(pictured). Dmitriev was remembered for the most difficult lifts - he was the only one to perform the signature descent of his partner, throwing her over his back. Dmitriev often helped the coach in staging programs and acted as a fashion designer, helping to create costumes.

Russian figure skater Alexey Yagudin- Olympic champion 2002. Victory at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City is the peak of Yagudin’s sports career, one of the most striking victories in the history of figure skating and Russian sports. The short program “Winter”, brilliantly performed at the Games, choreographed Tatiana Tarasova, is still considered a benchmark in terms of choreography and creating an artistic image on ice. The performance of the free program “The Man in the Iron Mask” brings Yagudin some kind of Olympic records - all nine judges award him victory; He becomes the first Olympic champion to perform two four-revolution jumps in a program, one of which is a cascade, and the first Olympic winner in the men's singles category to receive four 6.0 marks from the judges for artistry.

In 1996, during a training session, while performing a rotation, a partner Elena Berezhnaya the skate hit her on the head - the temporal bone was pierced, the fragments damaged the lining of the brain. Berezhnaya underwent two neurosurgical operations, after which she learned again not only to walk, but also to speak and read. I learned to skate again with a new partner - Anton Sikharulidze, who supported her throughout the postoperative period. The “Charlie Chaplin” program entered into the history of figure skating, which Sikharulidze skated together with Elena Berezhnaya in the 2000/2001 season as a free program, and then as an exhibition number. In 2002, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze became Olympic champions.

Evgeni Plushenko two-time Olympic champion: 2006 in single skating, 2014 in team competitions. Evgeni Plushenko became the first skater to perform a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop cascade at a competition (at the Russian Cup in 2002), the first among men to perform a Biellmann spin, and a triple Axel-Oiler-triple flip cascade (2001). On February 13, 2014, he was supposed to participate in the main competition - single skating, but withdrew from the competition in the short program a minute before the start of the performance due to a back injury. On the same day, he officially announced his retirement from his sports career.

Winners of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin in pair skating Tatyana Totmyanina And Maxim Marinin made their debut at the Olympic Games back in 2002, but were only fourth. In the fall of 2004, at the stage of the Skate America Grand Prix series, Tatyana received a serious head injury: after unsuccessful support from her partner, she fell on the ice, hit her head, and lost consciousness. The injury turned out to be severe; he had to spend several months in the hospital under the supervision of doctors. At the beginning of 2006, she took to the ice again and won the same year. In 2006, after the Olympics, the couple broke up.

Since 1998 Tatiana Navka, who previously represented Belarus, began playing for Russia paired with Roman Kostomarov. At first they trained in a group Natalia Linichuk. In the 1999-2000 season, Roman skated with Anna Semenovich, but later paired up with Tatyana again. Since 2000 they have trained under the guidance of Alexandra Zhulina. At various times they were also counseled Elena Chaikovskaya And Tatiana Tarasova. After winning the Olympic Games in Turin in 2006, Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov decided to end their sports careers.

February 20 Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova won a gold medal in women's single skating at the Olympic Games in Sochi. This Olympic victory was the first in history for Russian women in this type of figure skating. Sotnikova began figure skating at the age of five. At the end of 2008, Adelina, at the age of 12, became the winner of the adult Russian championship, after which sports officials began to use the name of the girl prodigy as a response to the failures that befell domestic women's single skating in those days.

February 9 figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya won gold in the team figure skating competition, becoming the youngest Russian champion in the history of the Winter Olympics. If Yulia had been born 26 days later, she would not have been able to join the Olympic team. According to the regulations, to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics, a skater must reach the age of 15 by July 1, 2013. Yulia started figure skating in Yekaterinburg when she was only 4 years old. The design of the costumes in which the figure skater performs is developed by her herself together with her mother.

A sports couple became the winners of the Games Tatiana Volosozhar And Maxim Trankov. On February 12, Tatyana and Maxim won the title of Olympic champions in pair skating. This medal was the duo's second gold at the Sochi Games, following the Russians' success in the team competition. Volosozhar and Trankov walked towards this award for four years, teaming up as a couple in the spring after the Olympics in Vancouver. Already in the first joint tournaments, the Russian pair began to demonstrate powerful, confident, and most importantly, creative skating.

I’ll add some critical notes on my own. For some reason there is no mention of victories at the 1992 Games Victor Petrenko and dance duet Marina Klimova And Sergey Ponomarenko. Apparently, RIA Novosti does not consider such a phenomenon as the “United Team” as something related to domestic sports. Also, this photo selection did not take into account all the winners of the team tournament in Sochi.

From Vodorezova to Lipnitskaya: 7 best single figure skaters of the USSR and Russia

Until 1978, not a single Soviet figure skater managed to be on the podium at either the Olympic Games or the European and World Championships. AiF.ru remembers who began the heyday of Soviet and Russian women's singles skating, and talks about the athletes who proved that Russia has no equal in women's singles skating.

Elena Vodorezova

The first Soviet single figure skater who managed to climb onto the podium in international competitions, winning medals at the European and World Championships, was Elena Vodorezova.

Elena was born on May 21, 1963 in Moscow. She started figure skating at the age of 4, and from the age of 6 she trained at the CSKA school.

Under the leadership of a famous coach Stanislav Zhuk in 1976, at the age of 12, Vodorezova became number one of the USSR national team in women's singles skating. While still a teenager, the figure skater was the first in the world to perform two unique record item:

Figure skating has always been a sport for Russia that brings a lot of Olympic gold.
In anticipation of our team's triumph in the team competition in Sochi, we recall the most important victories won by Russian and Soviet figure skaters on the Olympic ice - in the Mail.Ru Sports photo gallery.
Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, where they became champions.

Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov are the champions of the 1972 Olympics.

Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev at the 1976 Olympics. In Austria, Irina became a two-time Olympic champion.

After Lake Placid 1980. Irina Rodnina is already a three-time Olympic champion in pair skating, Alexander Zaitsev is a two-time champion.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin are world champions in ice dancing. They won bronze medals at the Vancouver Olympics. According to one opinion, the couple was unable to compete for a different result not only because of the partner’s injury, but also because of the poorly chosen composition and costumes.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin at the Olympics in Vancouver during the compulsory dance. After the Canadian Games, the couple retired due to problems with their partner’s knee.

Evgeni Plushenko won his second silver medal at the Games in Vancouver.

Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov are two-time bronze medalists at the world championships in pairs figure skating. The story of Yuko, who wanted to train only with Tatyana Moskvina and changed her citizenship for this, has always aroused sympathy for the couple among fans. All the more offensive was their fourth place at the Vancouver Olympics. But even more offensive for the athletes was the fact that they were missing the Sochi Games due to Alexander’s serious injury.

Evgeni Plushenko in 2002 became the silver medalist of the Games in Salt Lake City. This was the first Olympics and the first Olympic medal for the figure skater.

This girl needs no introduction - her titles speak for her. Irina Slutskaya - silver medalist of the 2002 Olympic Games, bronze medalist of the 2006 Olympic Games, two-time world champion (2002, 2005), the first seven-time European champion in history (1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006).

During the Olympics in Nagano, Irina Slutskaya turned 19 years old. She took fifth place at those Games.

At the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Irina Slutskaya took second place, losing by one judge's vote to American Sarah Hughes. In the same year she became the world champion for the first time.

Maria Butyrskaya stopped one step away from the podium at the Nagano Olympics, but a year later she became the world champion

Olympic champion in men's single skating at the 1998 Games Ilya Kulik. Shortly after this victory, he retired.

And heroes are sometimes inexperienced: at the Nagano Olympics, Alexey Yagudin was fifth.

In 2002, the whole world watched what this young man did on the ice. His “Winter” and “The Man in the Iron Mask” captivated everyone. After the victorious skate, he sincerely and very emotionally burst into tears - winners are allowed to do this. This is how Alexey Yagudin became the 2002 Olympic champion. In addition to the Olympics, Yagudin won the World Championship four times and the European Championship three times. It's funny that Yagudin never won the Russian Championship: he has 4 silver and 1 bronze.

Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh won silver medals in ice dancing at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City (USA) in February 2002, and soon won the world championship.

The victory of Anton and Elena at the 2002 Games was overshadowed by a scandal that led to global changes in the rules of figure skating. After the award ceremony, it was decided to award the second set of gold medals - they were received by Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze are a couple in which the partner had to be taught to walk again a couple of years before the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics. They will arrive from Japan as vice-champions, and four years later, in Salt Lake City, they will win the championship title in pairs skating.

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergey Grinkov are champions in pair skating in Lillehammer 1994.

Enlarge Alexey Urmanov - 1994 Olympic champion in men's single skating.

Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov are two-time Olympic champions in ice dancing (1994, 1998).

Olympic champions in ice dancing, figure skaters Oksana Grischuk and Evgeniy Platov. Lillehammer 1994.

Following the results of the dance couples tournament at the Nagano Olympics, 5 Russians were on the podium: champions Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov (center), silver medalists Anzhelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov (left), and bronze medalist Marina Anisina. Marina is a Muscovite who has paired up with the Frenchman Gwendal Peizerat. At the 2002 Games, Anisina will take the gold that fell to France.

Olympic champions in pair skating Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev took their gold at the Games in Nagano. But in addition to this championship, Arthur also won gold in Albertville 1992 paired with Natalia Mishkutenok and silver in Lillehammer 1994 with the same partner.

Oleg Vasiliev and Elena Valova won gold in pairs skating at the 1984 Olympics, and four years later became silver medalists.

Natalya Linichuk and Gennady Karponosov are 1980 Olympic champions in ice dancing.

Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov are the first ever Olympic champions in ice dancing. Innsbruck-1976.

Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov are silver medalists at the 1976 Olympics, the first in which dancing was included in the Games program, and bronze medalists at the next Olympics in 1980.

Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov - two-time Olympic champions in pair skating (1964, 1968)

Olympic champions in pairs figure skating Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov. X Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble.

Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin were only fifth at the 1968 Olympics. But Mishin later trained three Olympic champions (Urmanov, Yagudin, Plushenko), and Moskvina trained couples who also collected a whole scattering of Olympic gold medals (Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze, Kazakova/Dmitriev, Valova/Vasiliev)