Russian Olympic figure skaters. About love and life

"SE" represents all Russian victors of the XXII Olympic Winter Games

Kind of sport: figure skating

Winners: Evgeny Plushenko, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov, Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov, Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov, Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitry Soloviev (team tournament)

The Russian national figure skating team won gold in team tournament Olympic tournament, which was held for the first time at the Olympics. After eight events, the team of Yulia Lipnitskaya, Evgeny Plushenko, duets Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov scored 75 points. The second place went to the Canadian skaters - 65 points, the third - to the US team with 60 points.

Kind of sport: figure skating

Winners: Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (pair skating)

Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov became two-time Olympic champions in Sochi, winning the tournament in pair skating. Taking into account the short program, they scored 236.86 points (84.17 + 152.69). Another representatives of Russia - Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (218.68) - became silver medalists of the 2014 Games.

Kind of sport: short track

Winner: Viktor An

Russians Viktor An and Vladimir Grigoriev became the champion and vice-champion of the Olympic Games in Sochi at a distance of 1000 meters. On February 10, An won bronze at a distance of 1500 meters, which became the first ever medal for our country in short track. In 2006, at the Turin Olympics, he, speaking for Korea, became the champion at distances of 1000, 1500 m, as well as in the relay of 5000 m.

Kind of sport: skeleton

Winner: Alexander Tretyakov

Skeleton player Alexander Tretyakov showed a time of 3 minutes 44.29 seconds following the results of four races, which brought him the gold medal of the Games. Silver went to Latvian Martins Dukurs (3.45.10), bronze to American Matthew Entoine (3.47.26). Tretyakov's gold became the first for Russian athletes in the skeleton at the Olympics: in Vancouver, Tretyakov was third.

Kind of sport: bobsled

Winners: Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda (deuce)

The Russian crew consisting of Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda won the doubles competition. The second place was taken by the Swiss team, bronze - by the USA. Another Russian team - Alexander Kasyanov and Maxim Belugin - finished fourth, 0.03 seconds behind third.

Kind of sport: snowboard

Winner: Vic Wilde

Russian Vic Wilde won gold at the Sochi Olympics in the parallel giant slalom. In the first of the two final heats, he lost 0.54 seconds to Nevin Galmarini of Switzerland, but won the second with a margin of 2.14. Slovene Zhan Koshyr became the bronze medalist of the Games. Recall that on the same day, Wilde's wife Alena Zavarzina brought Russia another award, winning bronze in the women's competition.

Kind of sport: figure skating

Winner: Adeline Sotnikova

Russian woman Adelina Sotnikova is the Olympic champion of the 2014 Games in Sochi: this is the first ever gold in Russia in women's single skating. The winner scored 224.59 points. The second was the champion of Vancouver-2010 Korean Yuna Kim. The third is Italian Carolina Costner. Another representative of Russia, Sochi 2014 Olympic champion in team competitions, Yulia Lipnitskaya, is fifth.

Kind of sport: short track

Winner: Viktor An

Russian Viktor An won the gold medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi at a distance of 500 meters.On February 15, he won the Olympic final at a distance of 1000 meters. Thus, An became a five-time Olympic champion - the first in the history of short track speed skating. He won all four disciplines - 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 5000 m relay. At the first two distances - in Sochi for Russia, at the last three - with Korea in Turin-2006.

Kind of sport: short track

Winners: Victor An, Semyon Elistratov, Vladimir Grigoriev, Ruslan Zakharov (relay)

The Russian national team (Viktor An, Semyon Elistratov, Vladimir Grigoriev, Ruslan Zakharov) won the gold medal in the 5000m relay at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi with an Olympic record. Victor An became the six-time Olympic champion in short track speed skating. Note that he already won medals in all four disciplines at the second Olympics: in Turin-2006, he had 3 gold (1000 m, 1500 m, relay) and 1 bronze (500 m) as part of the Korean national team. In Sochi, he also has 3 gold (500 m, 1000 m, relay) and 1 bronze (1500 m). In addition, An caught up with the famous American Apolo Anton Ono in the number of Olympic medals - 8 each.

Kind of sport: snowboard

Winner: Vic Wilde

Russian Vic Wilde won gold at the Sochi Olympics in the parallel slalom. In the first of the two final races, he beat Slovenian Jean Kosher by 0.12 seconds, and in the second he retained this advantage. The bronze medalist of the Games was the Austrian Benjamin Karl. This gold became the second for Wilde in Sochi.

Kind of sport: biathlon

Winner: Alexey Volkov, Evgeny Ustyugov, Dmitry Malyshko, Anton Shipulin (relay)

Russian four won the 4x7.5 km relay. This is the first gold medal for domestic male biathletes in the relay race after the 1988 Olympics.

Kind of sport: ski race

Winner: Alexander Legkov

Russian skiers triumphantly completed the 50 km men's ski mass start, taking the entire podium. Alexander Legkov became the Olympic champion - his time is 1: 46.55.2. Silver was won by Maxim Vylegzhanin, bronze - Ilya Chernousov. Thus, Russia won 12 gold medals, which ensured an early victory in the team medal at home Olympic Games in Sochi.

Kind of sport: bobsled

Winners: Alexander Zubkov, Alexey Negodailo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Alexey Voevoda (four)

The crew of Alexander Zubkov, consisting of Alexei Negodailo, Dmitry Trunenkov and Alexei Voevoda, won gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in the foursome competition. For Zubkov and Voevoda, this is already the second gold medal of the 2014 Games - they had previously won the doubles competition. The second place in the tournament of fours was taken by Latvia, bronze - by the USA. The crew of Alexander Kasyanov became the fourth, 0.03 seconds behind the third place. The bobsledders brought Russia 13th gold and helped to consolidate its leadership in the overall team event, both in the number of highest standard medals and in total. Russia repeated the record of the USSR national team in 1976 in Innsbruck for the number of gold medals. The total number of medals has now reached 33: 13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze.

26 RUSSIANS - OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS OF SOCHI-2014

Completed her career. According to the comment of the athlete's mother that appeared on the network, Yulia informed the leadership of the federation about her departure back in April. The reason for this decision was the figure skater's illness. The athlete's mother noted that Lipnitskaya was undergoing three months of treatment for anorexia.

In an interview with Gazeta.Ru, the athlete's mentor Alexei did not refute the information about the athlete's decision to end her career.

“I am not yet answering questions about Yulia’s departure,” Urmanov said.

The leadership of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR), after the test skates in Sochi, will meet with the athlete and her coach Alexei Urmanov to discuss the further plans of the skater, the general director of the FFKKR said.

“Lipnitskaya, as you know, will not participate in test skates in Sochi. But after the skates we will meet and discuss with Yulia and Urmanov their future plans, "R-Sport quotes Kogan.

Earlier, the honorary president of the FFKKR hinted that it was time for Julia to hang her skates on a nail.

“The situation of Lipnitskaya, in my opinion, is similar to the story of Adelina Sotnikova. The sooner she finally draws conclusions, makes a decision, the better it will be for everyone, so as not to fool people, fans. No need to mislead figure skating enthusiasts. After all, everyone understands that when there is, it is difficult for Lipnitskaya to fight them, ”Piseev said.

Last season, Lipnitskaya missed the Russian figure skating championship due to a hip injury sustained as a result of falling on a slippery sidewalk while returning from training.

The main award of the athlete, who was won over her short career, is gold medal at the 2014 Olympics. Julia became the winner of the team competition together with Evgeny, Maxim Trankov, and Nikita Katsalapov.

Lipnitskaya in Sochi showed best result in short and free programs, gaining twenty points out of twenty possible.

Also on the account of the skater is the silver of the 2014 World Championship and the gold of the European championship of the same year.

Lipnitskaya's last start was the Moscow stage of the Grand Prix, which took place in November 2016, when she was forced to interrupt the free program due to problems with her leg and eventually finished in last place.

It is worth noting that Yulia is not the only triumphant at the Sochi Olympics, who is now experiencing difficulties in continuing her career. So, the winner of gold in women's singles skating will miss the 2017/18 season. This was announced by the coach of the athlete Evgeni Plushenko.

“Adelina Sotnikova will not compete this season due to injury. We all hoped that we would heal this injury, but unfortunately it didn't work out. The injury is still troubling, full-fledged training does not work, and it is wrong to enter the competition in such a situation. Now we need to heal the trauma that still takes place due to the fact that, unfortunately, the diagnosis was wrong, Adeline did not recover, and this damage worries her. She had a ruptured ankle ligament and a bone fracture in her foot. Initially, it was thought that Adeline would quickly recover from this injury. Initially, they did not put a plaster cast, and in general, a completely different diagnosis was made.

Skipping a season does not mean the end of a career, ”Plushenko said.

The President of the FFKKR said that in figure skating there are often cases when, after a long break, a returning athlete could again reach a high level.

“It so happened, no one is to blame. Zhenya (Plushenko) explained the situation in great detail - there was an injury, they began to treat it not quite correctly. Now she (Sotnikova) can skate, but she cannot train at full strength. Given the time left, it will be unrealistic for her to enter this season.

He also stressed that there were many examples in history of how skaters returned to a high level. “We have many examples of athletes returning and performing at a high level again. The same (Italian), ”said Gorshkov.

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In a world that attracts more and more children - future champions - as well as interesting and beautiful to watch on TV or on an ice rink.

The emergence of figure skating

The first skates on iron runners appeared in the 13-14 centuries in Holland, therefore it is she who is considered the ancestor of figure skating.

After the appearance of skates of a fundamentally new type, popularity also came, which incredibly contributed to the rapid development of this sport, which at that time boiled down to drawing various figures on the ice and at the same time not losing a beautiful pose.

The first figure skating rulebook was published in England in 1772 and was called "A Treatise on Ice Skating." It described all the main figures known at that time. Thus, Great Britain secured the authorship of all the figures that are required in figure skating. In addition, in 1742, the first ice skating circles appeared here, and official rules for the competition were developed and approved.

Sports historians unanimously recognize the American Jason Heinz as the founder of the modern style of figure skating. It was he who played a major role in its distribution throughout the world, and, in particular, in Russia.

Figure skating development in Russia

V Russian Empire figure skating was very popular in the days of Peter I, who brought the first skates from Europe. It is noteworthy that the Russian emperor was the first to come up with the idea of ​​attaching skates directly to shoes and created, in fact, the prototype of modern skates.

The first Russian manual for figure skaters was published in 1838 in St. Petersburg and was called "Winter fun and the art of ice skating", compiled by the gymnastics teacher of the military educational institution G.M. Pauli.

Figure skating appeared in Russia in 1865, and at the same time the first skating rink was opened in the Yusupov Garden in St. Petersburg. At that time, it was the most comfortable in all of Russia and immediately became a platform for the professional training of figure skaters. And in 1878 the first competition among Russian athletes was held.

The first skaters of Russia began to appear at the end of the 19th century. The pioneer who took part in international competitions was A.P. Lebedev, who was a lawyer by training.

Nikolai Poduskov took part in the first already official competition, which was held in 1896 and took 4th place in single skating, but at the 1901 Russian Open Championship he took the last place.

Georgy Sanders, taking part in the same competitions as Poduskov, took 3rd place, becoming a bronze medalist. In addition, he was the first to perform complex figures, the author of which was, which in turn helped another famous Russian figure skater - Nikolai Panin, who performed them at the 1908 Olympics in London, to win the first Olympic "gold" for Russia.

Of the Soviet champions who won the highest awards in various competitions in figure skating, the most famous are Sergei Chetverukhin (silver at the Sapporo Olympics, bronze at the 1971 World Championship, silver at the World Championships in Calgary (1972) and Bratislava (1973) and bronze at the European Championships in 1969 year) and Sergei Volkov (in 1975 - world champion, USSR champion in 1974 and 1976).

Famous Russian male figure skaters in single skating

Famous skaters of Russia have repeatedly become champions and won prizes in all kinds of tournaments - from the Olympic Games to championships of various levels, Grand Prix and Cups.

One of the first best figure skaters in Russia was Alexei Urmanov - multiple medalist and champion of the USSR, Russia and European champion, Olympic champion in 1994.

At the 1998 Olympics, Russia again won a gold medal in men's singles, which he won. In addition to the highest Olympic medal, this famous Russian figure skater has “gold” of the Russian championship, “silver” and “bronze” of the world and European championships.

One of the most famous and best athletes in Russia is Alexei Yagudin, who has the main athlete's award - the "gold" of the 2002 Olympics. He is a multiple champion of Europe and the world, winner of the Grand Prix finals in figure skating.

No less famous is the young single skater Maxim Kovtun, who has several serious victories on his account. He is a three-time winner of the Russian Championship and took silver at the 2015 European Championship.

The most famous and titled figure skater in Russia and all over the world is Evgeni Plushenko. He is the owner of gold medals at two Olympics (2006 - in singles, 2014 - in team skating), twice took the "silver" of the Olympic Games. Plushenko won the world title three times, the European champion seven times and the Russian championship ten times. He also has many other awards and titles.

Plushenko has a number of sporting achievements, and his hallmark is the performance of the most difficult single skating figures in competitions. There is no equal to him.

Russian male figure skaters are rightfully considered one of the best in the world.

Famous Russian female singles

Unfortunately, feminine single skating Russia cannot boast of a long history of performances and awards in this sport.

The history of victories began only in 1976 with the appearance of the figure skater It was she who won the first awards at the European Championship, and later became the third at the World Championship.

The first Olympic medal - "bronze" - was won by single skater Kira Ivanova in 1983.

Success came to the skaters only when, for the first time in the history of Russia, Irina Slutskaya won the 1996 European Championship. And already in 1999, also at the European Championship, Maria Butyrskaya, Soldatova and Volchkova won all the awards. In the same year, Butyrskaya won gold at the World Championship.

Despite the fact that the best skaters in Russia Maria Butyrskaya and Irina Slutskaya no longer perform, they are the most famous and legendary skaters in Russia to this day.

The current leaders of Russian women's single skating are Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova.

Sotnikova, the first and so far the only one, won the Olympic gold medal in women's singles. In addition, she became the winner of the Russian championships 4 times, and twice won silver at the European championships.

Figure skating connoisseurs call Adeline a child prodigy, because at the age of 13 she performed the most difficult elements of figure skating.

Yulia Lipnitskaya is also an Olympic gold medalist in team competition. In addition, she has awards of various merit at the World and European Championships, including junior ones.

Julia is now 17 years old, Adeline is 19, and behind them is the future of women's single skating in Russia.

Best in pair skating

Russia in pair skating for titles, regalia and world famous athletes is much more lucky than in singles.

Even those who are very far from the world of sports know Russian pair skaters by their last names and faces.

Our couple Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova won their first Olympic "gold" back in 1964, again in 1968. They are the authors of many elements that are still part of the compulsory program of performances around the world. At that time, this couple was the only one who skated in a way that no one else could.

The next couple to conquer the Olympics were Alexey Ulanov and Irina Rodnina - in 1972. Irina Rodnina won the next gold in a pair with Alexander Zaitsev in 1976 and 1980.

The most famous figure skaters of Russia - Olympic champions in pair skating are:

Maxim Marinin and Tatiana Totmianina;

Roman Kostomarov and Tatiana Navka.

The leaders of pair skating today are the figure skaters of Russia Maxim Trankov and Tatiana Volosozhar, who already have 2 Olympic gold medals (in pair skating and in team competitions) and they are not going to stop there.

Best Couples in Ice Dancing

Sports ice dancing as a separate discipline was included in the program of international competitions only in 1950.

In this program, Russia (then still the Soviet Union) was represented by the famous couple and Lyudmila Pakhomova, who set the tone for dancing around the world and became world champions 6 times and won gold at the 1976 Olympics.

The first, already Russian, famous dance couple and Evgenia Platova twice became gold medalists of the 1994 and 1998 Olympics, which made them champions in this sport.

A couple are known and among whose achievements there is the bronze of the 2010 Olympics, double gold of the European Championships and the 2009 world champions.

One of the most famous young dancers, Elena Ilinykh, brought Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals from the European and Russian championships to the medal box of Russia. The couple broke up after the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Today the best, strongest and famous skaters Russia in ice dancing - Dmitry Soloviev and Ekaterina Bobrova - champions of Europe and Russia.

Today the whole world will know the name of the new Olympic champions in pair skating. Let's hope that they will be Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, but we also wish our rivals to perform well and please us with beautiful programs. Let us recall those who already bear the title of Olympic champions.
1908. London. The first Olympic champions are the representatives of Germany Anna Huebler and Heinrich Burger.

1920. Antwerp. And the first post-war Olympic champions are Ludovica and Walter Jakobsson from Finland. At the time of the victory, by the way, the partner was 36 years old, and the partner 38 years old.

1924. Chamonix. The first Winter Olympics were won by Helen Engelmann and Alfred Berger of Austria, leaving the reigning Olympic champions in their fifths second.


1928. St. Moritz. At the previous Olympic Games, the French couple André Joly and Pierre Brunet were bronze medalists, and at these they won gold. Much of modern figure skating is due to this great pair. It was they who invented the mirrored step path, and they were also very creative and came up with new supports and rotations.


1932. Lake Placid. At this Olympics, André Joly and Pierre Brunet became the first two-time Olympic champions in history.


1936. Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Joly and Brunet did not come to this Olympics in protest against the Nazi policies of Adolf Hitler. The home Olympics were won by Germans Maxi Gerber and Ernst Bayer. At the time of the victory, the partner was a little over 15 years old. And if the legendary French nevertheless came to the Olympic Games, the German couple would still offer them worthy resistance. They are the first parallel jump performers in the world.


1948. St. Moritz. The only gold medal in figure skating for their country was won by the Belgians Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Bonnier.


1952. Oslo. The victory in pair skating was again celebrated by representatives of Germany - Ria and Paul Falk. By the way, they were the first in history to jump a double parallel jump.

1956. Cortina d'Ampezzo. Austrian figure skaters have done very well in singles figure skating. At this Olympics, the time has come to finally repeat the success in pair skating. The victory was won by Elizabeth Schwartz and Kurt Oppelt.

1960. Squaw Valley. At this Olympics, the only time in pair skating was achieved by representatives of the North American continent. Canadians Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul won.


1964. Innsbruck. From this Olympics, a grandiose and invincible procession and total superiority of the Soviet, and then the Russian school of figure skating begins. The first victory was won by Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov.


1968. Grenoble. This time, 2 Soviet couples claimed gold, but Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov won again, and Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gorelik became silver. And double Olympic champions By the way, they still perform in various ice shows, despite the fact that she is 78 and he is 81 years old.

1972. Sapporo. The baton of Belousova and Protopopova was picked up by Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov. After the Olympic Games, the couple broke up, as their partner married Lyudmila Smirnova, the silver medalist in these competitions, and then they continued to compete together.

1976. Innsbruck. Irina Rodnina wanted to leave the big sport, after the breakup of the champion pair with Ulanov, but her coach Stanislav Zhuk paired her with Alexander Zaitsev, with whom she won these Olympic Games. There weren't even a few close-class couples in the world. 6.0 ratings were common for this pair.

1980. Lake Placid. A year before, the Rodnina and Zaitsev couple had missed the season due to the birth of their son. In their absence, an American couple won the world championship, and the American media began a real persecution of the Soviet champions, accusing them of everything that only their imagination told them. The pressure was felt at the competitions, but Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev did not even give a chance to doubt that they were the best skaters in the world at that time.


1984. Sarajevo. Soviet couples of a new generation came to the fore. The best of them were Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev.


1988. Despite the fact that Valova and Vasiliev remained in the big sport after winning the previous Olympic Games, they no longer had a chance to win. The whole world was simply in love with the new Soviet couple, who did not know defeat in international competitions. They were Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. Valova and Vasiliev were second.


1992. Albertville. And again, only domestic pairs competed for the Olympic gold. In the end, Natalya Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev won the victory.

1994. Lillehammer. It was from these games that professional athletes were allowed to compete at the Olympic Games. And several glorious athletes of the past decided to take advantage of this opportunity, but only one of them took gold. These were the invincible Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov.


1998. Nagano. After the last Olympics, the couple Mishkutenok and Dmitriev, who then took 2nd place, broke up. They were unhappy with the decision international federation, but still Arthur really wanted to try on the Olympic gold medal again, and with his new partner Oksana Kazakova, in the fiercest competition with the second Russian couple Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, he made his dream come true.


2002. Salt Lake City. The time has come to become the Olympic champions of one of the most beautiful and incomparable couples in the entire world history of figure skating, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, which they did. True, they still conceded hysterically to the North Americans begging for alms, but let's leave it on the conscience of the international federation and won't even mention these pseudo-champions.


2006. Turin. In the last decade, the school of pair figure skating was born and developed strongly, which was able to compete with the Russian one. I'm talking about China. It was in intense competition with them that the entire Olympic cycle went through, but the main start of the four-year period was won by our Tatyana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin.


2010. Vancouver. And now it finally happened. The number 13 became fatal for Russia, and it was for the thirteenth time in a row that the athletes of our country did not manage to win Olympic gold. And then there was not a single pair capable of competing with the Chinese. But let's agree that almost half a century of domination in the world arena means a lot. Xu Shen and Hongbo Zhao became Olympic champions. It was with them that the history of the success of Chinese athletes in figure skating began, and it would be unfair if these great skaters ended their careers without becoming Olympic champions.

Who will be the next will become known very soon, but we can say that this will not affect the historical dominance of our skaters. Medal table in pair skating looks like this
GOLD TO SILVER BRONZE
USSR 8 5 1
Russia 4 2 0
Germany 3 3 6
Austria 2 2 1
France 2 0 2
Canada 1 2 3
China 1 2 2
Finland 1 1 0
Belgium 1 0 0
USA 0 3 2
United Kingdom 0 1 2
Hungary 0 1 4
Norway 0 1 0

In the last century, when our state was still called the Soviet Union, the whole world knew the names of the figure skaters - our compatriots. Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova, Irina Rodnina, Andrey Bukin and Natalya Bestemyanova, Alexander Gorshkov and Lyudmila Pakhomova - these athletes were world-famous. Today, Russian 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.

Figure skating history

First, a little from the history of figure skating. Skates first appeared in Holland in the 14th century, and this country is considered the birthplace of this sport. Ice skating was constantly improving, skates changed their shape. The main indicator of skill was considered the ability to draw various figures with runners and at the same time keep balance in beautiful poses. In England, in 1772, the "Treatise on Ice Skating" was published; since then, the authorship of all the main figures of ice skating has been assigned to this country. Sports historians consider Jason Heinz to be the founder of modern figure skating. This American has 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 had the idea to attach skates directly to the shoes, in fact, this became the prototype of modern skates. All skaters in Russia know that in 1838 the first Russian manual for skaters was published, it was compiled by Pauli. The first skating rink was opened in the Yusupov Garden in 1865. Here the skaters began to practice professionally. In 1878, the best skaters of Russia took part in the competition.

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

Alexey Urmanov

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

Since 1991, Urmanov has been a member of the Russian national team, in its composition at the national championship he won bronze. 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.

Thanks to Alexey Urmanov, many fans have become zealous fans of figure skating. His artistry touches many. Aleksey always turns ice skating into a small performance, where in a few minutes the audience has time to experience a lot of touching impressions.

Ilya Kulik

Ilya Kulik is a native of the capital, born in 1977. From the age of five he began to study in the group of coach Gromov. Later, Viktor Kudryavtsev became his mentor, who raised many champions.

Ilya Kulik lived up to the expectations of his coach and already in 1990 became the winner of the competition in Norway, where the most talented skaters performed. The Russian Championship among juniors in 1994 brings victory to Kulik, and he also deserves silver in the adult championship. This opened the doors for him to the national team.

In 1995, Ilya Kulik first took part in the European Championship, unexpectedly snatching victory from Urmanov. In the new season (1995-96) Ilya begins to study with Tatiana Tarasova. An experienced choreographer makes numerous adjustments to his performances, adds complex elements, including the famous triple axel, performed twice in a row. However, unable to cope with the 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 switches 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 the coach Alexander Mayorov, under his wing was Alexander until the age of 12. From the age of 13, the boy began to take pride of place in competitions. In 1996 he won the World Championship. In 1997, Alexey won 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 to train with the famous Tatyana Tarasova. Trained in the USA, participated in many tournaments, from where he returned as a winner.

The championship, held in Vancouver, was unsuccessful for the skater. He was injured and barely managed to reach only 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 Salt Lake City Olympics were a triumph. Yagudin performed brilliantly, the judges were the highest and he won. In 2002, health problems began again, and in 2007, at performances in Germany, the skater was forced to interrupt his performance due to injury.

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

Maxim Kovtun

Young, but already famous Maxim Kovtun was born in 1995 in Yekaterinburg. Under the mentorship of Buyanova and Tarasova, the athlete won the highest award, the Grand Prix of Beginning Talents. Has the title of Master of Sports, Champion of Russia.

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

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

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

A program was specially developed for Maxim, in which he makes five jumps with four revolutions.

Evgeny Plushenko

Single 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 to practice figure skating. For further training, the boy has to move to St. Petersburg. There he hones his skills at a sports school. In 2005, Evgeny graduated from Lesgaft University of Physical Education.

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

In 2008, Eugene with Dima Bilan performs at Eurovision, here again a victory. Evgeni Plushenko leads an active social life.

Roman Kostamarov and Tatiana Navka

Famous figure skaters of Russia Roman Kostamarov and Tatiana Navka are considered one of the most beautiful and artistic couples at our skating rink. Roman and Tatiana were invited to speak 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 and began to show very impressive results. In 2004 in Germany they became world champions. Then they became Olympic champions, three times became champions of Russia, the same number of times champions of Europe. The result is three-time world champions. Athletes take an active part in show business, become participants in ice shows. The novel acts in films and television projects.

Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya

The famous skaters of Russia Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya did not immediately skate together. Until 1996, Elena performed with Shlyakhov. After receiving a severe head injury, Berezhnaya was literally dying. She recovered with difficulty and went out on the ice again, learned to stand on skates again. The new partner was Anton, who supported her in everything. Together they managed to achieve incredible success. Their coach was Moskvina. Soon in Paris at the competition, the couple achieved significant success. Further victories rained down on the athletes: prizes at the Olympic Games in 1998, then in 2002. We 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 goes out on the ice anyway. Took part in television shows. Anton Sikharulidze was the head of the committee for physical culture and sports for several years.

Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva

Famous figure skaters of Russia Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva not only had a joint sports career. Lived in America. This couple was married, in which their son Martin was born. Unfortunately, after returning to Russia, the sports couple also broke up. But in the history of sports, figure skaters managed to leave a significant mark. The star couple from 1993 to 2002 became the country's champions four times, the 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 firm. He became the organizer of the famous ice shows, television projects, so beloved by the audience. In the production sphere, he achieved high results.

Irina Slutskaya

Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya was born in 1979 in Moscow. From the age of four she began to train at the Moskvich sports club. From the age of six, Gromov's coach began to work with her. Already in 1993, at the Russian Championship, Irina won among the juniors and became the bronze medalist at the World Championship. In Sofia in 1996 she received the European champion title.

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

For some time, Irina Slutskaya due to injuries retires from the sport, but soon returns and regains leadership positions. The ultimate goal is the Olympics. Figure skaters of Russia perform at the games in Turin in 2006, here Slutskaya wins bronze. This victory cost the athlete many efforts. On this she ended her sports career.

Alexey Tikhonov

Alexey was born in Samara in 1971. The first coach of the skater was Vera Birbraer. On her instructions, at the age of 16, Alexey went to Sverdlovsk, where he trained with Rennik for a year. After that, Tikhonov arrived in the capital and became a student of Zakharov. Further in the biography - life in Japan. Upon returning to his homeland, Alexei began to participate in an ice show led by Tarasova.

First victory in 1989 - bronze medal at the World Championships paired with Irina Sayfutdinova. In 1998, he began to play in tandem with Petrova, a year later they became European champions, 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 of the World Championship in 2000. Repeatedly became a silver and bronze medalist at championships and Grand Prix. In 2007, the couple announced their retirement.