Olympic champion in pairs figure skating. Outstanding Olympic figure skating champions of different years. Olympics in Sochi

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

Kind of sport: figure skating

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

The Russian figure skating team won gold in the team tournament of the Olympic tournament, which was held for the first time at the Olympics. After eight events, the team consisting of Yulia Lipnitskaya, Evgeni Plushenko, duets of Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, Ksenia Stolbova and Fyodor Klimov, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov scored 75 points. Second place went to Canadian skaters with 65 points, third place went 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 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 medal in history for our country in short track speed skating. In 2006, at the Turin Olympics, he, competing for Korea, became the champion at distances of 1000, 1500 m, as well as in the 5000 m relay.

Kind of sport: skeleton

Winner: Alexander Tretyakov

Skeleton athlete Alexander Tretyakov showed a time of 3 minutes 44.29 seconds after four races, which brought him the gold medal of the Games. Silver went to Latvian Martins Dukurs (3:45.10), bronze to American Matthew Antoine (3:47.26). Tretyakov’s gold was the first for Russian athletes in skeleton at the Olympics: Tretyakov was third in Vancouver.

Kind of sport: bobsled

Winners: Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda (two)

The Russian crew consisting of Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda won the two-man competition. The Swiss team took second place, the USA took bronze. Another Russian team - Alexander Kasyanov and Maxim Belugin - became fourth, 0.03 seconds behind third place.

Kind of sport: snowboard

Winner: Vic Wild

Russian Vic Wild won gold at the Sochi Olympics in parallel giant slalom. In the first of the two final heats, he lost to Nevin Galmarini of Switzerland by 0.54 seconds, but won the second by 2.14. The bronze medalist of the Games was Slovenian Zhan Kosir. Let us recall that on the same day, Wild’s wife Alena Zavarzina brought Russia another award, winning bronze in the women’s competition.

Kind of sport: figure skating

Winner: Adeline Sotnikova

Russian Adelina Sotnikova is the Olympic champion of the 2014 Games in Sochi: this is Russia's first ever gold in women's singles 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 competition 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 the 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 team (Victor Ahn, Semyon Elistratov, Vladimir Grigoriev, Ruslan Zakharov) won the gold medal in the 5000 m relay at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi with an Olympic record. Viktor An became a six-time Olympic champion in short track speed skating. Let us note that at his second Olympics he won medals in all four disciplines: in Turin 2006, as part of the Korean national team, he had 3 gold (1000 m, 1500 m, relay) and 1 bronze (500 m). In Sochi he also had 3 gold (500 m, 1000 m, relay) and 1 bronze (1500 m). In addition, Ahn caught up with the famous American Apollo Anton Ohno in the number of Olympic medals - 8 each.

Kind of sport: snowboard

Winner: Vic Wild

Russian Vic Wild won gold at the Sochi Olympics in parallel slalom. In the first of the two final races, he beat Slovenian Jean Kosir by 0.12 seconds, and in the second he maintained this advantage. The bronze medalist of the Games was Austrian Benjamin Karl. This gold was Wild's second 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 for domestic male biathletes in the relay race since the 1988 Olympics.

Kind of sport: ski race

Winner: Alexander Legkov

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

Kind of sport: bobsled

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

The crew of Alexander Zubkov, consisting of Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov and Alexey Voevoda, won gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in the fours competition. For Zubkov and Voevoda, this is already the second gold of the 2014 Games - they previously won the two-man competition. Latvia took second place in the fours tournament, and the USA took bronze. The crew of Alexander Kasyanov finished fourth, losing 0.03 seconds to third place. The bobsledders brought Russia its 13th gold and helped strengthen its leadership in the overall team standings both in terms of the number of top-quality medals and the total number. Russia repeated the record of the 1976 USSR national team in Innsbruck in terms of 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 SOCHI-2014

The 2015 World Figure Skating Championships kicks off today in Shanghai. On the occasion, ELLE recalls the most prominent representatives of this sport in singles.

Yulia Lipnitskaya

PHOTO Archives Hearst Shkulev Media

The youngest winner in the history of Olympic figure skating, Yulia Lipnitskaya, became the main sensation of Sochi 2014. The 15-year-old figure skater, who, among other venerable pros, won the team competition, was applauded by President V.V. Putin, the stars of Russian figure skating and all Western media without exception. “With her incredibly easy triple jumps, acrobatic spins and champion temperament, Yulia Lipnitskaya led Russia to its first gold medal at the Sochi Olympics,” writes The Washington Post. In addition, Steven Spielberg himself wrote her a touching letter, stunned by her skating to the music from his film Schindler's List.

“She impressed the judges and spectators with her combination of skating elegance and exceptional flexibility,” The Guardian sings Yulia’s praises.

Exceptional flexibility, phenomenal rotations, but most importantly - subtlety of performance and special drama, which no one expected from a 15-year-old girl, allow us to speak of her as one of the most talented figure skaters in history.

Katharina Witt is a legendary figure skater, the most famous and titled, Olympic champion in single skating (1984, 1988), four-time world champion, six-time European champion (1983-1988 in a row), eight-time champion of the GDR. The outstanding single skater became a legend of the 80s - it was she who, for the first time in the history of the World Championships, in 1981, performed the most difficult jump - a triple flip. Witt’s career was so impeccable that after leaving amateur sports, the girl became a participant and producer of ice shows and for a long time worked under contract with the American ice ballet troupe. In addition, Katarina was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time - men's magazines often offered her participation in candid photo shoots, which she often did not neglect.

Ukrainian Oksana Baiul is a true legend of women's single skating, Olympic champion in 1994, who performed one of the best short programs in the history of figure skating (to the music of Tchaikovsky). The insane popularity of the Soviet girl in the United States, where she emigrated after her resounding success, was also associated with a number of scandals and oddities surrounding her name. Thus, at the Nations Cup competition in November 1992, 14-year-old Oksana fell on a jump, but was phenomenally able to beat the fall with dance moves, and then performed a triple Salchow. In January 1993, as a debutante at the European Championships in the original dance, she made a mistake in a jump combination and then found herself skating with an unlaced boot. The girl stopped the performance and turned to the judges - after a meeting, they allowed her to perform the entire program again.

But the most dramatic moment of her sports life was the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994. Losing to the beauty and favorite of America Nancy Carrigan, Baiul, among other things, was attacked by a figure skater from Germany - with an injured back and lower leg, with stitches and painkillers, Oksana performed a free program, performing five triple jumps. 5 out of 9 judges gave her preference, leaving the clear favorite Carrigan in second place. Later, American television channels broadcast the controversial moment, focusing on the biased decision of the German judge Jan Hoffman.

After completing her amateur career, Oksana moved to live in the USA, performed as a professional, and also underwent treatment in rehabs for alcoholism and problems associated with mental disorders.

An energetic volcano, an incredible figure skater who became a sensation of the 90s and a real star, 5-time European champion (1991-1995) and 9-time French champion, Suriya Bonaly, however, never became a world champion. There has always been a lot of controversy and even scandals around her name - on the one hand, she performed a number of technically complex elements that were not subject to anyone else in the world (for example, a backflip, which was considered a forbidden element; a quadruple sheepskin coat), on the other hand - mandatory for figure skating Skating elements such as a triple sheepskin coat were performed with obvious under-rotation. The record-breaking technique compensated for the quality of her gliding - Suriya Bonaly was adored by the whole world, and her fans sincerely believed that the judges underestimated the skater. In addition, Bonaly went down in history as the only figure skater who refused to stand on the podium due to disagreement with the scores.

The main star of American figure skating in singles, for a decade Michelle Kwan was considered an unattainable athlete.

The American of Chinese origin became a two-time Olympic medalist (although she sensationally did not take 1st place each time), a five-time world champion (second only to the record of Sonya Henie) and a nine-time US champion. She is the only woman in figure skating to recapture her lost world title three times (1998, 2000, 2003). Even after retiring from her career, Michelle enjoys incredible popularity and receives multimillion-dollar contracts.

Before Yulia Lipnitskaya, Tara Lipinski was the youngest singles skater at the Olympic Games. At the time of her participation in the Winter Olympics, she was not yet sixteen years old. Champion of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, 1997 world champion, 1997 US champion, Tara Lepinski became an absolute sensation, beating even the titled Michelle Kwan at the Olympics. The effect of her performance was comparable to the emotions from the performance of Yulia Lipnitskaya - the child girl turned out to be more convincing than more experienced athletes.

Today, the American admits that she is rooting with all her heart for the Russian teenager Yulia Lipnitskaya - according to Tara, contrary to everyone’s opinion, at 15 years old it is no easier to experience stress and tension than at a more mature age.

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. Following her instructions, at the age of 16, Alexey went to Sverdlovsk, where he trained with Rennick 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.

Finished her career. According to a comment from the athlete’s mother that appeared online, Yulia informed the federation leadership about her resignation back in April. The reason for this decision was the figure skater’s illness. The athlete’s mother noted that Lipnitskaya underwent three months of treatment for anorexia.

The athlete’s mentor Alexey, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru, did not refute the information about the athlete’s decision to end her career.

“I’m not answering questions about Yulia’s departure yet,” 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 skater’s future plans, the general director of the FFKKR said.

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

Previously, the honorary president of the FFKKR hinted that it was time for Yulia to hang up her skates.

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

Last season, Lipnitskaya missed the Russian Figure Skating Championships due to a hip injury suffered as a result of a fall on a slippery sidewalk while returning from training.

The main award the athlete won during her short career was a gold medal at the 2014 Olympic Games. Yulia became the winner of the team competition together with Evgeniy, Maxim Trankov, and Nikita Katsalapov.

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

The skater also won silver at the 2014 World Championships and gold at the European Championships of the same year.

Lipnitskaya's last start was the Moscow Grand Prix stage in November 2016, when she was forced to interrupt her free program due to problems with her leg and ended up finishing in last place.

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

“Adelina Sotnikova will not compete this season due to injury. We all hoped that we would heal this injury, but unfortunately it did not work out. The injury still bothers me, I can’t do full training, and it’s wrong to enter competitions in such a situation. Now we need to cure the injury, which still exists due to the fact that, unfortunately, the diagnosis was incorrect, Adeline has not recovered, and this damage worries her. She had a torn ankle ligament and a broken bone in her foot. Initially, they 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.

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

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

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

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

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A winter sport in which athletes skate on ice while performing additional elements, most often accompanied by music. In official competitions, as a rule, four sets of medals are played out: in women's single skating, in men's single skating, in pair skating, and in ice dancing. Figure skating included into the program of the Winter Olympic Games.

The most ancient skates were discovered on the banks of the Southern Bug, near Odessa, dating back to the Bronze Age. These skates were made from the phalanx of the front legs of horses.

It is believed that the birthplace of figure skating is Holland. It was there, in the 13th - 14th centuries, that the first iron skates appeared. The appearance of a new type of skates gave a powerful impetus to the development of figure skating, which at that time consisted of the ability to draw intricate figures on the ice and at the same time maintain a beautiful pose.

All mandatory figures were created in Great Britain. This is explained by the fact that it was here that the first skating clubs arose (Edinburgh, 1742). At the same time, the first official rules of the competition were developed.

In 1882, the first international competition in Europe took place in Vienna. The Viennese won a convincing victory.

The very first edition of the rules for figure skating, published in England, dates back to 1772.

The English artillery lieutenant Robert Jones published a “Treatise on Skating”, in which he described all the main figures that were then known.

It has been known in Russia since the time of Peter I. The Russian Tsar brought the first samples of skates from Europe. It was Peter I who came up with a new way of attaching skates - directly to boots, and thus created a “protomodel” of today’s equipment for skaters.

The name "skates" arose because the front of the wooden "runners" was usually decorated with a horse's head.

In 1838, the first textbook for figure skaters, “Winter Fun and the Art of Skating,” was published in St. Petersburg. Its author was G.M. Pauli is a gymnastics teacher at military educational institutions in St. Petersburg.

A surge of interest in figure skating occurred after the European tour of American figure skater Jackson Gaines. He showed unexpected possibilities for performing swift figures in the most graceful body movements.

Russian figure skating, as a separate sport, originated in 1865. Then a public skating rink was opened in the Yusupov Garden on Sadovaya Street. This skating rink was the most comfortable in Russia and from the very first days it became a center for training figure skaters. On March 5, 1878, the first competition of Russian figure skaters took place there.

In 1881, the Skating Society included about 30 people.

One of the most famous sports and public figures was the Honorary Member of this society, Vecheslav Izmailovich Sreznevsky.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Salchow, Lutz, Rittberger, Axel Paulsen invented their own jumps, and skaters, in gratitude for this, left their names in the names of the elements.

Women's single skating was formed later. Officially, this happened at the end of January 1906 in Davos (Switzerland). The compulsory figures for women and men were similar, but the women's free skating immediately attracted attention with its high artistry, plasticity and musicality of movements.

Official women's world championships began in 1924. Since 1930, the World Figure Skating Championships for women and men have been held jointly on the same dates. Soon pair (mixed) skating also appeared. The international pair skating championship was first played in 1908 in St. Petersburg, and the winners were German skaters.

The fourth type of figure skating - ice dancing - was born much later in England. Only in 1952 in Paris did the dancers compete for their awards for the first time; the British were the strongest. Synchronized skating competitions have gained the most popularity in recent years. This sport has become widespread in Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, England, and France.

Since 1983, annual synchronized skating championships began to be held in Canada. And in 1988, these competitions were held jointly with competitions in the main types of figure skating. Pair skating competitions first took place in Canada in 1914 and were held regularly until 1964, resuming in 1981. The leaders in this type of figure skating are Canadian and American teams.

The popularity of figure skating grew, and already in 1908, figure skating competitions were first included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games in London.

The first Olympic champions in single skating in 1908 were M. Sayers (Great Britain), U. Salchow (Sweden), Panin-Kolomenkin (Russia) and the sports pair A. Hübler - G. Burger (Germany). Figure skating was also included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp (1920), and subsequently it was presented at all Winter Olympic Games. Gillis Grafström (Sweden), who won 3 gold and 1 silver medal, and three-time Olympic champions Sonya Henie (Norway) and Irina Rodnina (USSR) achieved outstanding success in Olympic competitions.

At the White Olympics in St. Moritz (1948), American figure skater Dick Button literally created a revolution. It was from him that jumps of several revolutions and other acrobatic elements were “registered” in figure skating. Button literally flew over the skating rink. His reward was an Olympic gold medal in single skating.

The Olympic championship was played in singles (men's and women's) and pair skating. In 1976, ice dancing was included in the Olympic program.

Figure skating elements

Before the performance, the skater submits an official form, which describes the approximate content of the program: which elements will be performed and in what sequence.

Steps

In programs, steps and steps are performed as connecting elements.

Spirals

Spiral— a spiral is a position with one skate on the ice and the free leg (including knee and boot) above hip level. The positions of the spirals differ from each other by the sliding leg (right, left), edge (external, internal), sliding direction (forward, backward) and the position of the free leg (backward, forward, sideways). A pattern of a sequence of spirals is any combination of arcs (on edges - spirals in a straight line are ignored and are not counted among the positions). Only the first three arcs are considered for Difficulty Level traits. In order for the spiral to be counted, you must be in the position for at least 3 seconds.

The most common spiral is considered "martin". In the “swallow”, the free leg can be from 90 degrees relative to the ice to a full split.

Bielmann- performed by raising the free leg, grabbing the skate blade with your hands and bending your back. Named in honor of Denise Bielman, who first performed the Bielmann as a spin element at international competitions. When executed perfectly, the result is an almost vertical split.

Rotations

1) Simple; 2) With change of legs or combined; 3) Joint; 4) Dance.

Spinning jumps

costal:

Axel

Bounce Axel named after the Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed it in 1882. (rib jump)

Rittberger

Rittberger(English loop) - the jump is named after the German figure skater Werner Rittberger, who first performed it in 1910. (rib jump)

Salchow

Salchow(English Salchow) - the jump is named after the Swedish figure skater Ulrich Salchow, who first performed it in 1908. (rib jump)

serrated:

Sheepskin coat

Sheepskin coat(English toe loop) - the jump was first performed by American figure skater Bruce Mapes in 1920. (tooth jump)

Flip

Flip(English flip) - a jump is performed by pushing the tooth of the supporting leg while moving backwards on the inner edge of the other leg. Departure is carried out on a push leg.

Lutz

Bounce Lutz named after the Austrian figure skater Alois Lutz, who first performed it in 1913. (tooth jump)