Why was Irina Rodnina called a traitor to the motherland? Figure skater Irina Rodnina: biography, interesting facts and personal life Where does Irina Rodnina’s family live
At the elections September 18, 2016
August 23, 2019
September 15, 2019
September 21, 2019
Awards for Irina Rodnina
Order of Friendship (2016)
Order of Lenin (10.05.1976)
Bronze Olympic Order
Granddaughter - Sonya.
22.09.2019
Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna
Deputy of the State Duma of the VII convocation
Honored Master of Sports
News & Events
Presentation state awards Russian Federation 2019
On November 21, 2019, the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin hosted solemn ceremony presentation of state awards of the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin presented orders to a number of outstanding Russian artists and athletes, representatives of the clergy, political and public figures. A total of 49 people received awards.
The State Duma proposes to resolve the issue of baby boxes
Meeting of Olympic champions by students of Sakhalin sports schools
The meeting of the Olympic champions by students of Sakhalin sports schools took place on the morning of November 4, 2015 at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport. Famous “army men” are winners Olympic Games, arrived in the island capital to open the figure skating and cycling departments of the SDYUSSHOR CSKA.
The XI Winter Olympic Games opened in Sapporo
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games took place on February 3, 1972 in the city of Sapporo, Japan, which won the right to host the Games by a large margin of votes from the Canadian Banff, the Finnish Lahti and the American Salt Lake City. I must say that this was the first winter Olympics, which took place in Asia. But this was not the first time that this Japanese city was entrusted with hosting the Games - Sapporo was supposed to host the Olympics in 1940, but because of the war with China, it refused to host the competition.
Irina Rodnina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow. His father, Konstantin Nikolaevich, was a military man, and his mother, Yulia Nikolaevna, worked as a nurse. As a child, Irina suffered from pneumonia eleven times; doctors advised her to do more physical exercise, preferably outdoors. Therefore, the parents brought their daughter to the skating rink in the Pryamikov Cultural Park in 1954.
Then Irina ended up in Zhdanova Park, since there were more skating rinks there and her mother enrolled her daughter in the section. Irina’s first children’s coach was Yakov Smushkin. Later, another coach, Zina Podgornaya, suggested that parents send the talented student to the Dzerzhinsky Park in Maryina Roshcha. After passing the audition, in 1960 Rodnina entered the CSKA figure skating section, where she competed as a single skater until she was fifteen. Since 1962, her coaches were the Czechs Sonya and Miloslav Balun, working under a contract with CSKA. A year later, paired with Oleg Vlasov, the young figure skater took third place in the all-Union youth competitions.
Since 1964, Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk became Irina’s coach, who paired Rodnina with Alexei Ulanov. In December 1966, the athletes made their debut at the first international tournament: “Moscow Skates” and already in the next season the couple became one of the leaders figure skating in USSR. In December 1967, they won the “Moscow Skates” tournament, in January 1968 they took third place at the USSR Championship, performing the first short program to the Moldavian melody “Lark”, after which the skaters were included in the national team. At the first European Championships, after the short program, Rodnina and Ulanov took third place, but made mistakes in the free program and took fifth place.
Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk is increasingly complicating the program, including in it for the first time in history pair skating parallel jump double axel and jump combination. The couple arrived at the 1969 European Championships without a coach, since Stanislav Zhuk was banned from traveling, but even without a coach the couple created a sensation. Despite taking second place in the compulsory program, where they lost to Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, they eventually took first place thanks to more complex elements and the high pace of the free program, with 8 out of 9 judges giving first place. In the same year, Irina Rodnina received the title “ Honored Master of Sports".
At the 1969 World Championships, Irina Rodnina and Alexey Ulanov won with a clear advantage, winning both types of competitions and receiving all the first places from the judges. However, the following year, 1970, at the USSR Championships in Kyiv, the couple skated the compulsory program extremely unsuccessfully, with two serious mistakes and taking only 8th place. However, after a clean free program, they turned out to be winners.
By 1972, the rivalry with the second domestic couple Lyudmila Smirnova and Andrei Suraikin became increasingly intense. At the 1972 Olympics, in the short program, Alexei Ulanov did a single Salchow instead of the obligatory double Salchow. In the free program, Rodnina made a mistake on a cascade of jumps and, as a result, Smirnova and Suraikin were ahead of only two votes from the judges. For victory at the 1972 Olympics, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Then, the day before the 1972 World Championships, Irina fell from a support during training and was hospitalized with a concussion and intracranial hematoma. Despite this, Rodnina took to the ice. short program the couple skated cleanly, receiving grades up to 6.0. In the free program, Irina felt bad and completed the program in a semi-fainting state. After the World Cup the couple breaks up. Alexey Ulanov, being married to Lyudmila Smirnova, becomes a couple with her. During this period, Rodnina seriously thought about leaving big sport, so I watched the USSR Championship in April 1972 from the stands.
Soon Stanislav Zhuk invited Irina Rodnina to pair up with St. Petersburg figure skater Alexander Zaitsev, with whom she performed at demonstration performances in Zaporozhye in September 1972. A partner who has good jumping technique will very quickly master all complex elements. Mutual understanding and consistency in the new couple are noticeably higher than in the previous one, which the judges immediately noted. At the 1973 European Championships in Cologne, Rodnina and Zaitsev not only beat Lyudmila Smirnova and Alexei Ulanov by the unanimous opinion of all 9 judges, but also received 12 ratings of 6.0 out of 18 possible.
At the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava, an incident occurred that went down in the history of figure skating. There was a short circuit in the radio room and the sound was turned off during the free program of Rodnina and Zaitsev. Coach Stanislav Alekseevich gave instructions from behind the side to continue the program and the couple skated without music to the applause of the audience. Referee Carl Enderlin, noting the couple’s “will to win,” nevertheless ordered a reduction in scores due to skating without music. The couple refused to perform the program at the end of the competition, which is why not a single 6.0 grade was given. It subsequently turned out that the closure was deliberately organized by a Czech employee, who was thus trying to take revenge on the Soviet Union for the suppression of the Prague Spring five years earlier.
In 1974, Irina graduated from the Central Institute of Physical Culture. At this time, the relationship between the couple and the coach became complicated and from October of the same year, on their own initiative, they moved to the young coach Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova, who treated the students as equals, rather as a partner in a common cause. In addition, Tarasova tried to bring more artistic expression to her skating, already in the first season of 1975 she staged a short program to the music of Alexei Mazhukov.
At the 1975 World Championships, during the warm-up before the free program, Irina Rodnina collided with Uwe Kagelmann, as a result of which she decided to abandon one lift. However, the judges again unanimously gave the couple first place, with scores up to 6.0. In the same year, the wedding of Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev was widely celebrated; even American television came to film the celebration.
Before the 1976 Olympics, Alexander Zaitsev “overtrained,” his excitement also took its toll, and after a cleanly executed short program, several mistakes were made in the free program, including the skater touching his hand when landing from a double Axel, but the twist of a triple flip was perfectly executed. All judges gave first places, 10 ratings were 5.9 and 8 - 5.8 points. Both programs are set to Gypsy and Moldavian melodies. At the 1977 World Championships, the short and free program were performed cleanly.
IN free program 1978 Tarasova included two lifts with a change of hand, a butterfly jump performed by partners holding hands, a rollover descent from a lift, as well as other original elements. The couple missed the 1979 season due to the birth of their son Alexander. At the next Olympic Games in 1980 in American Lake Placid, Rodnina and Zaitsev won a historic third victory, performing both programs absolutely cleanly. Television screens showed footage of the skater's tears of happiness during the award ceremony.
Irina Rodnina became the most successful figure skater in the history of pair skating: three-time Olympic champion, ten-time world champion, eleven-time European champion and six-time USSR champion. From 1969 to 1980, she did not lose a single competition in which she participated with her partners. An explanation for such a long series of victories in all competitions can be given by at least one example: in one of the most intense programs in the history of figure skating, free pair Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev performed over 30 elements, a number of which were many years ahead of the development of pair skating, in including 6 difficult lifts.
In addition, many connecting “elements between elements” were used: original spirals, steps. The program was executed at enormous speed and exclusively synchronously. All this amazed the imagination of the judges, who unanimously gave the couple first places in terms of total scores, and the couple received an absolute nine first places out of nine possible for both short and free programs.
After finishing her amateur career, Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina worked as a coach in the Central Committee of the Komsomol. Then a senior coach in the Dynamo society. Vela pedagogical activity, teaching at the Institute of Physical Culture. Since 1990, she lived in the United States for twelve years and worked as a coach at the International Figure Skating Center in Lake Arrowhead.
Rodnina coached the Czech pair Radka and Rene, who became world champions in 1995. During this period, the Russian woman began new stage life, becoming a coach with a reputation. And now her American colleagues were having a hard time experiencing her successes. Irina Konstantinovna worked fourteen hours. In the same year, she was awarded honorary citizenship of the Czech Republic. The athlete helped prepare Michelle Kwan and Angela Nikodinov.
Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina was awarded the Order of Lenin, as well as two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor. In 1999, the athlete was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree. In 2009, she was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and the Bronze Olympic Order. Twice laureate of the Olympia National Award for Public Recognition of the Achievements of Women in Russia.
Since 2005, Rodnina has been hosting her own program on Radio Russia “Stadium”. He is the author of the book “Unsmooth Ice.” In 2006, she was a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, and also served on the presidium of the All-Russian public organization “League of National Health”. At the same time, she acted as chairman of the central council of the All-Russian public organization “All-Russian Voluntary Society “Sports Russia”.
In December 2007, Irina Konstantinovna was elected to the State Duma of the fifth convocation on the list of United Russia from the Omsk region. In the Duma she took the post of deputy chairman of the education committee. In December 2011, Rodnina was re-elected again, becoming a deputy of the State Duma of the VI convocation on the United Russia list from the Omsk region. In the State Duma of the sixth convocation, he is a member of the Committee on Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relations with Compatriots, and is a member of the faction of the United Russia party.
Irina Konstantinovna is a member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for physical culture and sports. In February 2014, together with Vladislav Tretyak, she lit Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sochi. That same year, the champion was included in the Guinness Book of Records as an athlete who had not lost a single competition in her career.
Later, on Russian Unity Day on November 4, 2015, Irina Rodnina, along with others Olympic champions visited Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. On the same day, the opening of the figure skating department took place. sports school CSKA at the Crystal Sports Palace. The former figure skater also spoke at a press conference in support of the project to open additional sports sections at schools.
At the elections September 18, 2016 Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna was re-elected as a Deputy of the State Duma of the VII convocation from electoral district 0118, Dmitrovsky - Moscow region. Member of the United Russia political party faction. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on international affairs. Member of the State Duma Commission on Deputy Ethics. Start date of authority: October 5, 2016.
For his great contribution to the strengthening of Russian statehood, the development of parliamentarism and active legislative activity to Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina August 23, 2019 awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree.
The first annual secular award in the beauty and business industry “Person of the Year 2019” took place September 15, 2019 in Moscow. More than a hundred nominations and prizes were presented on the stage of the Sovereign Celebration House. The organizers of the award invited representatives of the Russian Book of Records, who presented Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina with an award in the category “The largest number of gold medals.”
Irina Rodnina and the head of the Central sports club Armies Artem Gromov September 21, 2019 signed a cooperation agreement between CSKA and the All-Russian School Sports Federation. Within the framework of the agreement, work will be carried out to develop physical education, sports and health work, as well as the promotion of physical education and the active participation of children and adolescents in socially significant and military-patriotic events.
Awards for Irina Rodnina
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree - For great contribution to the strengthening of Russian statehood, the development of parliamentarism and active legislative activity (08/23/2019)
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (09/06/1999)
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (11/10/2009)
Order of Friendship (2016)
Order of Lenin (10.05.1976)
Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (03/03/1972; 04/09/1980)
Medal "For Labor Valor" (05/30/1969)
Medal “Participant of the military operation in Syria” (2016)
Bronze Olympic Order
Twice laureate of the National Award for Public Recognition of the Achievements of Women of Russia “Olympia” for 2002 and 2003
Winner of the “Russian of the Year” award (2005) in the “Triumphant” category
Honorary Doctor of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise since 2015 close 1982 - Where do the champions go (documentary)
The elder sister is Valentina Konstantinovna, an engineer-mathematician.
First husband - Alexander Zaitsev (marriage in 1975), ice partner. Their wedding was celebrated very widely; US television came to filming.
Son - Alexander (born February 23, 1979), ceramic artist.
Granddaughter - Sonya.
Second husband - Leonid Minkovsky (marriage since 1986), businessman and film producer.
Daughter - Alena. Lives in Washington. One of the leading news programs on the North American Internet resource HuffPost Live.
On September 12, 1949, a girl was born in Moscow, who was destined to climb to the highest step of the Olympic Games podium three times and ten times at the World Championships, to become a Russian public and statesman and raise two children. Irina Rodnina, the famous figure skater, was able to prove herself in all guises!
The girl, born into the family of a military man and a nurse, was often sick as a child. Doctors strongly recommended that parents begin to harden their child, and five-year-old Ira was taken to an outdoor skating rink. As it turned out, the doctors’ advice influenced not only Irina’s health, but also her fate as a whole. The girl really liked figure skating, she began to make progress and at the age of eleven she successfully passed the selection for the CSKA figure skating section. There she was soon noticed by Stanislav Zhuk, one of the most powerful trainers at that time. He took the young skater from the singles skating team and paired her with Alexei Ulanov.
” The Rodnina-Ulanov pair quickly became the leader of Soviet figure skating, and in 1972 they rose to the highest step of the Olympic podium. However, the personal relationship of the sports couple leaves much to be desired: Ulanov is married to another figure skater, Lyudmila Smirnova, and really wants to skate with her.
It is unknown what caused the fatal mistake of Alexei Ulanov, who, shortly after the Olympics, during training, drops Rodnina from the support and... She does not regain consciousness for two hours. Doctors' diagnosis: concussion and intracranial hematoma.
Irina received an injury just before the World Championships, which she still went to and skated with the same Ulanov. For the short program they even received the highest score - 6.0. Rodnina finished the free program in a semi-fainting state and was seriously thinking about retiring from her career.
” And then again her fate was decided, one might say, by an outsider: Stanislav Zhuk invited her to ride with Alexander Zaitsev, unknown to anyone at that time. On the ice they suited each other perfectly.
This is how Rodnina recalls working with Zaitsev: “It was convenient for me to skate together with him. I extended my hand and didn’t look back. This is an amazing feeling! Don't look back. You give your hand, and they take it. There is always some kind of strength with you.”
” The opportunity not to look back, to rely on a partner always and in everything, led to the fact that the relationship of young athletes went beyond the skating rink, and after another victorious World Championship in 1975, the couple became not only sports, but also married.
Even American television came to the grand wedding of the champions. For a long time sports achivments were in first place for the young family. A year after the wedding, they became Olympic champions, and continued to take first places at the European and World Championships.
But when Irina became pregnant, she had to sacrifice her career: due to complications, she spent time in supine position eight months of pregnancy out of nine. The son of Rodnin and Zaitsev was named Alexander, he was born in 1979. And exactly a year later the couple set off to conquer the Olympic ice for the third time. In 1980, Rodnina and Zaitsev became Olympic champions for the third time and ended their sports careers.
” With the end of my sports career came to an end family life. It turned out that the main thing that connected her and Alexander Zaitsev was sport. If there was no figure skating, there was no more love. Irina began working as a coach and raised her son. They maintained friendly relations with their ex-husband.
And then Irina met her future second husband, businessman Leonid Minkovsky. From him she was not afraid to give birth to her daughter Alena at the age of 36, despite the difficult first pregnancy. When in 1990 she was offered a job at the American International Figure Skating Center, Irina agreed with joy.
Irina’s son Zaitsev Jr. did not want to leave Moscow until the last moment, because he was having a hard time parting with his grandparents: “In principle, I knew English; I studied in an English special school in Russia. But when I got to America, I realized there was nothing more than “Hello!” “I’m Sasha from Russia,” I couldn’t say. However, when I went to school, I made friends and began to learn spoken English. It was also hard for my mother, she didn’t know English at all, she had to learn it from scratch.” Zaitsev Jr. also found his favorite hobby in America - hockey. True, Irina Konstantinovna did not want to give him to sports section, I was afraid that my son would learn to swear and all his teeth would be knocked out. But in the end she agreed.
” In America, Zaitsev Jr. received a good secondary education, but for a long time he could not understand what he wanted to connect his future with. The choice was made on ceramics. However, he wanted to get a profession exclusively in Russia, and entered the Art and Industry Academy named after. Stroganov. Now he is a ceramic artist, he has a daughter, Sophia.
Rodnina’s “American Fairy Tale” lasted only a year, then she found out that her husband was cheating on her. It was a terrible blow, but Irina did not want to live in the status of a deceived wife. This time the divorce was not as peaceful as with Zaitsev: Minkovsky threatened to take his daughter, Rodnina involved the best lawyers - and tried to fight. Irina Konstantinovna says about that period: “I was depressed for quite a long time. The children pulled me out of it. One day my son took me to the mirror and said: “Mom, look who you look like!” I looked and was horrified. All grey, wildly thin. I can’t say that I looked very bad, I just didn’t like myself then. And this is very important! I always loved myself in sports, but in life it turned out to be more difficult. But she made an effort. I began to pay more attention to my appearance and took up sports solely for my health. And then, when you physically exert yourself, all sorts of bad thoughts begin to come out along with sweat. Mine also left... I freed myself from the burden and rushed to Moscow. I rented out an apartment there and provided the family with some kind of guaranteed income.”.
Daughter Alena stayed with her. And immediately after the divorce, things improved in the profession: Rodnina was invited to train Czech figure skaters Radka Kovarzhikova and Rene Novotny, who under her leadership became world champions. Now she has become more than just former champion, and a coach with a brilliant reputation. And by the beginning of the 2000s, she finally returned to her homeland.
” Alena graduated from university and lives and works in America as a journalist. She has an active civic position: in 2014, the girl was nominated for a GLAAD LGBT Award for the program “Bisexuals Waited Their Turn in the White House,” and is now actively involved in the campaign to prevent sexual harassment.
And Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina is now a prominent political figure. However, she does not impose her political views on her children: “Each generation lives its own life. Why should I impose my own? My task was to raise children, raise them, and educate them. Then everyone stands in their own positions.”
Prepared by Maria Kartashova
On September 12, 1949, the world-famous figure skater Irina Rodnina was born in Moscow. The athlete’s biography is full of all kinds of achievements and awards. She managed to become a world champion ten times and an Olympic champion three times. Her name is forever inscribed in the history of world and Russian figure skating. Millions of people are her fans, and they are interested not only in her sports career, but also in various details from the life that the nationality leads...
Jewish on her mother’s side and Russian on her father’s side, the girl inherited her father’s strong-willed character and her mother’s talented genes, which greatly contributed to her future successes. Her life is the life of an outstanding, strong and purposeful woman.
Brief biography and personal life
Irina’s father, Konstantin Nikolaevich Rodnin, was a Russian military man, and her mother, Yulia Yakovlevna Rodnina, was a medical worker originally from Ukraine, but of Jewish origin. The figure skater also has an older sister, Valentina, who chose scientific activity and became a mathematical engineer.
This is the story of the family into which figure skater Irina Rodnina was born. A brief biography and the personal life of the athlete have always interested fans. Her first husband is figure skater Alexander Zaitsev, with whom Irina married in 1975, and before that she competed as a pair at championships for several years. They divorced in 1985. The figure skater's second husband is a film producer and businessman with whom she lived for several happy years in America, but also divorced. Now Irina Konstantinovna is not married.
In her first and second marriages, the athlete had a son and daughter in 1979 and 1986, respectively. The son is Alexander Zaitsev, who became a ceramic artist, and the daughter is Alena Minkovskaya, who currently lives and works as a TV presenter in Washington. Irina Konstantinovna also has a granddaughter, Sonya Zaitseva. Thus began a new maternal chapter in the life led by Irina Rodnina - a biography in which children began to play a very important role.
How it all began
It is interesting that Irina Rodnina was brought into sports by poor health. As a child, she was a sickly child and often suffered from pneumonia. Therefore, doctors recommended that the girl’s parents spend more time on fresh air by doing physical exercise and thereby strengthening the immune system. Then Irina’s father and mother decided to take her to the skating rink in the Pryamikov Cultural Park. So in 1954, at the age of five, the girl discovered the world of figure skating. And this world, to the great delight of many connoisseurs of sports art, subsequently learned what a treasure Irina Rodnina is. The short biography and description of her subsequent achievements are truly amazing.
Rodnina’s first coach in the children’s section was Yakov Smushkin. Later, in 1960, an eleven-year-old girl managed to get into the CSKA figure skating section, where she first performed in single skating. Since 1962, she began to be trained by Sonja and Miloslav Balun. And the first achievement of the young figure skater was third place at the All-Union Youth Competitions in 1963, which Irina won in pairs skating with
Successes under the leadership of S. A. Zhuk
Since 1964, S.A. Zhuk became Irina Rodnina’s coach, who paired the girl with the new coach persistently led the newly formed couple to victories, constantly complicating the program, including more and more complex elements in it. In 1968, Rodnina and Ulanov entered the national team. And starting from the 1969 European Championships, gold medals were won one after another. For winning the 1969 championship, Rodnina received the honorary title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.
At the 1972 Olympics, the couple still managed to achieve victory in a very tough fight. This triumph is not easy for Irina. Literally the day before the championship, the girl falls from a support during training and is hospitalized with an intracranial hematoma and concussion. The skater performs the short program cleanly, but she barely manages to complete the free program. For gold at the Olympics, Rodnina receives the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. However, after this victory, the pair of Ulanov and Rodnina breaks up. Alexey gets together with his wife Smirnova, and Irina is even thinking about leaving the big world. However, from this moment on, the life led by Irina Rodnina becomes even more successful. Biography, nationality, genes, in which Slavic and Jewish blood were intertwined, gave rise to a very strong spirit in the skater. Neither injury nor the loss of his partner could break him.
New partner and new victories
In April 1972, Irina became a couple with We can say that from this moment a new stage begins in the life led by Irina Rodnina. The biography, in which her personal life was somewhere in the background, changes when she meets a new partner, who will later become the figure skater’s first husband.
From the very beginning, everyone notes that Rodnina, paired with Zaitsev, has a much higher level of mutual understanding and consistency than paired with her previous partner. And new victories begin.
The will to win
In Bratislava at the World Championships, held in 1973, Rodnina and Zaitsev, during their free performance, encounter a surprise - a short circuit occurs in the radio room, and right during a difficult lift the sound of the number is interrupted. Despite the complete silence that reigned for several seconds in the huge hall, the couple continues to show their program, following the instructions that coach S. A. Zhuk sends them with signs. Silence gives way to applause from the audience, to which the skaters finish their heroic performance. However, the couple does not receive a single highest mark, since they refuse to re-roll the program at the end of the competition and receive a reduction in points for performing without music. This unfair incident, which nevertheless demonstrates the will to win and love for the art of figure skating, goes down in the history of the sport.
Transition to a new coach
In 1974, Rodnina makes a serious decision. She comes to the conclusion that she needs to move from Zhuk to Tatyana Tarasova. Soon the favorite students of this still very young coach with a great future are the couple Alexander Zaitsev - Irina Rodnina. Their biography takes on new features. Irina Konstantinovna cites fatigue from the coach’s behavior as the reason for leaving Zhuk.
Tarasova brings more theatrical art and expressiveness to the couple's performances. Also, Zaitsev and Rodnina continue to amaze viewers with complex elements that were practically impossible to perform and were far ahead of the then existing figure skating technique. The very next year at the World Championships the couple again won first place. Irina Rodnina’s major victory was also the “gold” at the 1980 Olympics, where the thirty-year-old figure skater and already a mother, together with her partner, managed to skate a very difficult program cleanly and amaze all the judges. History includes the athlete’s tears during the award ceremony.
List of victories
It is not surprising that today the most successful athlete in the history of pairs figure skating is Irina Rodnina. A short biography of the figure skater includes three Olympic victories, ten victories in a row at the World Championships since 1969, eleven at the European Championships and six at the USSR Championships. So, until 1980, Irina and her partners did not lose a single competition. Such an amazing success, embodied in a long series of confident victories, was explained not only by the incredible complexity of the main elements of the numbers performed, but also by the beauty and grace of the connecting elements, as well as the high speed and perfect synchronization of the pair. All this amazed the championship judges year after year and delighted and captivated millions of spectators.
Work as a trainer
In 1981, Rodnina, together with Zaitsev, moved to professional sports. After finishing her career as a figure skater, Irina Konstantinovna first works at the Komsomol Central Committee, and then at the Dynamo society as a senior coach and teaches at the Institute of Physical Culture. From 1900 to 2002 he lived in the USA, where he worked as a coach at the international figure skating center. In 1995, her students Novotny and Kovarzhikova became world champions, for which Irina Rodnina was awarded honorary Czech citizenship. In many countries of the world, as well as in Russia, Irina Rodnina has become a real legend. Brief biography on English language The figure skater and coach is familiar to thousands of her fans in America and other countries of the world.
Social activity
In 2002, Rodnina returned to Russia and became involved in active social activities. Since 2005, she has hosted the author’s program “Stadium” on Radio Russia. In the public all-Russian organization “National Health League”, the athlete serves as a member of the presidium. And in the organization “All-Russian Voluntary Society “Sports Russia”” he takes the place of chairman of the central council.
Now he is a member of the Council for Physical Culture and Sports under the President of the Russian Federation. And during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, she lit the Olympic flame along with
List of awards
The sports career and social activities led by Irina Rodnina were successful. The athlete’s biography is truly brilliant and full of awards. Among the main achievements of Irina Konstantinovna the following can be noted:
- in 1976 she was awarded the Order of Lenin;
- in 1972 and 1980 she received two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor;
- in 1999 she received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree;
- in 2009 she was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and the Bronze Olympic Order;
- in 2002 and 2003 she became a laureate of the Olympia National Prize for public recognition of the achievements of women in Russia;
- in 2005 she won the “Russian of the Year” award in the “Triumphant” category.
Forever in the hearts of fans
To date, no one has yet managed to surpass the sporting success that Irina Rodnina achieved. The biography of this great figure skater inspires many motivated people, showing that real recognition comes to those who truly deserve it. And her magnificent performances will forever remain in the memory and hearts of figure skating fans.
March 2014
Irina Rodnina was included in the Guinness Book of Records as an athlete,
has not lost a single competition in her career
The flag of her country was raised under the arches of the ice arena, the anthem was played Soviet Union. Irina Rodnina, a small woman with a big heart and an iron will, remained the invincible “red queen” of figure skating, making the whole world fall at her feet with armfuls of flowers. Even 34 years later, we all remember that famous shot when a tear flowed down Irina Rodnina’s cheek to the sounds of the Soviet anthem. The tear of a three-time Olympic champion, a tear that reflects everything - work, pain, happiness, and pride.
February 7, 2014, Sochi, Fisht stadium. Grand opening ceremony XXII winter The Olympic Games are coming to an end. The legendary Vladislav Tretyak and Irina Rodnina light the Olympic flame, completing the relay of torchbearers. And rightly so. Who else but she - Irina Rodnina - is worthy of such an honorable mission? One of the best athletes of the twentieth century, the most successful figure skater in the history of this sport, three-time Olympic champion, ten-time world champion, multiple European champion in pair skating. And Rodnina is undoubtedly the person whose extraordinary will to win has become an example for many young athletes.
The biography of Irina Rodnina is so full of incredible victories and dramatic turns that there are enough stories in it for an entire Hollywood epic.
Irina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow. Dad Konstantin Nikolaevich, originally from Vologda, was a career military man, mother Yulia Yakovlevna, all of whose numerous Jewish relatives lived in Ukraine, worked as a doctor. The parents loved their daughter madly, devoted a lot of time to her, and developed her many talents. “Our parents went through the war, they have a value in life, the joy of life - it had a completely different meaning. That's why we got a lot of work. I don’t want to say this as a reproach to today’s parents; perhaps I say this more as a reproach to myself - because I couldn’t devote so much to my children,” Irina Rodnina later said.
Everything would be fine, only one thing was upsetting - the girl grew up very sickly. By the age of five, Ira had suffered from pneumonia eleven times and was registered at a tuberculosis dispensary. Yulia Yakovlevna, like any wise Jewish mother, found the only and sure way to improve her daughter’s health: without thinking about awards and fame, she simply sent her daughter to the sports section, where classes were held in the fresh air - figure skating turned up. Mom brought Ira to the skating rink, the boots turned out to be too big for her - she had to put them right on her felt boots, but, despite the strange design, the nimble little one immediately bravely rolled forward and, it seems, has never looked back since then...
“The classes were held in the park,” recalls Irina Konstantinovna. – We learned to end all jumps in a snowdrift. For me, figure skating was all about the fact that I could run and jump into a snowdrift - it didn’t hurt at all, and the thrill was extraordinary. Since, of course, there was nowhere to change clothes in the park, a layer of ice froze on my leggings, it was difficult to clean it off, and while my mother and I were riding home in the trolleybus, streams began to flow from me.”
Mom turned out to be right - permanent physical activities the fresh air improved Irina’s health. Naturally, at that time no one had yet thought about any serious sports career. However, God had his own plans - figure skating changed the girl’s life once and for all, and she never once in her life regretted that she devoted herself to this bright, but very labor-intensive sport.
Since childhood, Irina was distinguished by some kind of special purposefulness, she trained selflessly both on the ice and in the gym - sometimes with dumbbells, sometimes with a barbell, sometimes with rubber bands. From the children's figure skating school, Rodnina moved to the CSKA figure skating section, where she entered through a competition.
In 1962, at the invitation of the Soviet Sports Committee, Czechoslovakian coaches, the spouses Sonya and Milan Valun, came to work at the club. Rodnina, paired with Oleg Vlasov, began training under their guidance, and already in 1963 the young couple took third place in the all-Union youth competitions. However, soon after the end of the contract, the Czechoslovak specialists left, and Irina was left to her own devices. It was then that Stanislav Zhuk, who had just been appointed senior coach of CSKA skaters, noticed her. It was he who managed to discern remarkable talent in a fifteen-year-old girl. “There is no one like her!” – Stanislav Alekseevich said then.
At the suggestion of the new coach, Alexey Ulanov became Irina’s partner. They were a beautiful, memorable couple: small, strongly built Rodnina and prominent, tall Ulanov. They first made their presence known in 1967 at demonstration performances. And two years later the first big victory came.
In 1969, Rodnina and Ulanov became world champions in figure skating among sports pairs and did not give this title to anyone for three years. 1972 was also marked by the fact that then they became Olympic champions for the first time.
I would like to remember in more detail about that period, the period of the beginning of Irina Rodnina’s victorious career. Thus, the victory at the European Championship 69 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen had a special connotation. There he and Ulanov performed without a coach. In figure skating, having a coach with the athletes during training and competition is much more important than in many other sports. Only qualified, timely advice from a coach who knows the athlete well helps to avoid mistakes and often severe injuries. And it so happened that the coach was not around at that tournament. And there was a pre-race fever and nervous tension. But there was something else - a desire to prove the correctness of the chosen path. That victory meant a lot!
And when she came, another side of the human and athletic character of Rodnina the leader was revealed: the courage of everyday life. Such courage, multiplied by thousands and thousands of days, is probably the most valuable thing in her character. And it is natural that such a person, in moments of the most difficult trials, has the greatest reserve of strength and stamina.
Perhaps the most typical illustration of this idea is the episode that occurred immediately after the victory at the Olympic Games in Sapporo. Then, in 1972, before performing at the World Championships, Alexey Ulanov warned Rodnina that next year he would compete with a new partner - Leningrad figure skater Lyudmila Smirnova. Ulanov and Smirnova were going to get married and make a new sports couple. Ulanov was full of hopes for the continuation of a brilliant sporting future. Rodnina’s condition in this case no longer bothered him. And you couldn’t envy her condition... It was very difficult for Irina then. She later recalled: “I didn’t have any personal grudges. Lesha has always been just a sports comrade and a partner for me. We had a lofty goal, and for some reason I was sure that together with Lesha we would achieve it, that our sports union was indestructible. But it turned out that he thinks completely differently. So is it worth continuing?
But what can you do - preparations for the World Championships in Calgary were underway, where Irina and Alexey were supposed to perform together for the last time. In such a difficult moral situation, the nerves of both athletes were strained to the limit. During training, Ulanov unexpectedly dropped Rodnina, and she hit her head on the ice, receiving serious injury. “No shaking, no jumping. Peace. First of all, peace. Now the main thing is to stay patient,” the adamant doctors gave Irina a stern admonishment when they finally reluctantly released her from the clinic after the treatment. How does it feel to lie down? You need to know Rodnina - it’s not in her character.
...At the Calgary Ice Arena, pale Ira hid her usual smile. Only the eyes, which many journalists love to write about, retained the firmness of their gaze. She carried her burden of responsibility with dignity, without shifting an ounce onto the shoulders of others. And thousands of Canadians stood up, greeting the now four-time world champion Irina Rodnina with an ovation.
More than once or twice later, Irina had to make decisions in extremely difficult situations that required immediate answers and for her the only correct ones. From the bright flame wrestling she came out renewed and even stronger. And this is also a pattern of her character.
Then, in 1972, after Ulanov left her, Irina tried not to show anyone how difficult it was for her. She smiled. She was invariably cheerful and sociable. People came to her for advice, although these days it was she herself who needed good advice most of all. What to do? Leave performances? Finish college and move on to coaching work? If you go out on the ice, then with whom? Who can you guess as a reliable partner?
One way or another, the decision was made. The most difficult. Rodnina begins performing with little-known figure skater Alexander Zaitsev. Irina and her coach saw in him something that, perhaps, almost no one had noticed before them - Zaitsev has character. He is resilient, knows how to gather all the energy to achieve specific purpose. He knows how to get along with people, which means that the couple will quickly find a common language. Well, if we add to this that Zaitsev has high and easy jumps and has, albeit not yet polished, a pair skating technique, then it is clear: with such a partner you can think about getting on the podium again. To the very top step. Rodnina didn’t even want to think about other steps.
The summer and autumn of 1972 were extraordinary. The training was exhausting. They didn’t leave - they crawled away from the ice. No vacations. No beaches. Only ice. Gradually getting to know each other. It was after these trainings that Zaitsev would say: “In principle, I don’t see anything wrong with such loads. Fear and timidity appear in those who do not prepare themselves for difficult work in advance. In my opinion, you need to gradually tune in to great work all the time. Irina and I know what awaits us tomorrow. And clarity of purpose gives a lot.”
And here are Irina’s words about her new partner: “It was convenient for me to ride in pairs with him. I extended my hand and didn’t look back. This is an amazing feeling! Don't look back. You give your hand, and they take it. There is always some kind of strength with you!” Agree, such words are worth a lot.
Yes, undoubtedly, the clarity of purpose and the mutual understanding that arose gave them the opportunity to find the shortest paths to future victories. But that's not all. And perhaps it was precisely in those days that Rodnina’s fully human talent was revealed. For Zaitsev, she was both a tireless partner and a caring sister at the same time. She gave neither him nor herself any respite. And if he overcame all the barriers, it was primarily because he had a reliable and caring leader, with whom he was not afraid to storm any sporting heights. And they took them on the first try. The highest grades rained down like from a cornucopia. The energetic couple dug deeper and brought out new figure skating treasures in front of the amazed spectators. And new achievements - in will, courage and perseverance - too.
Rodnina left for the USA and began working as a coach. Of course, it wasn’t easy: I had to get used to the new way of life, establish connections, and learn the language. In 1986, daughter Alena was born.
But the happiness did not last long - only a year. Irina again had to go through a difficult ordeal - the betrayal of a loved one and separation from him. “I always won, but then I had to learn to lose,” she recalls. – I asked myself the question many times: can I survive the fall? And I realized: the fall can be stopped, but the wound remains..."
Ira suffered for a year and a half. Ex-husband tried by all legal means to take away his daughter. Ira needed to earn money to live. Trials did not stop, there was less and less strength left... And more and more often she caught herself thinking: “Why am I living? There were moments when I wanted to get into the car and drive off a cliff at full speed. It happened that she sat alone and clinked glasses with her reflection. Sashka brought me out of this state. He came up to me one day and said: “Mom, look at yourself, who you look like. All gray and ugly." I perked up, started running, and took care of myself. And I came out of this state and won.”
Rodnina continued to work at the International Figure Skating Center in Lake Arrow, near Los Angeles, where children from all over the world came to train. The famous athlete managed to survive and became successful coach. But homesickness did not go away.
Rodnina came to Moscow more than once - and still later returned back to the USA. However, more and more often I thought about returning to my homeland forever. And finally I decided.
After the separation, Moscow saw her as impressive, fit, and in a fighting mood. I saw and appreciated... Today Rodnina is the chairman of the public organization "Sports Russia", a member of the Council for Physical Education and Sports under the President, and a deputy of the State Duma. No troubles in life can knock this miniature woman out of her working rut, and when children gather at home, albeit infrequently: a married son, a graduate of the Stroganov School, and a daughter, a student at an American university, Irina feels happy.
***
For many years, the fast-moving, energetic Rodnina fearlessly performed breathtaking lifts, twists and jumps. Her style was called fireworks on ice, sturm und drang, and although partners, coaches and circumstances changed, she invariably rose to the highest step of the podium. Meticulous figure skating fans have calculated that during her career, Irina collected almost a kilogram of gold in the form of awards. By the way, the weight could have been more, but medals made of 750-carat precious metal are awarded only at the World and European Championships; Olympic medals are gold-plated. Once they asked Rodnina where she kept them, and heard: “In the safe.”
“All my life I was afraid of losing. I struggled with myself and circumstances. Now it seems to me that thanks to figure skating, I discovered a completely different world for myself. And those who have not known it eat bland food all the time, but I have food with spices and imagination... This, perhaps, is my success,” says Irina Rodnina.
Agree - she did everything she could. Whoever can do it better.
On September 12, 2016, the legendary woman, multiple champion, who managed to bring figure skating to the highest world level, Irina Rodnina, will celebrate her 67th birthday. The biography, personal life, performances and photos of the famous figure skater will be the subject of our article.
The first steps on the path to big sport
On September 12, 1949, a girl was born into the family of an officer and a nurse, who was destined to change the world olympic sport. Ira grew up as a sickly child, so her little one, at the age of five, was sent by her parents to the famous Moscow figure skating school, where many outstanding figure skaters came from. Since she came to the skating rink in 1954, her personal life has changed forever. Despite the fact that she started skating very early, even then the future athlete showed such qualities as determination, diligence and the will to win, because after passing a serious selection, Irina got into the CSKA school in the figure skating section. At that time, the girl trained as a single skater and, under the strict guidance of Yakov Smushkin, mastered the basic
Since 1962, Irina began training under the coaching of Sonya and Milan Valun, who came from Czechoslovakia. Already in 1963, Irina Rodnina and her partner took third place in youth competitions and received their first prize. After a while, the girl’s coaches were forced to return home, but as fate would have it, Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk became her new coach.
Collaboration with Stanislav Zhuk
With the change of coach, a new life began. Stanislav Alekseevich found a new partner for Irina, who became an adult, stately and handsome Alexey with a strong, strong spirit and Irina’s body looked great together. In 1967, the guys performed in front of the judges for the first time with a demonstration performance, thereby winning their attention.
Two years later, in 1969, the Rodnina-Ulanov pair won their first victory in the World Championship. They had to go to the European Championships without a coach, but this did not stop them from taking prizes, because Rodnina’s strong-willed qualities, ability to deal with difficulties and her undeniable charm helped them achieve new heights. Until 1972, Irina won over and over again with Ulanov. However, on the eve of the 1972 World Championships, Alexey informed Irina of his intention to leave his partner: his partner was to be Lyudmila Smirnova, whom Ulanov was going to marry.
This was a blow for the athlete; according to her, Alexey was her friend, with whom she dreamed of conquering Olympus, and it was very unfortunate that her partner did not share her desires.
At that moment, figure skater Irina Rodnina was on the verge of leaving figure skating, and there was also an opinion that the athlete would become a single skater. But paired with Alexei Ulanov, Irina won gold twice more, one of which was at the Olympics in Sapporo.
Meeting with Alexander Zaitsev
At a time when there were rumors about her final retirement from figure skating, Irina Rodnina chooses a different path: among little-known skaters, the girl found who became her new partner, thanks to her main advantage - her character. The coach immediately understood this and the athlete’s personal life was now closely connected with her new partner.
1972 turned out to be a very difficult year for Irina. All summer and autumn, she and Alexander had endless training sessions on the ice; they crawled home tired and exhausted, but the couple was optimistic about the future. Rodnina became for Zaitsev not just a sports comrade, but also a mentor from whom to follow an example, and a faithful support. Irina, in the person of Alexander, found a close friend and moral support in difficult times. They trained long, furiously, and reaped the rewards of their hard work: first place and gold medals, while their rivals, Smirnova and Ulanov, won silver. The audience warmly supported the couple Irina Rodnina - Alexander Zaitsev.
And in 1973, they managed to leave a memorable mark on the history of figure skating at the World Championships in Bratislava, proving themselves to be true professionals, champions and fighters for victory.
Triumph in Bratislava
That day was very exciting for Irina, Alexander and their coach, because the couple presented their joint performance to the world for the first time. Everything was fine, the athletes confidently began their free program, and at the moment of the climax, when Rodnina and Zaitsev were performing a difficult lift, the music suddenly stopped. However, such a short circuit (as it turned out later) did not prevent the talented couple from skating their routine to the end; the skaters did not stop for a second and met the exact time allotted for them. At first the public did not understand what was happening. Then applause was heard, quickly turning into a standing ovation that replaced the music. The audience did not want to let their favorites go, the couple was asked to re-skate their number, but Rodnina refused, rightly waiting for the results: the judges had their say in the form of high marks, and this performance became an example for all skaters and went down in history as an indicator of an amazing desire for victory.
Even though Irina Rodnina’s nationality is Jewish, she was and remains at heart a modest Russian woman with a bright look and an open smile. On the one hand, her purity and tenderness, on the other, her fortitude and fortitude, attracted attention to her person.
Under the leadership of Tatyana Tarasova
The year 1974 began, and with it new difficulties and changes. Stanislav Zhuk once approached Rodnina and said that he was ready to conquer new horizons, and his work with Irina, even though she was his best student, was over. Rodnina tried to influence the coach, persuaded her to stay, because so many years of working with this man had literally brought them closer together, but Zhuk was adamant to the girl’s pleas. At that moment, Rodnina and her partner needed to get their act together, and they decided to turn to young Tatyana Tarasova. Tatyana Anatolyevna quickly took them under her wing, brought new colors to their pairing, added lyrical notes, and taught new complex elements.
Wedding with Zaitsev and birth of a son
In 1975, a significant event happened in the life of Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev - they became husband and wife. At the wedding, the orchestra played the tune of “Kalinka,” which was very touching, because it is clear without words: “Kalinka” by Irina Rodnina is a kind of talisman, the calling card of the famous athlete.
Serious preparations were underway for the Olympic Games in Innsbruck, which were to take place in 1976. Rodnina tried to convince olympic spirit into his partner, morally setting Zaitsev up for victory. Training continued under the leadership of Tarasova. During the performances themselves, it was clear that the couple was a little tired and exhausted, they made mistakes, but still took prizes; for Irina Rodnina it was the second olympic gold.
In February 1979, Rodnina gave birth to a son, who was named after his father - Alexander. After the birth of Sasha Rodnina, I had to restore my physical fitness to get back on the ice.
Last appearance on the ice and tears of the champion
The last time she went to the skating rink was when she took part in the 1980 Olympics. It was then that for the tenth time she received championship title and for the third time she took Olympic gold, getting into the Guinness Book of Records. During the medal presentation ceremony, Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina could not hold back her tears; this moment became one of the most heartbreaking and touching in the history of the Olympic Games.
After stunning victories at world and European championships, Irina Konstantinovna decided to leave big-time sports. The search began again. Rodnina could not use her skills in any way, she tried to be a mentor, then a teacher, but nothing could fill the feeling of emptiness.
After leaving big sport
The relationship with her husband also reached a dead end, and they had to separate. But, having fallen in love again, at the age of thirty-five Irina Rodnina got married. Rodnina’s husband had nothing to do with the world of sports, he was a businessman and producer. He persuaded his wife to try her hand abroad.
In the United States, Irina Rodnina chose the profession of a coach. At first it was difficult: adapting to new living conditions, getting used to the mentality of the country, learning the language. After some time, Rodnina divorced her second husband, from whom her daughter Alena was born.
However, difficulties did not break her here either, because Rodnina had the strongest support - her children. “It’s easier for a woman to cope with the vicissitudes of fate, because she has children,” thinks Irina Rodnina. The athlete’s children did not follow in the footsteps of their famous mother: Alexander became an artist, and Alena became a TV presenter.
Activities in the USA and return home
While living in the USA, Irina Rodnina worked as a coach near Los Angeles, at the International Figure Skating Center, and became the owner of a small skating rink.
Despite the fact that her business abroad was going well, the champion was haunted by longing for her homeland. Returning to her hometown over and over again, Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina decided to create a figure skating school in Russia.
At the moment, Irina is a public figure, politician, and member of the United Russia party. In 2014, during the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Irina Rodnina was given the right to light the Olympic flame.
Her name has already gone down in history. Rodnina Irina, a biography whose personal life turned out to be very difficult, but full of interesting events, does not regret anything. She wants to believe that new achievements are yet to come.
