The terrible fall of the Russian figure skater Totmyanina. Maxim Marinin and Tatyana Totmyanina: why is there no time for love on the ice? With a slight movement of the skate...

Pairs figure skating- this is always the story of the relationship between a man and a woman told on ice - love, attraction, passion, suffering. According to experts, among Russian figure skaters there are three couples who conveyed the whole gamut of such feelings in their programs - Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergey Grinkov and, of course, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. In every movement of this St. Petersburg couple one could read love and reverent attitude towards each other.

Today Elena Berezhnaya turns 39 years old.

Everything is grown up

Lena Berezhnaya was born in a small southern city - Nevinnomyssk. Despite the fact that she moved to St. Petersburg a long time ago, in her homeland she is considered the most famous person, and local residents are proud of their fellow countrywoman.

She started figure skating at the age of 3 and immediately made a name for herself. Her extraordinary talent was noted by her coaches. In particular, the famous Russian mentor Stanislav Zhuk drew attention to Elena. Already at the age of 13, the figure skater moved to Moscow to devote herself entirely to ice dancing. Lena left for the capital all alone; her family remained in Nevinnomyssk. The parents were very worried, but they let their daughter go.

In a Moscow dormitory for athletes, Elena was the only girl. But she didn’t pay attention to the boys’ sidelong glances, concentrating on figure skating.

“My life was scheduled minute by minute,” Berezhnaya recalled. - The school is a sports boarding school where I lived and studied for a long time. Then the first competitions began, constant traveling - moving, it was no longer possible to remain there as a teenager. Everything was adult."

In every movement of Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze one could read love and reverent attitude towards each other. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Her first partner was the Latvian figure skater Oleg Shlyakhov. The athlete was four years older than Lena, and their relationship on the ice was not easy. The guy was rude and treated the fragile girl without due respect. In 2014, the sports drama “Champions” was released, where the relationships of the skaters were fully revealed. Any mistake by Lena ended in a scandal, Shlyakhov even raised his hand against her. Berezhnaya’s friends tried to stand up for her, even giving Lyakhov a “dark” treatment. Among the defenders was Anton Sikharulidze. But these “educational measures” had no effect on the aggressive guy. He took Lena to Latvia, where their skating ended in a terrible tragedy.

With a slight movement of the skate...

This happened during one of the training sessions in 1996. The guys perfected their program for the European Championships. While performing a parallel rotation, Shlyakhov did not calculate the distance and hit Elena in the temple with the blade of his skate. Her temporal bone was pierced, and fragments damaged the lining of the brain. Berezhnaya's life hung by a thread. Today she recalls with a smile that terrible moment: “...and with a slight movement of his foot his skate hit me in the head...”

She had to undergo two complex neurosurgical operations, and she forgot how to walk and talk. During this difficult period, 19-year-old Anton Sikharulidze was constantly next to Lena. The guy in love ran away from training camps and training sessions and rushed to the intensive care unit with a huge bouquet of flowers to hold Lena’s hand and speak kind words to her.

“At first I didn’t understand for a long time what happened,” the skater admitted in one interview. - When they told me that they had surgery on my head, I thought: well, I’ll have to skip a few training sessions. But when they said that I would have to lie down without getting up for at least two weeks, I realized that everything turned out to be much more complicated.”

Elena recalled that she was terribly worried because the doctors shaved her off long hair. Then she saw herself in the mirror and was shocked: a bald head with a huge scar, bruises under her eyes. According to her, part of her face was paralyzed.

Soon she began to feel severe depression, but Anton was nearby, who taught Lena to walk again, and then held her hand during her first steps on the ice. Experienced doctors frowned and unanimously said that we could forget about sports and ice skating in general. Three months after the unfortunate injury, Lena and Anton moved to St. Petersburg, where the legendary Tamara Moskvina became their coach.

Unprecedented pressure

This couple became silver medalists at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. Inexperienced viewers, seeing the interview with Lena and Anton, laughed, saying that the figure skater is a true blonde and cannot put two words together. They did not know that Berezhnaya simply could not speak; her speech was impaired. And Anton courageously took the heat upon himself, answering all the journalists’ tricky questions and not allowing his partner to be offended.

Every year the guys skated better and better. Twice they became world champions, once they took second place at the world championship. They went to the Olympics in Salt Lake City, America, as undisputed favorites.

Elena Berezhnaya is completely immersed in work, heads the St. Petersburg State Ice Theater and trains talented St. Petersburg children. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

World figure skating leaders have long been irritated by the decades-long dominance of the USSR and Russia in figure skating. And in the USA, behind-the-scenes games began, the victims of which were a St. Petersburg couple. After performing a short and free program Russian couple won gold, the children were awarded long-awaited medals. Immediately, US newspapers published devastating articles denouncing supposedly “corrupt” judges. The jury was subjected to unprecedented pressure, including threats of physical violence. And the judges wavered. They reviewed the results and an unprecedented repeat award ceremony took place. Not only Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya, but also the Canadian couple Sale-Pelletier climbed to the top step of the podium.

Happy mother

After that Olympics, the athletes left amateur sports. They became stars, they were invited to television, radio and newspapers. Then, in 2002, Lena still experienced serious problems with speech. But she courageously came to all interviews and, unlike Anton, was never late. It's time for her to take the rap in front of the journalists for two. But no one asked Lena tricky questions. Without exception, all the people who interacted with her immediately and irrevocably fell in love with this charming girl.

The irresistible couple skated professionally for four years and took part in ice shows. Their personal life has cracked, Anton is an addicted person, and Elena did not hold back her loved one.

Today Elena Berezhnaya is a happy mother, she has two children Tristan and Sophia-Diana from English figure skater Stephen Cousins. She is completely immersed in work, heads the St. Petersburg State Ice Theater and trains talented St. Petersburg children.

FIGURE SKATING

As SS already reported, figure skater Tatyana Totmyanina began training after a terrible fall on October 23 at the Grand Prix - Skate America in Pittsburgh. Yesterday, during the Chicago-St. Petersburg teleconference, organized in the Northern capital, Tatyana admitted: she remembers little of what happened that evening.

– Do you go to the doctor or are you allowed to train without restrictions?– the correspondent asked the first question to the skater “ Soviet sports».

“I have to see a specialist, I do this 2-3 times a week,” Tatyana’s voice sounds weak. And the point here, apparently, is not only that it is still early morning in America. – We will probably have to visit doctors both in France, where we are going in the near future, and in Moscow.

– Is it true that after the fall, psychologist Elena Deryabina, who once collaborated with Evgeni Plushenko, joined in working with you and Maxim Marinin?

There is a pause. Figure skating coach Oleg Vasiliev takes the floor.

- Pure truth. The psychologist has been working with the guys for two weeks now. In this situation it is simply necessary. After all, psychological trauma can be much deeper than physical. Maxim especially needed the help of a psychologist. And I can say that the guys’ condition has improved noticeably. In any case, now they are again practicing almost all the elements, including that very fatal support.

- Tatyana, aren’t you scared at all?

– To be honest, I absolutely don’t remember what happened on the ice then. That’s why I’m not afraid now. But sometimes my head feels dizzy, of course – it’s a concussion after all.

– What was your mother’s first reaction?

“At that moment she was in St. Petersburg and, of course, she was in shock: first seeing and then hearing about my injury was very difficult for her. And when I called myself, my mother immediately shouted into the phone: “I’m flying out to you in America!” In general, it was not she who calmed me down, but I who calmed her down. She persuaded me to stay at home. In response, my mother said: “You now have two birthdays - November 2 and October 23.”

– It’s no secret that you starred in films in America. And if you were offered to play yourself and included in this film a performance at the unfortunate Grand Prix, would you agree to such a role?

– (After a pause.) I don’t know. It's easier to play someone else's fate. And so this is not a feature film, but a documentary film.

– When do you plan to make your first start after the injury?

Oleg Vasiliev answers.

– This will be the Russian Championship, which will be held in St. Petersburg in early January. We want to defend the title of champions, although the mere fact of getting on the ice will be a big deal.

BY THE WAY

TOTIMANINA WAS TREATED BY AMERICA

As Oleg Nilov, president of the St. Petersburg Figure Skating Federation, who participated in the teleconference, admitted, all expenses for Tatyana Totmyanina’s treatment were borne by the US Figure Skating Federation. It cost $50,000. “True, they didn’t tell us about this right away, but only the next day. Apparently, the Americans first became convinced that everything was not so scary, and only then made a decision,” stated Oleg Nilov.

FIGURE SKATING

As SS already reported, figure skater Tatyana Totmyanina began training after a terrible fall on October 23 at the Grand Prix - Skate America in Pittsburgh. Yesterday, during the Chicago-St. Petersburg teleconference, organized in the Northern capital, Tatyana admitted: she remembers little of what happened that evening.

– Do you go to the doctor or are you allowed to train without restrictions?– the correspondent of “Soviet Sport” asked the first question to the figure skater.

“I have to see a specialist, I do this 2-3 times a week,” Tatyana’s voice sounds weak. And the point here, apparently, is not only that it is still early morning in America. – We will probably have to visit doctors both in France, where we are going in the near future, and in Moscow.

– Is it true that after the fall, psychologist Elena Deryabina, who once collaborated with Evgeni Plushenko, joined in working with you and Maxim Marinin?

There is a pause. Figure skating coach Oleg Vasiliev takes the floor.

- Pure truth. The psychologist has been working with the guys for two weeks now. In this situation it is simply necessary. After all, psychological trauma can be much deeper than physical. Maxim especially needed the help of a psychologist. And I can say that the guys’ condition has improved noticeably. In any case, now they are again practicing almost all the elements, including that very fatal support.

- Tatyana, aren’t you scared at all?

– To be honest, I absolutely don’t remember what happened on the ice then. That’s why I’m not afraid now. But sometimes my head feels dizzy, of course – it’s a concussion after all.

– What was your mother’s first reaction?

“At that moment she was in St. Petersburg and, of course, she was in shock: first seeing and then hearing about my injury was very difficult for her. And when I called myself, my mother immediately shouted into the phone: “I’m flying out to you in America!” In general, it was not she who calmed me down, but I who calmed her down. She persuaded me to stay at home. In response, my mother said: “You now have two birthdays - November 2 and October 23.”

– It’s no secret that you starred in films in America. And if you were offered to play yourself and included in this film a performance at the unfortunate Grand Prix, would you agree to such a role?

– (After a pause.) I don’t know. It's easier to play someone else's fate. And so this is not a feature film, but a documentary film.

– When do you plan to make your first start after the injury?

Oleg Vasiliev answers.

– This will be the Russian Championship, which will be held in St. Petersburg in early January. We want to defend the title of champions, although the mere fact of getting on the ice will be a big deal.

BY THE WAY

TOTIMANINA WAS TREATED BY AMERICA

As Oleg Nilov, president of the St. Petersburg Figure Skating Federation, who participated in the teleconference, admitted, all expenses for Tatyana Totmyanina’s treatment were borne by the US Figure Skating Federation. It cost $50,000. “True, they didn’t tell us about this right away, but only the next day. Apparently, the Americans first became convinced that everything was not so scary, and only then made a decision,” stated Oleg Nilov.

Tatyana Totmyanina is a Russian figure skater, multiple champion of world and European championships, who in 2006, together with, managed to climb to the highest step of the Olympic Games podium.

Tatyana was born in the northern city of Perm, where the child spent her childhood. The girl's health was not good, so doctors advised her parents to send Tanya to sports section. And since the future champion’s mother dreamed of becoming a figure skater as a child, her daughter was enrolled in a figure skating group.

Already at the age of 4, Totmyanina started skating and learned the basics and intricacies of this sport. For a long time Tatyana skated alone, and supervised the girl’s choreographic education former ballerina Perm Opera and Ballet Theater.

At the age of 14, Tatyana Totmyanina first met Maxim Marinin. This acquaintance occurred at junior competitions in 1995. Soon the skaters were already dancing in pairs, and a year later they finally moved to a stronger coach, Natalya Pavlova, at the Yubileiny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. So it began sports biography future champion.

Figure skating

Under the leadership of this mentor, the guys settled in the top ten best athletes world, but later they wanted to change the coach. The choice of Tatyana and Maxim fell on, but due to the scandal that arose with Pavlova, the transition did not take place. Then Totmyanina and Marinin leave for the USA to visit another famous mentor -. With him, the couple opened up and showed the maximum of their capabilities.

First, they conquer the European Championship. Interestingly, before completion professional career The skaters never lost first place to anyone at these competitions. Gradually, gold medals from the Russian Championship, the World Championship, and the Grand Prix stages fell into the collection of awards. And like the icing on the cake in a series of victories - in 2006 at the XX Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Tatyana Totmyanina becomes an Olympic champion.

After the Olympics, the athletes took a time out, hoping to return to the sport later, but then, for various reasons, did not take part in the competition.

Even when she was an amateur figure skater, Tatyana Totmyanina performed in ice shows, went on tour, and took part in performances on ice. And in 2007, the girl was first invited to the popular television project of Channel One of Russian television, Ice Age.

In the first season, the singer became Tatyana's partner, and later Tatyana danced with the TV presenter, actors and.

In the next season, which started on October 1, 2016, Totmyanina’s partner and ward turned out to be the star of a popular sports television series.

It is curious that Tatyana competed not only with her partner ice rink Maxim Marinin, but also with the honored coach Oleg Vasiliev, thanks to whom she became famous throughout the world.

In 2007, the name of Tatyana Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin was involved in a scandal that erupted after the couple refused to participate in the Stradivarius Golden Ice show.

The organizers of the project and Plushenko himself stated that the skaters first signed a contract and then went to the Ice Symphony. Eugene's representatives even threatened to sue. But Tatyana and Maxim replied that they left because the organizers did not fulfill a number of conditions, and before leaving, a compromise was reached. In addition, the participants in the discord were not going to wash their dirty laundry in public. As a result, no legal proceedings followed.

Personal life

When Tatyana Totmyanina moved to the United States and trained with Oleg Vasiliev, a love relationship began between her and her mentor. It was reported that the lovers, despite the 20-year age difference, were even going to get married, but in the end this wedding did not take place.

Then the athlete’s personal life attracted attention with a long and difficult romance with the Olympic champion in figure skating. Alexey is a friend of Tatiana’s ice partner, so the young people saw each other often, then became close, and soon Yagudin looked at the miniature figure skater with different eyes. By the way, Tanya’s height is 161 cm.

The couple celebrated New Year 2009 in a nightclub. That night Alexey proposed marriage to his beloved. And he gave me a ring, specially ordered in the USA, in February.

The young people spent a long time getting used to each other. Both formed ambitions and plans. There were practically no quarrels in the relationship, but at the same time Lesha left the girl “to nowhere” several times. As the skater himself later admitted, he was afraid of losing his loneliness. In addition, Tatyana was thinking about children, but Alexey was not ready for them.

After Tatiana’s mother died in a car accident, everything changed. She was then carrying her first child and was going crazy with grief. Alexey turned out to be the most reliable support for the girl in this terrible life situation. When the daughter was born, the man took everything into his own hands: he swaddled Lisa himself, bathed her, and changed her clothes.

And six years later, a second girl appeared in the family, named Michelle. It is noteworthy that Alexey insisted on a second child: the young father wanted another girl. The second daughter was born premature. Tatyana and Michelle spent three weeks in intensive care. For the first six days, the girl could not breathe on her own. The doctors refused to give guarantees and tell Alexei any details. But in the end everything worked out.

Less than six months after the birth of the second baby, Yagudin signed with Totmyanina, and now they are officially called husband and wife. The future spouses got married in Krasnoyarsk, where the tour took place. Tatyana decided not to take Alexey’s last name so as not to change many documents.

Now the couple live in two countries: Russia and France. The couple purchased a house in France a long time ago, even before the birth of their first daughter. Lisa goes to school there. Tatyana and Alexey shared in an interview that they care about the future of their children and want to give the girls a good education.

At first, Lisa had a hard time at the French school, but the girl’s classmates helped her, and now the little girl has French girlfriends. The parents decided to keep up with the child and also learn French in order to understand their daughter, so they learn the first basics with a tutor.

Tatyana Totmyanina now

Tatyana has not left the ice stage and continues to delight fans with her performances in performances on ice. The “Together and Forever” tour of Russia, organized by Ilya Averbukh, recently came to an end.

The other day, Tatyana’s husband shocked the couple’s fans. He posted the photo on " Instagram", where part of Alexei's face was bandaged. And next to it I added a photo of a leg with stitches. It turned out that Lesha almost went blind due to frontal sinusitis. And the leg belongs to Tatiana. The figure skater landed unsuccessfully during her performance and broke her leg in front of numerous spectators. She underwent four operations.

Alexey, in the caption to the frame, said that he and Tatyana “met the week as a family.”

By the way, Tatyana Totmyanina also has an account registered with “ Instagram", where she shares photos and videos from performances with subscribers.

Awards

• 1998-1999 - Russian Championship, 3rd place
• 1999-2000 – Russian Championship, 3rd place
• 2000-2001 – European Championship, 2nd place
• 2001-2002 - European Championship, 1st place
• 2002-2003 - European Championship, 1st place
• 2002-2003 - Russian Championship, 1st place
• 2002-2003 - Grand Prix Final, 1st place
• 2003-2004 – World Championship, 1st place
• 2003-2004 - European Championship, 1st place
• 2003-2004 - Russian Championship, 1st place
• 2004-2005 - World Championship, 1st place
• 2004-2005 - European Championship, 1st place
• 2004-2005 - Russian Championship, 1st place
• 2005-2006 – Winter Olympic Games, 1st place
• 2005-2006 - European Championship, 1st place
• 2005-2006 – Grand Prix Final, 1st place

The absurd death of 25-year-old titled figure skater Denis Ten showed that youth and fame cannot protect even the world’s favorites from premature death

No more beautiful than sports than figure skating. Even during official competitions costumes and music delight the eyes and soul of the audience, and the demonstration performances are real performances. The word “tragedy” is incompatible with this celebration of life. And yet, they happen to these seemingly favorites of fortune.

In front of an astonished audience

Perhaps, it is in figure skating that athletes most often receive injuries right in front of the audience, which shock the entire audience. fell from support onto international tournament 2004, lost consciousness. But two years later she managed, together with Maxim Marinin win the Olympics for the glory of Russia.

Tatyana Totmyanina fell from support at an international tournament in 2004

Just at this very Olympics, a Chinese Zhang Dan fell after being thrown onto the ice and could not get up. But the judges gave the girl time, and in front of the amazed spectators, the Chinese skated the program and even won silver.

Celebrities suffered terrible injuries during training Irina Rodnina And Elena Berezhnaya. Each of them had a difficult relationship with a partner and the men were suspected that the fatal falls were their fault. But then, with other partners, the girls won the main Olympic titles.
However, stories do not always end so beautifully. website recalls the most notorious tragedies that occurred in the festive world of figure skating.

1961: Team USA

On February 15, 1961, a Boeing 707 crashed near Brussels. He fell into a field, killing a farmer. Everyone died in the disaster, including 62 passengers, 34 of whom represented the US delegation flying to the World Figure Skating Championships. They did not reach Prague, where they were supposed to fly after the capital of Belgium.

The victims of the disaster included the famous American figure skater and coach, Olympic medalist Marybell Winson-Owen and her two daughters, who competed in pairs and singles skating.

The World Championships in Prague were canceled after this terrible event.

1986: Lyudmila Pakhomova

Lyudmila Pakhomova she was not just loved, she was adored and idolized. She was an outstanding athlete. Mila was once called mediocrity, but to spite everyone she sculpted herself and pulled her partner and husband along with her Alexandra Gorshkova. And only thanks to them and their coach Elena Tchaikovskaya Ice dancing, which was not considered a sport for a long time, was included in Olympic program. And Mila and Sasha were the first Olympic champions in this form.

They left the sport. Daughter was born Julia, Pakhomova began coaching, and was very successful. And then I started feeling bad. When the diagnosis was finally made, it turned out that it was cancer of the lymph nodes. Doctors urged Pakhomova not to stand on the ice during training, not to be nervous, but the determined Mila declared that she did not need a “vegetable” life, and did what she considered necessary. She was dazzling almost until her last days, even when she had to hide the effects of treatment with wigs.

1995: Sergey Grinkov

Pair Ekaterina Gordeeva – Sergei Grinkov was loved by the people, perhaps no less than Pakhomova and Gorshkov. Little charming Katya and a real hero Sergei. Although, when they got together, Grinkov wanted to immediately run away from the 11-year-old little girl.

Then several years passed, the girl grew up and became a real beauty. The guys fell in love with each other and got married, although the wedding, as if fate had warned, was always under threat. Serezha’s father died, then he himself was almost late for the celebration, traveling from the States.

The day after the wedding, a bird hit the window. But who believes in omens in their youth! The couple became two-time Olympic champions in pair skating, they had a daughter, they were wildly popular in the world, and this was reflected in the amounts of their contracts. Everything was ahead...

On November 20, 1995, during a training session in Lake Placid, Grinkov suddenly fell onto the ice with the words “I feel very bad...”. An hour later he died, they didn’t even really take off his skates. It turned out that this 28-year-old Viking had a massive heart attack.

2001: Kira Ivanova

Soviet women's figure skating has long been considered a disgrace to the country. And only the appearance Elena Vodorezova warmed the fans' hearts. But Lena paid a high price for her early success; joint disease forced her to quit.
The example turned out to be contagious. And in 1984, for the first time, a Soviet athlete took bronze at the Olympic Games. She was 21 years old Kira Ivanova.

Figure skater Kira Ivanova.