Brief biography of Irina Rodnina

Irina Rodnina (biography, personal life, athlete's nationality, see below) is a legendary Soviet figure skater who has never lost at international competitions. In this regard, it was included in the Guinness Book. On the athlete's account 10 titles at the World Championships and three Olympic gold. In this article I will present a brief biography of Irina Rodnina. So, let's get started.

Childhood

Irina Rodnina was born in Moscow in 1949. The girl's mother was a medical worker. The father also served as a military man. As for the nationality of Irina, she is Jewish on the mother's line.

It is noteworthy that the health problems predetermined the fate of the girl. In her childhood, she often had pneumonia, and the doctors advised her parents to give the little Rodnina to some sports section. The main thing is that the classes there were held outdoors. It was winter, so parents had to choose from figure skating and skis. The decision came instantly, as there was an excellent ice rink near Rodnins' house.

Over time, Irina's mother noticed the girl's zeal and decided to write it down in the section. The first mentor of the heroine of this article was Yakov Smushin. Then there were a few more trainers, while the girl did not get to the section of CSKA to the Czech specialists - Sonia and Milosław Balun.

Carier start

In 1964, Stanislav Zhuk became the mentor of Irina . The girl then barely passed 15 years. We can say that from that moment the sports biography of Irina Rodnina began. The partner of the figure skater was Alexei Ulanov. The pair practiced a lot and after three years at the tournament "Moscow skates" won its first gold. And a year later, Alex and Irina received bronze medals at the USSR Championship.

International success came to young athletes in 1969 at the European Championships. In a short program Rodnina and Ulanov took 2nd place, but eventually they gathered and won the competition. Irina was immediately awarded the title of "Honored Master of Sports". At the same time, the skaters managed to win gold at the World Championships. And in 1972 Irina and Alexei came to success at the Olympic Games.

After this, the couple stopped cooperation, since Ulanov preferred to ride with his wife. There was a time when the sports biography of Irina Rodnina, a figure skater with a world-wide name, could end. The girl seriously thought about leaving. The sportswoman was dissuaded from this by the instructor Stanislav Zhuk. He quickly found Irina a new partner. They became a young Alexander Zaitsev. The skaters immediately worked together. Rodnina very quickly mastered all complex elements with Zaitsev. A year later, the pair won the European Championship, bypassing the duo Smirnov-Ulanov.

Care of Tarasova

In 1974, Alexander Zaitsev and Irina Rodnina (biography, figure skater's personal life was already actively discussed in the media) made a historic decision. They changed their mentor and went to Tatyana Tarasova. Many people still do not understand the reasons for such an act. Irina herself in one of the interviews said that the main motive was the attitude. Tarasova communicated with her athletes on equal terms, and the Beetle became a despot.

New victories

Tatyana Anatolievna brought Zaitsev and Rodnina more skating. At the Olympics-76 the new program just won all the judges. Despite a few blots during the performance, all the referees scored quite high scores. Thus, the heroine of this article once again became an Olympic champion.

In 1980, Western journalists and figure skaters exerted colossal pressure on Rodnina and Zaitsev. The couple were accused of using banned items. In this regard, Tarasova even had to remove several support from the Olympic program. Alexander and Irina successfully coped with the pressure and flawlessly rolled back both performances. This brought Rodnina the third Olympic gold. At the awards ceremony, she did not hold back tears. Subsequently, her photo with tear-stained eyes was bypassed by virtually all the world's media.

After the sport

After completing her career, Irina Rodnina (biography, figure skater's personal life is known to all her fans) took up coaching and teaching activities. In 1990, the heroine of this article left for the United States, where she began working with young athletes. In Russia, Irina Konstantinovna returned only 12 years later and decided to take up politics.

In 2003 she put forward her candidacy for the State Duma elections. But the former skater did not manage to go to parliament. 2007 is the year when the political biography of Irina Rodnina began. She was elected on the list of the party "United Russia". In addition, Rodnina actively participated in public life of the Russian Federation. It was she, along with Vladislav Tretyak, who was entrusted with an honorable mission - to light a fire at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Personal life

Biography of Irina Rodnina would be incomplete without coverage of this moment. The figure skater got married two times. The first elected athlete was a partner in skating - Zaitsev Alexander. From him, Irina Konstantinovna gave birth to a son named Sasha. Now he has become an adult man and works as a ceramist.

Entrepreneur Leonid Minsky became the second wife of Rodnina. In 1986, the couple had a daughter, Alyona. At the moment the girl lives in the USA and works on television.