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Irina Rodnina

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Irina Rodnina
Irina Rodnina in 2010
Full nameIrina Konstantinovna Rodnina
Born (1949-09-12) September 12, 1949 (age 74)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Height5' (152 cm)[1]
Figure skating career
CountrySoviet Union
Skating clubArmed Forces sports society
Retired1980
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Pairs' Figure skating
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Lake Placid Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1976 Innsbruck Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1972 Sapporo Pairs
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1978 Ottawa Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1977 Tokyo Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1976 Gothenburg Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1975 Colorado Springs Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1974 Munich Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1973 Bratislava Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1972 Calgary Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1971 Lyon Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1970 Ljubljana Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1969 Colorado Springs Pairs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1980 Gothenburg Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1978 Strasbourg Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1977 Helsinki Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1976 Geneva Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1975 Copenhagen Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1974 Zagreb Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1973 Cologne Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1972 Gothenburg Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1971 Zürich Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1970 Leningrad Pairs
Gold medal – first place 1969 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Pairs

Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina (Russian: Ирина Константиновна Роднина, born September 12, 1949) is one of the most successful figure skaters and the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medals (1972, 1976, 1980). She initially competed with Alexei Ulanov and later teamed up with Alexander Zaitsev. She is the first pair skater to win the Olympic title with two different partners, followed only by Artur Dmitriev.

Career

In her pre-school years, Irina Rodnina suffered from pneumonia eleven times; deciding to enroll her in an activity, in 1954 her parents brought her to her first skating rink, in the Pryamikov Children Park in Moscow.[2] Since the sixth form of secondary school, age 13,[3] she trained at Children and Youth Sports School of CSKA on Leningradsky Prospekt.[4]

By 1963, Rodnina had begun skating with her first partner Oleg Vlasov, coached by Sonia and Milan Valun. In 1964, her coach became Stanislav Zhuk, who paired her with Alexei Ulanov. They won four consecutive World and European titles. Rodnina / Ulanov won their first World title in 1969, ahead of Tamara Moskvina / Alexei Mishin. They won their next two World titles, 1970 and 1971, ahead of silver medalists Lyudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin. However, Ulanov fell in love with Smirnova, and prior to the 1972 Olympics, the couple made the decision to skate together the following season.[2] Rodnina / Ulanov went on to compete at the 1972 Olympics where they captured the gold. They then prepared for their last competition together, the 1972 World Championships. While practicing together a day before the start of the competition, the pair had an accident on a lift and Rodnina ended up in hospital with a concussion and an intracranial hematoma.[2] Despite the accident, they had a strong showing in the short program, receiving some 6.0s. In the long program, Rodnina became faint and dizzy but it was enough for their fourth World title. Ulanov continued his career with Smirnova, while Rodnina considered retirement.

In April 1972, her coach Stanislav Zhuk suggested she team up with the young Leningrad skater Alexander Zaitsev, who had good jumping technique and quickly learned the elements. Their music stopped during their short program at the 1973 World Championships, possibly due to a Czech worker acting in retaliation for the suppression of the Prague Spring.[5][2] Known for intense concentration, they finished the program in silence, earning a standing ovation and a gold medal upon completion,[6] ahead of Smirnova / Ulanov, who they again defeated in 1974.

In 1974, Rodnina / Zaitsev left Zhuk, with whom the working relationship had become strained,[2] to train with Tatiana Tarasova. They won six consecutive World titles together, as well as seven European gold medals, and won their first Olympic title together in 1976. Rodnina / Zaitsev did not compete during the 1978–79 season because she was pregnant with their son who was born on February 23, 1979.[2] They returned in 1980 to capture their second Olympic title together and Rodnina's third. They then retired from competitive skating.

Throughout her career, Rodnina competed internationally for the Soviet Union and represented the Armed Forces sports society at the national level.[7] With her partners, she won ten World Championships and three consecutive Olympic gold medals from 1971 to 1980, along with eleven European titles, making her the most successful pair skater in history.

Rodnina coached numerous elite Soviet skaters and taught at the University of Moscow. From 1990–2002, she coached in the United States and led the Czech team of Radka Kovaříková / René Novotný to a world title.[1]

Since 2005, Rodnina is a member of the Public Chamber of Russia.[8] On December 17 2012, Rodnina supported[9] Dima Yakovlev Law, the law in the Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the US.

Personal life

Rodnina graduated from the Central Institute of Physical Culture. Her first marriage was to Alexander Zaitsev, with whom she has a son of the same name, born in 1979.[2] From her second marriage, Rodnina has a daughter, Alyona Minkovski, born in 1986.[2] She is currently divorced.[10] She spent a number of years living in the United States and then moved back to Russia.[11][10]

Twitter controversy

On September 13, 2013, Rodnina caused a stir when she tweeted a doctored[12] photo of U.S. President Barack Obama, his mouth full of food, with a photoshopped banana in the image's foreground. She said[13] she was practising her right to free expression, but critics claimed she was making a racist comment about the African-American president.[14][15][16]

Results

With Ulanov

Event 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72
Winter Olympics 1st
World Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st
European Championships 5th 1st 1st 1st 1st
Soviet Championships 3rd 3rd 1st 1st
Prize of Moscow News 1st 2nd 1st

With Zaitsev

Event 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
Winter Olympics 1st 1st
World Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
European Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Soviet Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st
Prize of Moscow News 1st

Other honours and awards

Template:Iw-ref

References

  1. ^ a b Sports-reference: Irina Rodnina
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Pushkina, Oksana (October 3, 2004). "Ирина Константиновна Роднина". peoples.ru (in Russian). Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Malinin, Nikolai (December 1, 2006). "Ирина Роднина: "Я не дачница, я москвичка"". archi.ru (in Russian). Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "скользящий путь". kommersant.ru (in Russian). December 20, 2004. Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  5. ^ Srebnitskaya, Daria (September 10, 2009). "Роднина – это эпоха". russianews.ru (in Russian). Retrieved May 6, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: Irina Rodnina
  7. ^ a b c Khavin, Boris (1979). Все об олимпийских играх (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 575. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Weir, Fred (November 2, 2005). "Putin's 'chamber': a parallel parliament?". csmonitor.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ a b Lepeshkova, Svetlana (February 25, 2005). "Я больше не хочу стремиться к вершинам. Дайте наконец пожить по-человечески". gzt.ru (in Russian). peoples.ru. Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Vandenko, Andrei (December 16, 2005). "Иду на вы!". itogi.ru (in Russian). peoples.ru. Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Russian MP's Obama with banana picture sparks racism debate". Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  13. ^ https://twitter.com/IRodnina/status/378508067757125632
  14. ^ Walker, Shaun (16 September 2013). "Russian MP's Obama with banana picture sparks racism debate". The Guardian.
  15. ^ "Uproar over Russian MP Irina Rodnina's Obama banana pic". News.com.au. 15 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Tweet on Obama Draws U.S. Rebuke in Russia". The Wall Street Journal. 14 September 2013.

Bibliography

A. Chaikovsky (1977). Irina Rodnina. Heroes of the Olympic Games (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport.

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Olympic Games
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with Vladislav Tretiak
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