Maria Butyrskaya is the first Russian champion in women's single skating. Throughout her career, she managed to win a large number of impressive victories, she has various medals, her collection has awards received at the most significant competitions of the planet. She is put on a par with such distinguished representatives of Russian figure skating as Alexei Yagudin, Tatyana Volosozhar and Evgeni Plushenko.
The beginning of a skater's career
On June 28, 1972, a future famous skater was born in Moscow. She came to the
figure skating section as early as five years old. At first she worked at the Vympel sports school, later she studied at the CSKA figure skating school. The girl was very lucky with the first coach - Irina Nifontova supported the child, praised her and encouraged her, always claimed that the Olympic champion would grow out of her. It was with her that the figure skater Maria Butyrskaya came to her first victories in sports.
Unfortunately, the girl’s mentor very soon went on maternity leave, and for Butyrskaya began a long search for “her” coach. For various reasons, it turned out to be very difficult: every time the coaches somehow left her - someone retired, someone in business, but self-confidence did not leave the future champion. And when the mentor finally appeared, it was not a joy - he disliked her and generally considered mediocre. On top of that, with his light hand, Maria Butyrskaya was generally expelled from the CSKA sports school.
During the year, while she did not have the opportunity to engage, the girl gained excess weight and almost lost faith in her abilities. It may well be that today, fans of her talent might not have known about her at all if it had not been for Irina Nifontova. She was able to convince Mary to return to the ice and helped find a coach. For some time, Masha worked with Viktor Kovalev, until he moved to Greece, who made a significant contribution to the development of the femininity of her skating.
The path to the dream - World Cup
After Kovalev’s departure, Irina Nifontova helped Maria get into the group with the famous and talented teacher Viktor Kudryavtsev. As a result, he managed to make Maria Butyrskaya the best skater not only in Russia, but also in the world! He put her the correct jumping technique, but most importantly, he helped restore faith in himself.
Joint work with Viktor Kudryavtsev also proved to be short-lived, and the girl was led by Elena Tchaikovsky. A trainer with tremendous experience working with couples and men managed to believe in her talent and opportunities, and taught to believe in herself. And as a result - the first significant victories. After a year of collaboration, Maria Butyrskaya became the first at the European Championships and the third at the World Championships. The mentor helped find her own style in figure skating, fans loved the ballet lightness they developed, accompanied by classical music.
Star achievements
In major competitions, the athlete took part in her youth, but she was able to take the third prize in the Russian Championship during the 1991/1992 season, at the age of 19. Many critics decided that this title was a fortunate combination of circumstances for Mary, but next year it became clear that this was the result of hard work and great talent. Then Butyrskaya was able to become the champion of Russia, and at the European Championships she got on the fifth line of the protocol. After these achievements, it became clear that the skater is one of the most striking athletes of her time.
Maria’s dream came true in 1999 - she won first place at the World Figure Skating Championships. Over the course of her long career, Maria Butyrskaya became the champion of Russia six times, in addition, she won the European championship three times.
In addition to the achievements listed above, in the skater's career there are victories in the Sparkassen Cup, triumphant performances at many prestigious world forums.
After sports
Maria Butyrskaya announced the end of her skater career in 2003. She very rarely participates in commercial projects and demonstrations. An exception can only be made for charitable programs.
But the woman is not going to leave the sport. After completing her professional career, Maria works as a trainer in a children's figure skating school.
Once an athlete decided on an erotic photo shoot for a glossy magazine, proving herself as a model. For some time the skater worked as a commentator, but, as she admitted, it was just entertainment.
Maria Butyrskaya: personal life
For many years, Maria Butyrskaya is a wonderful wife and a happy mother of two children. In 2006, at a party with friends, she met her future husband Vadim Khomitsky, a famous Russian figure skater. In 2006, their wedding took place. And in 2007, the first-born was born - Vladislav. In 2009, slightly ahead of their parents' expectations, their daughter Alexander was born.
Maria Butyrskaya with her husband lives in Moscow. From time to time, she takes part in various television shows and entertainment shows as a guest star.