Irina Rodnina (biography, personal life, nationality of the athlete, see below) is the legendary Soviet figure skater, who has never lost at international competitions. In this regard, it was included in the Guinness Book. The athlete has 10 titles at the World Championships and three Olympic golds. This article will present a short 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 professional. My father served as a regular soldier. As for Irina's nationality, she is a Jewish mother.
It is noteworthy that it was just health problems that determined the fate of the girl. As a child, she often suffered from pneumonia, and doctors advised her parents to give little Rodnina to some sports section. The main thing is that classes take place there in the fresh air. It was winter, so parents had to choose from figure skating and skiing. The decision came instantly, since there was an excellent skating rink near the Rodnins' house.
Over time, Irina's mother noticed the girl’s zeal and decided to write her in the section. The first mentor of the heroine of this article was Yakov Smushin. Then there were a few more trainers, until the girl got into the CSKA section for Czech specialists - Sonia and Miloslav Balun.
Carier start
In 1964, Stanislav Zhuk became the mentor of Irina . The girl was then barely 15 years old. We can say that from this moment the sports biography of Irina Rodnina began. Alexei Ulanov became the skater's partner . The couple trained a lot and three years later at the Moscow Skates tournament they won their first gold. And a year later, Alexey and Irina received bronze medals at the USSR Championship.
International success came to young athletes in 1969 at the European Championships. In the short program, Rodnina and Ulanov took 2nd place, but in the end they got together 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 Cup. And in 1972, Irina and Alex came to success at the Olympic Games.
After that, the couple stopped working, as Ulanov preferred to ride with his wife. There was a moment when the sports biography of Irina Rodnina, a figure skater with a world-famous name, could end. The girl seriously thought about leaving. The athlete dissuaded the mentor Stanislav Zhuk from this. He quickly found Irina a new partner. They became a young Alexander Zaitsev. Skaters immediately worked together. Rodnina very quickly mastered all the complex elements with Zaitsev. A year later, the couple won the European Championships, beating the Smirnova-Ulanov duet.
Departure to Tarasova
In 1974, Alexander Zaitsev and Irina Rodnina (biography, personal life of the skater were already actively discussed in the media) made a historic decision. They changed their mentor and went to Tatyana Tarasova. Many still do not understand the reasons for this act. Irina herself in an interview said that the main motive was attitude. Tarasova communicated with her athletes on equal terms, and the Beetle was known as a despot.
New victories
Tatyana Anatolyevna brought into the skating Zaitseva and Rodnina more artistry. At the Olympics 76, the new program simply won over all the judges. Despite a few blots during the performance, all referees gave pretty high scores. Thus, the heroine of this article again became the Olympic champion.
In 1980, Western journalists and skaters put enormous pressure on Rodnina and Zaitseva. The couple were accused of using prohibited elements. In this regard, Tarasova even had to remove several supports from the Olympic program. Alexander and Irina successfully coped with the pressure and flawlessly skated both performances. This brought Rodnina the third Olympic gold. At the award ceremony, she could not hold back her tears. Subsequently, her photo with tearful eyes went around almost all the world media.
After sports
After completing her career, Irina Rodnina (biography, personal life of the skater 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. Irina Konstantinovna returned to Russia only 12 years later and decided to come to grips with politics.
In the 2003 State Duma elections, she nominated herself. But the former figure skater failed to get into 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 the public life of the Russian Federation. It was she, along with Vladislav Tretyak, who was entrusted with the honorable mission - to light a fire at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Personal life
The biography of Irina Rodnina would be incomplete without coverage of this moment. The skater got married twice as much. The first choice of the athlete was the partner in skiing - Zaitsev Alexander. From him, Irina Konstantinovna gave birth to a son named Sasha. Now he has already become a grown man and works as a ceramic artist.
Entrepreneur Leonid Minkovsky became the second wife of Rodnina. In 1986, the couple had a daughter, Alena. At the moment, the girl lives in the USA and works on television.