Among the variety of sports, professional figure skating has always occupied a special place. After all, this is a demonstration of not only masterful skating, but also beauty, grace. Even those who know little about sports are happy to watch the performance of athletes on ice. Irina Slutskaya, whose biography is full of sports achievements, became not only a universal favorite, but also entered the history of sports as the first athlete who was able to win the European title seven times. But her path was not easy, great work is behind every victory.
Carier start
Irina was born on February 9, 1979 in the capital of the Russian Federation, in the city of Moscow, in the family of a teacher and engineer. The girl began to go to the sports section very early. At the age of four, her mother brought her there, since Ira was often sick. Two years later, the coach Zhanna Fedorovna Gromova took the girl under her wing, it was she who accompanied her all these years. Irina Slutskaya turned out to be a very talented girl and already in 1993 (she was then 14 years old) entered the youth team of the country. Moreover, she immediately became the champion of the Russian Federation among juniors, and took third place in the world championship. But two years later, she successfully won the title of world champion among juniors, and this was the first significant achievement in her life. Irina did not stop there, and in the same year she took seventh and fifth places in adult world and European championships, respectively. So her debut in professional sports took place.
Professional career
Irina Slutskaya became truly famous after winning the European Championship in 1996, in addition, she became the first Russian figure skater to win this title. In the same year she performed at world competitions, where she managed to get bronze. In subsequent years, she will become the European champion six more times, thus breaking the world record. Irina also experienced failures, the years 1998-1999 became very unsuccessful for her. She did not get into the national team and she had to miss all the major competitions of this season. But already in 2000, Irina made up for lost time and regained her leading position. In addition, she managed to accomplish something incredible: she became the first skater to complete the triple lutz / triple rittberger jump. Previously, this girl did not succeed. The next year, a new record was waiting for her, Irina completed the 3-3-2 cascade. Her achievements are truly amazing and unforgettable.
Olympic
Irina Slutskaya took her first participation in the Olympic Games in 1998 in Nagano. She took only fifth place, but for the first time it was an impressive result. The next Games were held in 2002, this time Irina lost the championship only to an American and became a silver medalist. But not everyone agreed with her loss, so the Ural politician Anton Bakov decided to personally award Irina with the gold medal “For an honest victory”. The award itself was cast entirely of gold and weighed at least a kilogram. At the Winter Olympic Games held in Turin, Slutskaya managed to get bronze, and so far she is the only figure skater in Russia to have two Olympic medals.
Hard years
After 2003, when she won the European Championship and missed the world competitions, Irina Slutskaya missed two years due to her mother’s illness. The troubles did not end there, after my mother got to her feet, Irina herself fell ill. She ran for a long time to the doctors, who eventually diagnosed her with vasculitis, a severe vascular disease. Of course, all in one voice forbade the skater to go on the ice, but this did not have any effect. Slutskaya did not listen to anyone. Moreover, all the warnings only stimulated her to continue skiing at all costs. And, contrary to all forecasts, she was able to restore her leading position in professional figure skating. True, at the beginning, in 2004, at the world championship, she took only ninth place, but her spirit did not weaken, and she continued to train hard. Already in 2005, Irina again struck everyone and at the world championship in Moscow she performed perfectly. This was her second title.
world champion, she demonstrated a magnificent and memorable program, leaving far behind all her rivals. Irina Slutskaya left professional figure skating after 2006, when she won the European champion title for the seventh time. But the athlete did not stop delighting her dear fans by speaking on a television show, and in 2012 in Japan she won bronze at the world championship for professionals.
Achievements
Slutskaya is an honored master of sports in solo figure skating. She was not only remembered by all sports fans as an outstanding figure skater, but also received many awards, not counting her records in winning titles. Below is a list of her achievements.
• Four-time champion of the Russian Federation.
• Seven-time European champion (the only one in history).
• Two-time world champion.
• In her piggy bank two Olympic medals.
• In 2003, she received the Order of Friendship for her enormous contribution to the development of physical education and sports achievements.
• By a presidential decree in 2007, Slutskaya was awarded the Order of Honor.
In addition, Irina Slutskaya, whose biography is already full of victories and awards, is the winner of the Eurosport Sport Star Awards 2006 in such nominations as Best Athlete of the Year, People's Love, and Crystal Ice 2008 .
TV
After the end of a magnificent sports career, the skater began to try her hand in other areas - in the cinema and on television, for which she attended the Ostankino school. Her new profession was closely connected with the previous one, because for a long time she hosted such shows as “Stars on Ice” and the beloved “Ice Age”. Irina also acted in films, although the roles were not of the first plan, but in 2008 she made her debut in the theatrical production of Antigone - Always, and she did not stop there. Irina also tested herself as a singer, performing the song “New Year's” in a duet with Sergey Kristovsky. Since 2011, Slutskaya has been leading on Channel One, she has been introducing sports news to viewers.
Family and Children
Irina Slutskaya, whose family always stood in the first place, got married in 1999, in August. Their relationship with Sergey developed through telephone calls, and at first Irina seemed too insistent, but then she realized that she had fallen in love. In 2007, their first child, Artem, was born. Being an exemplary father, Sergei Mikheev took almost all the care of the child upon himself, because he understood Irina’s workload. But, as is often the case with other families, two years after the birth of a son in their relationship there was a discord. Irina Slutskaya’s husband and she herself were not inclined to break, so all efforts were sent to preserve the marriage. The former skater went on maternity leave and tried to spend as much time as possible with relatives. In 2010, Barbara was born, which further strengthened family ties.
Interesting Facts
Even being a famous skater, Irina is fond of other sports - for example, snowboarding. She has all kinds of hobbies. Like all famous people, Slutskaya has crowds of fans who are sure to give her something. As a rule, these are soft toys, so Irina began to collect them. But over time, she switched to elephants and now collects figures of these wonderful animals. Irina Slutskaya, whose photo can be seen in many publications, assures that she was not so easily given the transition from a sports career to a television one. However, as you can see, she glows positively and always smiles, no matter what happens.