Which athlete is the only one. Ryazan Sasha Trusova, the only figure skater in the world who performs a quadruple Salchow: I fell in love with figure skating in Ryazan

Aug 20, 2016 Sep 8, 2017 by vaulter

The history of the modern Olympic Games goes back 120 years. It was in 1894 that the decision was made in Paris to revive the Olympic Games. Over its long history, the Olympic movement has transformed from chaotic and unpopular competitions into the main sports festival of the planet. Hundreds of athletes have become famous and great thanks to their success in Olympic Games. Thousands of athletes were awarded the titles of Olympic champions and medalists. However, in the history of the Games there are also those who, with their awards and dedication to sport, made the greatest contribution to the development of the Olympic Games.

We present to your attention the ten most titled Olympic champions from 1894 to 2016.

The 10 athletes who are presented below are determined by the number of gold medals, and not by the total number of awards won!!! Silver and bronze medals are of secondary importance. This is exactly the approach used in the unofficial team competition at the Olympic Games.

And immediately a certificate. Where's Bolt? The fastest man on the planet, Usain Bolt, won 3 gold medals at three Olympic Games. From the Games in Beijing to the Olympics in Rio, Bolt always won at distances of 100 and 200 meters, and also won gold in the 4 x 100 m relay as part of the Jamaican national team. Unfortunately, Bolt was deprived of one gold medal. A prohibited substance was found in the doping test of Bolt’s national team colleague, Nest Carter, who was a participant in the relay in 2008, and the Jamaican team was deprived of Beijing gold, and Bolt became an eight-time Olympic champion. In terms of the number of medals, Bolt is not in the TOP 10.

10-9 places. Jenny Thompson and Saavo Kato

Ninth and tenth places were shared between Jenny Thompson and Japanese Saavo Kato. The athletes won 8 gold medals. But Thompson won them in the swimming competition, and Kato won the Olympic competitions 8 times artistic gymnastics. In addition, the athletes have 3 silvers and one bronze.

Can rightfully be called a “team player”. Since the athlete won almost all her medals in relay races. Thompson's first Olympic triumph came at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, ​​where the swimmer won 2 gold medals in two 4x100 m relay races (freestyle and medley). Also in Catalonia, the American became second in the 100 m freestyle. In Atlanta in 1996, the swimmer not only repeated the achievement of four years ago, but also increased it. Jenny Tomposn won 3 gold medals in three relay races: 4x100 m and 4x200 m freestyle, combined 4x100 m. In Sydney Olympics, the athlete, as if a carbon copy, again wins 3 gold medals in relay races. At the same time, he enhances his success with a personal bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle swim. However, this was not enough for her. The 31-year-old swimmer took part in the 2004 Games, where she won two more silver medals in relays.

- one of the most outstanding gymnasts in history. He has 12 medals, 8 of which are of the highest value. The gymnast first became an Olympic champion in Mexico City in 1968, where he was the best in the absolute championship, floor exercise and with the team. In exercises on rings, Kato showed the third result. In 1972, the Japanese again won 3 medals. And again Saavo Kato is the best in the absolute and team championships. Also, the gymnast had no equal on the uneven bars. On the pommel horse and horizontal bar, the gymnast was second. The last Olympic Games of a Japanese person were the 1976 Games in Montreal. And here the athlete did not make a mistake. The 30-year-old gymnast won 2 golds: uneven bars and team championship. Silver in the overall championship.

Overall result: 12 medals. 8 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze.

7-8 places.

Seventh and eighth places were shared between representatives of summer and winter sports. Birgit Fischer is the most titled representative of kayaking. And Bjorn Daly had no equal in cross-country skiing.

ranks second among women (after Larisa Latynina) in the number of Olympic awards. The period during which the athlete managed to win numerous medals is also impressive. Fischer won her first Olympic gold back in 1980 in Moscow. The last Olympic triumph occurred with a German woman 24 years later at the Olympic Games in Athens. Oh, if it weren’t for the boycott of 1984, who knows how many medals the phenomenal rower would have won. In 1980, the German woman won gold in the 500 m single sculls. In Seoul 1988, the gold double in the double and quadruple, and Fischer was second in the single. In Barcelona, ​​the German is again the best in singles. The second athlete was in the four. In Atlanta 1996, gold again. This time in four. The second Fischer was in two. In Sydney, Birgit Fischer wins 2 golds - in two and four. But this was not enough for the insatiable German woman. In 2004, the 42-year-old rower went to the Games in Athens where her experience brought gold to the German four, and silver to the two. Only after this did the athlete calm down and leave the sport.

- the best skier of all time. The Norwegian ranks second in the number of gold medals after the legendary Bjoerndalen. The athlete won all his Olympic awards evenly. From each Games from 1992 to 1998, a skier took home 4 medals. It’s only in Albertville and Nagano that the Norwegian managed to win 3 gold medals each, and in 1994 in Lillehammer Daly won 2 medals of the highest value. To be fair, it should be noted that Daly was in a period when the Winter Olympic Games were held not once every 4 years, but once every 2 years - in 1992 and 1994, respectively. This is due to the decision of the IOC that the summer and winter Games be held two years apart. The Norwegian also has 4 silver medals.

Overall result: 12 medals. 8 gold, 4 silver.

6th place. .

Ole Bjoerndalen- the king of biathlon. Also, the legendary Norwegian takes absolute first place in the number of Olympic awards among representatives of winter sports. The Norwegian began collecting medals in 1988, when in Nagano he won gold in the 10 km sprint and silver in the 4x7.5 km relay. The 2002 Games were held under the leadership of the king. In Salt Lake City, Bjoerndalen won 4 gold medals. In 2006, out of three medals, none was gold, but the Norwegian biathlete did not give up and was able to win gold in Vancouver and 2 gold medals in Sochi. Read more about the famous biathlete in our article

Overall result: 13 medals. 8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze.

5th place. .

Total result: 10 medals. 9 gold, 1 silver.

4th place. .

Overall result: 11 medals. 9 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze.

3rd place. .

Overall result: 12 medals. 9 gold, 3 silver.

2. .

Overall result: 18 medals. 9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze.

1. .

Overall result: 26 medals. 22 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze.

A 13-year-old athlete told Komsomolskaya Pravda about what she dreams of becoming, why she competes with herself and what she wants to ask the president of the federation

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I rarely cry. Only when something doesn’t work out for me and I don’t know how to fix it. After competitions, there are times when I couldn’t do everything I could. And I don’t think it’s a shame to cry, these are the words of 13-year-old Sasha Trusova, a figure skater from Ryazan who made a real splash at the Junior Grand Prix in Brisbane this summer.

On August 26, on the final day of competition at the first stage of the Junior Grand Prix series in Australia, our compatriot won a gold medal. For her free program, Sasha received 132.12 points, a total of 197.69 points based on the sum of the two programs. Based on the results of this speech, experts stated that at the stages of the Junior Grand Prix, excluding the finals, no one had ever scored as many points as Trusova. Alexandra coped successfully with the skate, naturally winning the free program and the stage. The highlight of her free program was the quadruple Salchow she performed. On this moment Sasha is the only figure skater in the world who performs this difficult jump!

Most of all, I like to learn new, more difficult jumps, because it’s interesting, it’s very nice when a more difficult jump or another element is finally achieved,” admitted Sasha.

And already at the end of September, Alexandra Trusova won the 4th stage of the Grand Prix in Minsk and was the first of the representatives of her country to receive a “ticket” to the final of the Junior Grand Prix in Japan.

Will he win the Olympics and no longer have to wake up early?

Sasha studies at best school figure skating in Russia, a whole team of professionals works with her. And in matters of figure skating and technique, we completely trust them. She was told that quadruple jumps were both within her strength and character. And now she proved that she really can,” Svetlana Trusova, Sasha’s mother, shared with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

It’s been four years since the family moved to Moscow, but both the parents and Sasha herself do not forget that the first confident steps towards success were taken in Ryazan, under the guidance of coaches Olga Shevtsova and Larisa Melkova.

Since childhood, Sasha was “for any kind of activity”: swimming, riding a bike, going through an obstacle course and sliding down the scariest slide in the water park, petting any animal, riding a horse - in general, for any kind of activity active rest, - recalls Svetlana. - At the age of 4 she started roller skating. She moved around the house on them, sat down at the table and tried to go to bed in them. Since we have a sports family, our dad is a master of sports in sambo, judo and hand-to-hand combat, there was no doubt that Sasha would go in for sports. The sport itself also suggested itself logically. Moreover, according to doctors, figure skating improves health. By this time, the Olympic Sports Palace had been opened in Ryazan. There Sasha started figure skating.

At that time, the family lived in Nedostoevo and had to get up very early to get to the Ice Palace. One day, on the way to training, Sasha asked her dad: “When I win the Olympic Games, will I be able to stop getting up so early?” Everyone laughed for a long time, and dad had no choice but to agree. According to her parents, little Sasha did not have to be forced to go to training. One word from her would be enough, and everyone would forget about figure skating.

My first coach Olga Mikhailovna said that I had to learn to love figure skating,” says Sasha. - And I fell in love with him.

Sasha studies with the coach of Olympic champion Lipnitskaya

After moving to Moscow, Sasha began studying at a sports school, and since last year, coach Eteri Tutberidze took the girl into her group. By the way, among Eteri Georgievna’s students are 2014 Olympic champion Yulia Lipnitskaya and 2016 world champion Evgenia Medvedeva.

The training has become completely different,” explains Vyacheslav, Sasha’s father. - Today it is no longer just a figure skating section, it is long hours of work every day. In addition to several hours on the ice, there is physical training and choreography. Sasha mastered triple jumps already in Moscow. The first triple was the Salchow. Nothing comes easy, of course. Any new jump means a lot of falls and frustration. But Sasha has a very stubborn character. She follows the coaches' instructions and tries again and again. A whole team of trainers works with Sasha - in addition to Eteri Georgievna, she is trained by Sergei Viktorovich Dudakov and Daniil Markovich Gleikhengauz.

Sasha chose Zhenya Medvedeva as an example for herself, Svetlana adds, and this, we think, is good. Zhenya is a hard worker and an excellent example of a true sportsman and champion character. These are the people you should look up to.

Today Sasha is completely absorbed in figure skating, but her schedule is structured in such a way as to combine training and school activities. She has no problems with studies; she does best in mathematics. Despite all her workload, Sasha leads the life of an ordinary teenager - she spends time with her brothers, friends in her group, she has gadgets and her own accounts on social networks, where she communicates with other guys.

Communication with family and support for Sasha, according to her, is a very important part of her life.

My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters support me in everything. I have big family and I often travel to Ryazan to visit my relatives.

- If you met with the President of the International Figure Skating Federation, what would you ask him?- I asked the young athlete.

I would ask him at his performances, in addition to the short and free program, to do the third part - the elements.

As part of this competition, athletes make two attempts at a solo jump and two attempts at a cascade, and then perform a special track and spin. For each attempt, points are given and the sum of the best solo, best cascade and track with rotation is calculated.

A little earlier, Sasha admitted that competition is certainly important to her, but, above all, she competes with herself, trying to improve and beat her own result every time. And the more difficult the task, the better. In this light, Sasha’s request is quite understandable.

“In terms of the technical complexity of the program, Sasha is the leader among all women in the world”

Usually parents want for their child better life than they had. And for this they are ready to make any sacrifices, such as moving to another city or taking classes from the best teachers. But the Trusovs do not believe that they sacrificed their lives to Sasha.

- Does what is happening now with your daughter justify your hopes?

We did not pin our hopes on any sporting success. Therefore, it is impossible to say that what is happening justifies our hopes,” says Svetlana. - But we, of course, really like the fact that Sasha was so keen on figure skating, and she’s doing well. The fact that a child found the meaning of life in such at a young age, setting goals and working to achieve them is certainly what any parent wants to see. This builds a strong character that will be useful to her in any aspect. adult life. We are doing everything in our power to help her.

Vyacheslav, your fatherly joy for your daughter’s success is obvious. As an athlete, can you evaluate Sasha’s results to date? Just too objective.

Of course, for her age this is an excellent result, this is the maximum that can be achieved. But there are even more serious competitions ahead. The transition from juniors to adults lies ahead - a very important stage, and you need to be prepared for it. The level of her preparation, in my opinion, is very high: in terms of the technical complexity of the program, she is a leader among all women in the world.

For readers far from sports, let us explain: Sasha’s programs have the strongest set of elements among all female figure skaters in the world. Including the quadruple Salchow, which none of the athletes currently jumps.

Unlike many parents who try to program their children’s lives in advance, Svetlana and Vyacheslav do not make far-reaching plans:

Figure skating is a young sport, and after the end of a sports career, there is time to master a profession off the ice. When the time comes, Sasha herself will choose what to become and what university to enter.

Sasha already has his own ideas on this matter. In the conversation, she admitted that she loves animals very much and wants to bond her future profession with them. Once in Brisbane, for example, she happily spent her day off in Koala Park and, according to her parents, stroked and held in her arms all the animals that were allowed: kangaroos, koalas, parrots, platypuses. By the way, on all trips Sasha is accompanied by her friend and living mascot - a four-year-old Chihuahua named Tina. With her, a girl can talk secretly about her most intimate experiences.

“You have to do what you love, and then everything will work out”

Despite the fact that Sasha’s successes are largely the merit of her parents, who adjusted their life as much as possible to her interests and schedule, neither Svetlana nor Vyacheslav believe that when a child grows up, he should thank his mom and dad for something.

This is the normal order of things. The task of parents is the happiness of their children. We help Sasha to the best of our ability. It is enough for us to see that she is happy.

This large family, whose members are scattered across different cities of the world, makes an amazing impression. Wherever they are, wherever they leave, wherever they return from, they are constantly in touch, I would even say in conjunction with each other. They always know who has what going on, who has what news, joys and difficulties and are always ready to help. And it is not at all surprising that in such a friendly and close-knit family a real little star was born - her talent was not only noticed and supported, but also helped in every possible way to develop.

Svetlana, for you, is Sasha still your little girl or do you treat her as an adult with her own responsibility?

Sasha is an adult, she can make her own decisions. And we always take her opinion into account. She is a very responsible girl and, despite being very busy, looks after her brothers and, naturally, raises them. But... remains my little and only daughter,” my mother admitted.

Before saying goodbye, I asked the young athlete to give advice to those guys who want to develop a strong-willed character and achieve great success in life. Sasha smiled broadly and shrugged her thin shoulders:

You have to do what you love, and then everything will work out!

And we hope that Sasha, by his example, will continue to prove that what he loves allows a person to discover limitless possibilities in himself. And, of course, we wish Sasha the fulfillment of her dream - to represent our country at the Olympic Games.

DETAILS

The Salchow jump in figure skating is named after the athlete who first performed it - this was done by the Swede Ulrich Salchow in 1909. Since then, the jump has become increasingly more difficult, becoming double, triple and finally quadruple. The first woman to perform a 4-revolution Salchow was Japanese athlete Miki Ando. She performed her quadruple jump as a junior at the 2003 Grand Prix Final. At the time of performing the element, she was 16 years old. The second figure skater who managed to repeat such a difficult jump was 13-year-old Russian and our compatriot Alexandra Trusova.

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Trusova Alexandra Vyacheslavovna

Russia Russian national team 2017/18

Moscow Moscow team 2017/18

Club: TsSO "Sambo-70", branch "Khrustalny" (Moscow)

Coach: Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov. Choreographer: Daniil Gleikhengauz

results

Season 2017/18

SGP in Belarus 2017 - 1 (196.32)

UGP in Australia 2017 - 1 (197.69)

Season 2016/17

Competitions for prizes of the President of the FFKK Moscow 2017 - 2 (190.79)

Championship in Russia (old time) 2017 - 2 (195.65)

Russian Championship (Jr.) 2017 - 3rd senior. (240.67)

Moscow Championship (older age) 2017 - 4 kms (178.34)

Russian Cup Final 2017 - 3 kms (190.89)

Russian Championship 2017 - 4 (194.60)

Moscow Championship (Jr.) 2017 - 2nd senior. (245.56)

V stage of the Russian Cup 2016 - 2 kms (186.24)

Memorial S. Volkov 2016 - 1, 1sp. (184.06)

II stage of the Russian Cup 2016 - 3 kms (184.54)

Moscow Open Championship 2016 - 3 kms (172.86)

Season 2015/16

Russian Championship (Jr.) 2016 - 5th senior. (221.24)

Moscow Championship (older age) 2016 - 9 kms (166.38)

Moscow Championship (Jr.) 2016 - 1st senior. (228.19)

Memorial S. Volkov 2015 - 5, 1sp. (159.42)

FFKKM Open Cup 2015 - 4 kms (156.56)

Season 2014/15

Russian Championship (youngest age) 2015 - 3 youngest age. (173.51)

Moscow Championship (old age) 2015 - 21 kms (129.77)

Moscow Championship (junior) 2015 - 2 juniors. (182.67)

Memorial S. Volkov 2014 - 1, 2sp. (122.96)

Season 2013/14

Moscow Championship (junior age) 2014 - 28 junior age. (25.66)

© biatlon.com.ua. Vita (left) and Valya Semerenko

Excitement, fear of failure, self-doubt - all this has no place in the life of an athlete who dreams of reaching the highest point of his career. Olympic champions are stars of the world of sports, for whom awards are earned through hard work, and only those who are not afraid of failure and can rise even after a crushing fall can reach the end. Our selection contains 6 stories of women whose will to win turned out to be stronger than any fears.

France: Karine Ruby

The first woman in the world to win Olympic gold in snowboarding was the Frenchwoman Karine Ruby - Mumun, as her fans called her. Karine was born in 1978 in Bonneville and began snowboarding with her older brother Jéromie when she was 11 years old. By the age of 20, Ryubi had won the World Cup Parallel Slalom, the first ever Snowboard World Championships in giant slalom, and took first place in two consecutive seasons in the World Cup. Snowboarding was included in the list of Olympic disciplines for the first time at the Games in Nagano, Japan, where Karin won gold in the giant slalom by a huge margin.

In 2001, Ryubi received three world championship golds at once, and in 2002 at the Olympics in Salt Lake City she received silver in parallel giant slalom. In Turin, boardercross was included in the Games program for the first time, and Karin competed, but did not win any awards, but less than a month later she won gold in this particular discipline at the World Cup in France. Mumun ended her career as an Olympic champion, six-time world champion and winner of six overall World Cups. Karin Rüby died tragically in 2009 - while learning to become a mountain guide, she fell off a cliff on Mont Blanc. This was a tragedy for France and the world sports community; athletes from many countries expressed condolences to the Ruby family.

Canada: Hayley Wickenheiser

“Dear Canada, it was a great honor for you to play, but it’s time to hang up your skates. Thank you!” - legendary hockey player Haley Wickenheiser ended her career with this Twitter post. The forward of the Canadian national team was 38 years old at that time, and she left at the zenith of glory: Haley had four Olympic gold medals, seven victories at the World Championship and the title of the most titled hockey player in the history of the Winter Games, which Wickenheiser shared with her teammate and colleague. forward - Jayna Hefford.

Wickenheiser won her first victories in her teenage years - having started playing hockey at the age of five, in 1991 she won gold at the Canadian Winter Games as part of the Alberta team and at the age of 15 she joined the national team, which she did not leave until the end of her career. Hayley made history by competing in the Nagano Olympics, which introduced women's hockey for the first time. The Olympic silver in 1998 was the first and only one - at the Winter Games in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014, the Canadian team received only gold medals. Haley is considered the greatest female hockey player in the world: after completing her career, she did not leave the sport and was elected a member of the IOC in the winter of 2014. Haley organizes a global festival in Calgary where female athletes not only compete, but also learn from the best female hockey players of our time.

Germany: Claudia Pechstein

Claudia Pechstein became the owner of the largest collection of Olympic awards in the history of speed skating, the most successful German athlete in the history of the Olympic movement and the first in the history of her country to receive gold medals at five Winter Games in a row - in 1992 in Albertville, in 1994 in Lillehammer, in 1998 in Nagano, in 2002 in Salt Lake City and in 2006 in Turin. A five-time world record holder and the only athlete who managed to win gold medals at 4 Winter Games in a row, she achieved the title of world champion 6 times in various disciplines and remained the leader of world women's speed skating for almost 20 years.

The only one dark spot disqualification is considered in the German woman's career: in 2009, she was deprived of the right to speak for two years for possible doping, and Pechstein filed a claim for 4.4 million euros against International Union Speed ​​Skaters (ISU). The speed skater reported spherocytosis, a hereditary abnormality that led to suspicion. Claudia was unconditionally supported by more than 100 colleagues from 14 countries, but after 6 years of proceedings, the decision remained in force. Returning to the track, Pechstein still celebrated her victory - she added about a dozen more medals to her existing achievements, successfully competing even with those who were born later than the Olympics at which Claudia received her first gold.

Ukraine: Semerenko sisters

Ukrainian biathletes Valentina and Vita Semerenko do not compete: in an interview, the twins admit that they always rejoice at each other’s successes. There is something to be proud of: the sisters began training in childhood with coach Svetlana Baida, and later coach Grigory Shamray noted both their talent for racing and shooting. The Semerenko sisters come to victory together, but achieve results in different ways: Vita shot better from the very beginning, and Valya showed less time on the way to the finish line, and now the sisters every now and then show good results in both speed and accuracy.

The twins’ careers are like playing catch-up: Valentina went to the World Youth Championships in France alone, and in 2005 she went to the same competition in Kontiolahti with her sister. In Finland, both received silver in the relay, and Vita also received silver in the individual race. In 2006, only Valya went to the Turin Olympics, in the summer of the same year they competed together at the Summer World Championships in Ufa, and in 2007 at the World Universiade in Turin they simultaneously reached the finish line. Now the Semerenko sisters are one of the strongest biathletes in the world. Valentina is an Olympic champion, four-time world championship medalist, multiple European champion and World Cup medalist. Vita Semerenko is a silver medalist at the World Championships, the World Championships among girls and the World Junior Championships, an Olympic champion in the relay race and a silver medalist in the sprint, multiple champion of national tournaments.

Sweden: Magdalena Forsberg

Now Magdalena Forsberg works as a TV presenter and sports commentator - having completed her career, she remains one of the most famous and popular Swedish athletes. Her career developed in a very unusual way: Magdalena was born in 1967 in Örnsköldsvik and skied since childhood, dreaming of becoming a racer. The high point of Forsberg's skiing career was the Winter Olympics in Albertville - or rather, the selection for it, because Magdalena did not manage to get a single medal. Tired of failure, the skier decided to change her sport - as she herself admitted, “for fun.”

It turned out that it was the rifle that was missing from the skis: by 1997, the Swedish biathlete had become one of the most promising in the world, and throughout her career in sports she had achieved such records that no one could surpass them for years or have not been broken to this day. Forsberg won 2 bronze medals at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the title of six-time world champion, 17 small Crystal Globes and 6 large ones in a row - in 1997-2002. After her, only men, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Martin Fourcade, were able to do this, and among women, only the German Magdalena Neuner, who finished her career with three World Cups, achieved the best result. The secret of Magdalena Forsberg’s success will be revealed in the special project “Eurosport: My Olympic Confession”: the biathlon legend will tell you how to take aim to get into the history of world sports.

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Alexander Popov was born on November 16, 1971 in the village of Lesnoy near Yekaterinburg. His parents worked at a military factory. They earned good money and Sasha was not denied any toys or good clothes. Today Alexander happily repays his debts.

Sasha's first coach was G. Vitman, and he started swimming on his back. But the results were unimportant. Until Gennady Turetsky invited Sasha to his group in Volgograd.

“The idea to turn me from back to crawl,” recalls Popov, “as I found out later, belonged to him. Moreover, Gennady Gennadievich carried her for two years. I swam with Anatoly Zhuchkov and spent so much time with the promising ones that there was talk of replacing me with someone else. Therefore, when the then head coach of the national team, Gleb Petrov, invited me to change my specialization and swim with Turetsky, I agreed.

Three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin is officially recognized by the International Wrestling Federation as the best Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century.

For me, only one place matters - the first one,” Karelin once said. - And the second or tenth - it doesn’t matter. This is a defeat.

“The only thing I confess I regretted,” says the champion’s coach Kuznetsov, “is that Karelin never, in my memory, used all his power in fights. I used to ask him: “Sasha, make a “reverse belt” for me personally.” This is his signature and my favorite move: when you throw your opponent over your back onto the mat from the height of your own height. And he always felt sorry for those who fight with him. After all, a throw is always humiliation for a partner.”

Karelin was born on September 19, 1967 near Novosibirsk. His father worked as a dump truck driver, his mother was an employee. Both are of large build. Sasha was born weighing five kilograms! Since childhood, tall beyond his years, he hunted, dashingly skied, and went swimming. But he took up wrestling only at the age of thirteen, when he was head and shoulders taller than his father. And it’s not a fact yet - Karelin would have become a wrestler if it weren’t for the first and only coach - Viktor Kuznetsov. At the age of fifteen, Sasha suffered a broken leg at a youth competition. But it was after this serious injury that he made the final choice in favor of classical wrestling.

Six years have passed since Tretyak left the ice rink, and now...

“In 1990, the famous coach Mike Keenan called me: “Slava, we have 7 decent goalkeepers in Chicago, and we can’t choose which one to “train” as the main one. Come, advise, help.” My English was very bad at that time, and I decided that it was better not to tell, but just to show the guys from the Blackhawks how to stand in goal. I did one lesson, then another, and suddenly Keenan invites me: “Vladislav, tell me, how much should you be paid to play for Chicago?” At the first moment I was even confused: “Mike, is this a joke? After all, I haven’t played for 6 years.” And he responded: “So what? I see, I feel - you will win us the Stanley Cup! In short, how much?”

Then, in Moscow, the guys talked. “Vladik, I should have agreed. I would have taken a million from him, defended the season - and rested for the rest of my life.” But I couldn't do that. In the NHL, every young person would dream of scoring against the legendary Tretiak. At least once, but to score. I would be to them like a red rag to a bull. And sooner or later he would not have been able to withstand such tension, he would have missed it, and lost his name. And for me to lose my name... I spent so many years earning it!”

Irina Rodnina is rightly called one of the best athletes of the twentieth century. She managed to make her sport - figure skating - one of the most popular and significant. But Rodnina also became famous because she was able to show extraordinary endurance and the will to win. These qualities were revealed in her quite early.

Irina Rodnina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow into a military family. The Snow Maiden put on her first skates when she was three or four years old, and when she grew up a little, her parents assigned her to famous school figure skating, which was located in the children's park in the Dzerzhinsky district of Moscow. Most of the Soviet figure skating masters of the fifties began their sports career there. Then, from the children's figure skating school, Irina moved to the CSKA figure skating section, having passed a serious competition.

In 1962, at the invitation of the Soviet sports committee, Czechoslovakian coaches, the spouses Sonya and Milan Valun, came to the club. Rodnina, together with Oleg Vlasov, began training under their guidance, and in 1963, their sports couple took third place in the all-Union youth competitions. At thirteen and a half years old, the girl received her first sports category. However, the Czechoslovakian trainers soon left, and Irina was left to her own devices. Fortunately, she was noticed by the newly appointed senior coach of CSKA skaters, Stanislav Zhuk. He took her in and picked her first adult partner - Alexei Ulanov. They were a beautiful, memorable couple: small, strongly built Rodnina and prominent, tall Ulanov. They first appeared in 1967 at demonstration performances. Stanislav Zhuk gradually accustomed the judges to their existence, and after two years the first victory came.

In 1984, the President of the Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, presented Kulakova with the Silver Olympic Order for her services to world sports. And in 2000, at the All-Russian Olympic Ball, Galina Alekseevna was chosen as one of the fifteen legends of domestic sports who made the greatest contribution to its development in the past century.

Galina Alekseevna Kulakova was born on April 29, 1942 in the village of Stepanovo, 30 kilometers from the city of Votkinsk. She never got to see her father - he died at the front. In addition to Gali, there were six more sisters and two brothers in the family.

Galya has been skiing since childhood. “By inheritance” from her elders she received something like boards. She wore them to school in the winter. Three kilometers there, three kilometers back...

Whatever enthusiastic epithets the foreign press awarded the Ural athlete: “golden girl of Russia”, “queen of medals”, “Olympic superstar”, “fantastic queen of skating”...

And this is not surprising, because the “Russian Lightning” is the only six-time Olympic champion in speed skating in the world. Skoblikova is the first athlete in the history of women's sports to set a world record at the Olympic Games.

Lidia Pavlovna Skoblikova was born on March 8, 1939 in the Ural city of Zlatoust into a large working-class family. Pavel Ivanovich and Claudia Nikolaevna Skoblikov had five children. Lida was third. As a child, the girl, being very active, loved to jump, play volleyball, and basketball. But at first, Lida studied skiing at a local children's sports school.

The combat is over. This was the final, last fight. For one of the athletes, victory in it turned into Olympic gold. And the Munich Messegelende hall exploded with multilingual shouts and applause. Raising his mighty hands to the sky, smiling in confusion, as if not believing his triumph, the wrestler bowed in all directions. Then something strange happened. Staggering as if drunk, the athlete wandered to the middle of the mat and there... fell to his knees. The stands froze in bewilderment. And the hero bent down and pressed his lips directly to the matte surface of the carpet. He said goodbye to the wrestling mat - a dispassionate witness to so many ups and disappointments, as many joys and sorrows as fate had in store for the athlete on a journey of fifteen years.

So impressively put an end to his sports biography Alexander Medved, a unique freestyle wrestler, three-time Olympic champion, seven-time world champion, three-time winner of the European Championships, winner of nine gold medals at championships and sports competitions of the Soviet Union.

Vlasov is a unique person - a military engineer, world and Olympic champion and record holder in weightlifting, writer and historian, politician - deputy State Duma, one of the contenders for the post of President of Russia.

He was one of the greatest heroes in the entire history of the planet. People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Nikulin gave him a brilliant description: “Yuri Vlasov is clean, without doping. In my opinion, this is the standard of an Olympic champion - an athlete, an intellectual, a citizen.”

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov was born on December 5, 1935 in the city of Makeevka Donetsk region. Mother, Maria Danilovna, came from an old family of Kuban Cossacks. Yuri will later talk about his father, Vlasov (Vladimirov) Pyotr Parfenovich, who as a diplomat reached the top level - the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR in his book “Special Region of China”. Thanks to his father, Yuri Petrovich is fluent in Chinese.

Latynina is the most titled athlete on the planet! She won 18 Olympic medals, of which 9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze. She is a two-time absolute champion of the Olympics, world, Europe and the USSR.

Latynina admitted that she does not like to train. She said that she doesn’t like everything that only precedes gymnastics, but in itself is not gymnastics. She loved to perform. Probably many famous athletes think the same. But only Latynina admitted this, spoke publicly. She has such a difficult character - to think and speak without prevarication. And this, in the end, always helped her to establish herself in the infallibility of her choice, to creatively analyze her every step towards her intended goal.

Larisa Semenovna Latynina was born on December 27, 1934. She grew up in post-war Kherson without a father. At that time her name was Larisa Diriy. IN early childhood Larisa studied in a choreography club. I started gymnastics in the fifth grade. Her first coach was Mikhail Afanasyevich Sotnichenko. In 1950, Diriy became a first-class student and, as part of the national team of Ukrainian schoolchildren, went to the All-Union Championship in Kazan. However, she performed unsuccessfully in the capital of Tatarstan.

The outstanding Brazilian football player Pele once said: “I deeply appreciate the art of this magnificent master, whom I consider one of the best goalkeepers of our time. Yashin went down in the history of world football not only as a magnificent performer, but also as a tireless creator, as a person who created a lot of new things in the complex art of goalkeeping.”

Yashin was not just a great goalkeeper. How many times on trips abroad could one witness the desire of various people to simply come up and look at our goalkeeper. And looking at how the thin hand of a little black boy with a piece of paper, stunned with happiness and whispering: “Yakhin, Yakhin”, “Yachin, Yachin”, reaches out to Lev Ivanovich - it was not difficult to understand what benefits friendly friendships bring to the mutual understanding of the peoples of the whole world. contacts and meetings of Soviet football players led by Yashin.

Kuts was a symbol of fearlessness and daring. The 1956 Olympics were even named after our runner, where he won both distance races. Probably no other athlete had such obvious and loud fame.

Vladimir Petrovich Kuts was born on February 7, 1927 in the village of Aleksino into a working-class family. Even in those years, Volodya was distinguished by his stubborn character, for which the children often called him a stubborn donkey. He set himself the task of learning to ski. And he achieved his goal. It was easier for him to get to school in the village of Belka, located five kilometers from Aleksino, on skis.

When the war began, Vladimir had to go to the eighth grade. But there was no time for studying - already in October the Germans entered the village. In 1943, Aleksino was released. Over the next two years, Kuts managed to fight at the front as a liaison officer at headquarters, work as a loader in Oboyan and a tractor driver in his native village, and complete sniper courses.

At the Olympic Games in South Korea Russian athletes perform successfully. We don’t have “gold” yet, but all the medals we have won are more valuable than gold. As a result of an aggressive and dirty campaign against Russian sports, our leading athletes were not allowed to participate in the Games. And now young boys and girls are fighting for themselves and for them, fighting on equal terms with the greatest champions.

Today – “silver” in the men’s ski relay, just like four years ago in Sochi. But then our leaders fled, and today our youth fled. Yesterday in the women's relay - bronze, it was won by yesterday's juniors. Nobody expected this third place; we haven’t won awards in this event since 2006. The successes of young people prove that Russian sports have a great future. And at this Olympics there will be more medals, I am sure there will be gold.

Their names are already in the history of the Olympics. The price of medals is higher than gold. Behind every victory is an amazing story of overcoming, luck and incredible strength.

Our skiers bring medals one after another for the team. Men's four by ten relay race. Andrey Larkov starts, confidently covers the entire distance and finishes second. Next is the brilliant tactics of Alexander Bolshunov. He breaks away and first passes the baton to Alexey Chervotkin with a lead of 24.5 seconds. In the third stage, Frenchman Parisse and Norwegian Kruger are hot on their heels. On final stage our Denis Spitsov will start third. He runs with such pressure that he does not leave the Frenchman the slightest chance to come closer. The fight for “gold” – the Norwegians are still first. We have “silver”.

“The coaches said one thing - nothing is impossible, you are all equal, fight to the last. Don’t be afraid of anything, you are no weaker than others, and maybe even stronger than someone else,” said Denis Spitsov.

Elena Vyalbe, three-time Olympic champion, head of the Russian Ski Federation, which the IOC did not officially invite to the Olympics, tries to be there every minute. After the victorious finish of the skiers, she could not contain her emotions.

“I’m so happy, I don’t know what to say at all. I’m just grateful to my athletes, coaches, everyone for such wonderful moments at this difficult Olympics,” said Elena Vyalbe, president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation.

Another great four. Yesterday's juniors, the youngest team in the relay. Nepryaeva, Belorukova, Sedova, Nechaevskaya. Four by five race. Everything is calculated to the smallest detail. At the start, Nepryaeva leaves no chance for her rivals, sending Yulia Belorukova into the distance first. She runs so that her competitors only see her back. Next - Anastasia Sedova skates, just a little behind the Norwegian. The relay is completed by Anna Nechaevskaya. Nearby is the legend of world ski racing, Norwegian Marit Bjorgen. Swede Sina Nilsson, who previously won personal gold in the sprint, is catching up. But that doesn't matter anymore. Nechaevskaya is chewing out a place on the pedestal. For the first time in 12 years after Turin, a Russian medal in the ski relay.

“There is room to strive, and to even greater success, which is what we will do, in principle, in the future. Everything in my soul is filled with some kind of emotion, delight, joy, happiness,” say the athletes.

Skeleton athlete Nikita Tregubov did not hold back his emotions either. Losing his voice, he rejoiced at his “silver”. Also a recent junior, he himself forged victory in the literal sense - on the night before the final races. Black palms - from sharpening skeleton skates. The IOC did not invite servicemen and coaches to the Games. But is this a reason to retreat?

“We sharpened everything entirely ourselves, invested completely in the medals, as they say. That’s how it is, it’s hard, but it’s necessary, but what to do,” says the athlete.

Like our strongest skiers - Ustyugov, Petukhov, Legkov - he might not get to Pyeongchang. When a month ago the IOC was deciding which of our athletes to invite to the Games and which not, another one was lost among other news - skier Denis Spitsov is not going to Korea. A “pure” athlete, he was not accused of anything, he was not suspected, he simply allegedly did not have enough out-of-competition tests. Later, of course, everything fell into place. Invited. On his way. His first Olympics. For 30 years, Russia had no medals in the 15-kilometer ski classic. Denis fixed it. "Bronze". Couldn't do it any other way.

“I would, of course, like to dedicate my bronze medal to my deceased father. After all, it was he who brought me into skiing, instilled in me a love for skiing. And for this I thank him very much, of course,” said the athlete.

Denis's father, a police officer, died in 2009 in the line of duty.

"I can't. Now I feel that I have done what I promised to one person, and this is just the beginning,” says skier Yulia Belorukova. Later she will tell you that she dedicated her first Olympic victory to herself to a loved one, the mother she lost and who was waiting for this medal. After the finish, Yulia will cry again, as if not fully realizing that this is not a dream!

“There is a medal on my neck, it is very heavy, and heavy means it is of the highest dignity,” she said.

Another bronze medalist in the sprint, Alexander Bolshunov, might not have made it to the start line at all. He was supposed to fly to Korea later. The coach insisted. Few days until the Olympics. He has a severe flu. Temperature below 40. Ten days in the hospital. Everything was decided by an evening conversation with the mentor.

“I tell him – Yuri Viktorovich, there are no medals lying around on the road, and either I’m going to the sprint and fighting, or there’s nothing for me to do there in Pyeongchang,” the athlete said.

Our athletes in the stands are supported until they are hoarse. The whole country is sick. And although the organizers of the Games try not to show our flags in broadcasts, the video footage speaks for itself. “We believe in ours! Athletes need our support, that’s why we are here!” - say the fans.

Looking at the number of fans and Russian flags, you feel that the game today is not taking place somewhere in South Korea, but on home ice.

Fans will also remember this Olympics because of the hurricane that happened on one of the competition days. For several hours it practically paralyzed the Games. The checkpoint was blown away by the wind. Journalists were evacuated from media zones. At the moment the hurricane began, Channel One correspondent Anton Vernitsky found himself at the epicenter - the press center was shaking, the wind was shaking the walls and roof. However, the Koreans restored everything in one night.

Spectators will remember the Olympics for posters like these: “Olympic Pyeongchang is killing us!” These banners are everywhere here in the mountains. Local entrepreneurs, those who rent out sports equipment, are indignant. Like, at the height of the season, everything is only for athletes, and who compensates for the potential revenue? The posters were stretched right in front of the ski and snowboard slopes.

It was on this track that snowboarder Nikolai Olyunin performed. Counterclone. The final turn. All or nothing. He decided to take a risk and get around his rivals in a dangerous area. The landing is hard. He will be taken away from the track in an ambulance - he has a triple fracture of his leg. On the way to the hospital, he will find the strength to thank the fans for their support.

“Unfortunately, the result is so deplorable, but the most important thing is that I tried and really wanted to show the Russian spirit. But that's how it happened. Sorry that it all happened this way, and thank you very much to everyone,” said the athlete.

He had surgery a few hours later. The broken bones were held together with plates. It is unknown how long it will take to recover. Nearby all this time is his wife Maria.

“I just want to go for now. I actually have a serious injury. I hope everything will be fine. We won’t talk further about professional sports for now. This is, of course, difficult for me, I came here for a medal, and there was every chance,” said the athlete.

Your “Thank you!” Speed ​​skater Natalya Voronina will tell not only the fans. At a distance of five kilometers, she brought the team another bronze medal. There is only one athlete at the Olympics. The coach is in Moscow. Before the decisive race there was not even a sparring partner. Martina Sablikova from the Czech national team was the only one of all who offered help to the Russian woman who came to the Olympics for the first time. We prepared together, together on the podium.

“Martina Sablikova approached me and offered her help. She said - no problem, I can easily train with them, it won’t be any difficulty for them. And I was very grateful to her, I took advantage of this offer a couple of times,” said Natalya Voronina.

These athletes have no problems with partners. Our curlers train, perform and live together. Married couple Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitsky. James Bond and Angelina Jolie, as foreign journalists called them. Publications around the world are going crazy about the beauty of the athlete from Russia. Dozens of articles. “Curling player Bryzgalov stole the show at the Winter Olympics,” writes the tabloid The Sun.

Well, where would we be without figure skating? In the team tournament, our skaters brought the team the first “silver”. In men's single skating we have no medals. A few annoying mistakes. “Gold” goes to the Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu, who packs stadiums in the Land of the Rising Sun. After the program, he was showered with teddy bears. Journalists nicknamed it “Winny Pooh Mania.”

Now everyone is waiting for the women's singles skating, where our strongest figure skaters Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova will perform. And, of course, we support our hockey players. The day before they beat the Americans dry, 4:0. At the end of the competition day, another piece of news came - we got a medal in freestyle. Ilya Burov took bronze.

Our athletes are watched almost under a microscope by doping officers. They study every movement, check like no one else. Today the IOC officially notified the headquarters of the Russian delegation about possible violation anti-doping rules by one of the athletes.

“We are not revealing the name of the athlete or sportswoman, as well as the type of sport, until the results of the autopsy of the B sample, which will become known presumably within 24 hours,” Konstantin Vybornov, press attaché for the Olympic Athletes from Russia team, told reporters.

Despite all the obstacles in our wheels, our athletes continue to prove that no circumstances can hinder them. Both experienced masters and yesterday's juniors, they are the real future of Russian sports, today they compete on equal terms with the greatest champions and will continue to fight for the podium so that the whole world can see that they deserve to be among the best.