Irina Rodnina
Rodnina in 2018
Member of the Russian State Duma for the Dmitrov constituency
Assumed office
2 December 2007
Personal details
Political partyUnited Russia
Born (1949-09-12) 12 September 1949
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height5' (152 cm)[1]
Figure skating career
Country Soviet Union
Skating clubArmed Forces sports society
Retired1980
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Pairs' Figure skating
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1972 Sapporo Pairs
Gold medal – first place1976 Innsbruck Pairs
Gold medal – first place1980 Lake Placid Pairs
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1969 Colorado SpringsPairs
Gold medal – first place1970 LjubljanaPairs
Gold medal – first place1971 LyonPairs
Gold medal – first place1972 CalgaryPairs
Gold medal – first place1973 BratislavaPairs
Gold medal – first place1974 MunichPairs
Gold medal – first place1975 Colorado SpringsPairs
Gold medal – first place1976 GothenburgPairs
Gold medal – first place1977 TokyoPairs
Gold medal – first place1978 OttawaPairs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1969 Garmisch-PartenkirchenPairs
Gold medal – first place1970 LeningradPairs
Gold medal – first place1971 ZürichPairs
Gold medal – first place1972 GothenburgPairs
Gold medal – first place1973 ColognePairs
Gold medal – first place1974 ZagrebPairs
Gold medal – first place1975 CopenhagenPairs
Gold medal – first place1976 GenevaPairs
Gold medal – first place1977 HelsinkiPairs
Gold medal – first place1978 StrasbourgPairs
Gold medal – first place1980 GothenburgPairs

Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina (Russian: Ирина Константиновна Роднина, IPA: [ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna]; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skater, who is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medals (1972, 1976, 1980). She was elected to the State Duma in the 2007 legislative election as a member of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.[2] As a figure skater, 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.

Figure skating 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.[3] Since the sixth form of secondary school, age 13,[4] she trained at Children and Youth Sports School of CSKA on Leningradsky Prospekt.[5]

Rodnina with Ulanov in 1970

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.

Rodnina and Ulanov 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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3][6] Known for intense concentration, they finished the program in silence, earning a standing ovation and a gold medal upon completion,[7] ahead of Smirnova/Ulanov, whom they again defeated in 1974.

In 1974, Rodnina/Zaitsev left Zhuk, with whom the working relationship had become strained,[3] 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 23 February 1979.[3] They returned in 1980 to capture their second Olympic title together and Rodnina's third. At the age of 30 years and 159 days, she became one of the oldest female figure skating Olympic champions. 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.[8] Rodnina, along with Ulanov and her later partner Alexander Zaitsev "completely dominated international pair skating throughout the 1970s".[9] With her partners, she won ten World Championships and three consecutive Olympic gold medals from 1971 to 1980, a record that equaled Sonia Henie's, along with eleven European titles, making her the most successful pair skater in history. She was one of the first female pair skaters to be known for her athleticism and ever-increasing dangerous tricks. She and her partners were also known for their acrobatic lifts, side-by-jumps, and for the split triple twist. In the early 1990s, she coached at the Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, California.[9][10]

Comments on Doping

In a 1991 interview, Rodnina said she was aware that Soviet figure skaters had used doping substances since the early 1970's in preparation for the competitive season. According to Rodina "Boys in pairs and singles used drugs, but this was only in August or September. This was done just in training, and everyone was tested (in the Soviet Union) before competitions."[11]

Political career

Rodnina became a member of the Public Chamber of Russia in 2005.[12] In the 2007 legislative election, she was elected to the State Duma as a member of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.[2] On 17 December 2012, Rodnina supported[13] the Dima Yakovlev Law, the law in the Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the United States.

Sanctions

Sanctioned by the United Kingdom from 15 March 2022 in relation to Russia's actions in Ukraine.[14]

In December 2022, the Ukrainian Parliament sanctioned Rodnina for her support of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[15] In 2023, she supported Poland's decision to boycott the Olympic Games in case Russian athletes are allowed to compete, saying that it would mean "Poland gets banned for the next two Olympic cycles".[16]

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.[3] From her second marriage with the film producer Leonid Menkovsky, Rodnina has a daughter, Alyona Minkovski, born in 1986.[3] She is currently divorced.[17] She spent a number of years living in the United States and then moved back to Russia.[17][18]

Twitter controversy

On 13 September 2013, Rodnina caused a stir when she tweeted a doctored photo of U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, with Obama's mouth full of food, with a photoshopped banana in the image's foreground.[19] She said she was practicing her right to free expression,[20] but critics claimed she was making a racist comment about the African-American president.[21][19][22][23] On 10 February 2014, Rodnina in her Twitter claimed that her account was hacked at the time of posting the offensive photograph and apologized for her handling of the affair.[24][25]

Results

With Ulanov

Event 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72
Winter Olympics1st
World Championships1st1st1st1st
European Championships5th1st1st1st1st
Soviet Championships3rd3rd1st1st
Prize of Moscow News1st2nd1st

With Zaitsev

Event 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
Winter Olympics1st1st
World Championships1st1st1st1st1st1st
European Championships1st1st1st1st1st1st1st
Soviet Championships1st1st1st1st
Prize of Moscow News1st

Other honours and awards

References

  1. ↑ "Irina Rodnina". Sports-reference. Archived from the original on 21 April 2011.
  2. 1 2 Weir, Fred (5 August 2008). "Russia's other Olympic powerhouse – in parliament". The Christian Science Monitor.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pushkina, Oksana (3 October 2004). Ирина Константиновна Роднина [Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina]. peoples.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  4. ↑ Malinin, Nikolai (1 December 2006). Ирина Роднина: "Я не дачница, я москвичка" [I'm a Moscovite]. archi.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  5. ↑ скользящий путь. Kommersant (in Russian). 20 December 2004. Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Srebnitskaya, Daria (10 September 2009). Роднина – это эпоха [Rodnina – is an era]. Russian News (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Irina Rodnina
  8. 1 2 3 Khavin, Boris (1979). Все об олимпийских играх [All about Olympic Games] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 575.
  9. 1 2 Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003). Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning. Middleton, Connecticut: Wesleyan Publishing Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-8195-6641-1.
  10. ↑ Hersh, Phil (1 January 1991). "Death-spiral queen a legend in life". Chicago Tribune.
  11. ↑ Hersh, Phil (14 February 1991). "Rodnina Confirms Soviet Steroid Use". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Weir, Fred (2 November 2005). "Putin's 'chamber': a parallel parliament?". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  13. ↑ Система анализа результатов голосований на заседаниях Государственной Думы
  14. ↑ "CONSOLIDATED LIST" (PDF). 29 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Shefferd, Neil (13 December 2022). "Ukraine's Parliament sanctions 55 Russian athletes and one Ukrainian for showing support towards war". insidethegames.biz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "Роднина заявила, что обрадуется бойкоту Олимпиады". gazeta.ru (in Russian). 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023.
  17. 1 2 Lepeshkova, Svetlana (25 February 2005). Я больше не хочу стремиться к вершинам. Дайте наконец пожить по-человечески [Irina Rodnina interview]. gzt.ru (in Russian). peoples.ru. Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  18. ↑ Vandenko, Andrei (16 December 2005). Иду на вы! [Irina Rodnina interview]. itogi.ru (in Russian). peoples.ru. Archived from the original on 19 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  19. 1 2 Walker, Shaun. "Russian MP's Obama with banana picture sparks racism debate". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  20. ↑ "Свобода слова есть свобода! За свои комплексы сами и отвечайте!" [Freedom of speech is freedom of speech! If you have issues it's your problem!]. Twitter. 13 September 2013.
  21. ↑ Seddon, Max (10 February 2015). "Russian Olympic Champion Says Racist Obama Photo Was Work Of A Hacker When It Really Probably Wasn't". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  22. ↑ "Uproar over Russian MP Irina Rodnina's Obama banana pic". news.com.au. 15 September 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  23. ↑ "Irina Rodnina, Former Russian Skater Who Lit Olympic Flame, Tweeted Racist Obama Photo". The Huffington Post. 14 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  24. ↑ Rosenberg, Steve (11 February 2014). "Russian Olympic figure skater sorry for Obama banana tweet". BBC News.
  25. ↑ ИРИНА РОДНИНА ИЗВИНИЛАСЬ ЗА ИНЦИДЕНТ С ФОТОКОЛЛАЖЕМ СЕМЬИ БАРАКА ОБАМЫ [Irina Rodnina apology] (in Russian). Echo of Moscow.
  26. 1 2 "Irina Rodnina". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

Bibliography

A. Chaikovsky (1977). Irina Rodnina. Heroes of the Olympic Games (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007.

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