Irina Rodnina has 22 years of figure skating experience, and her partner Alexander Zaitsev has 20 years. They are members of the Central Sports Club of the Army (Moscow).
Rodnina and Zaitsev are repeated champions of the Olympic Games, the world, Europe, and the Soviet Union.
Honored Master of Sports I. Rodnina is a teacher by training. She is a communist, a member of the Soviet Peace Committee. For her high athletic performance, Rodnina was awarded the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor.
Honored Master of Sports A. Zaitsev - officer. Awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor.
Irina Rodnina - Alexander Zaitsev, Olympic champions in pairs figure skating
In Lake Placid, Irina Rodnina won the title of Olympic champion for the third time in a row, and Alexander Zaitsev, her husband and partner, became the champion for the second time. Now the remarkable figure skater has the world's largest collection of gold medals won in competitions of the highest rank: Rodnina won ten times at world championships, eleven times at European championships and three times at Olympic tournaments.
“The secret of their success is simple,” says Honored Master of Sports Alexander Gorelik, “after each season they tried to quickly forget that they were champions and prepared for new competitions with the enthusiasm of beginners.
Yes it is. It’s not for nothing that I. Rodnina likes to repeat that competitions are a holiday, but they are preceded by careful preparation and intense training routine. Well, it would seem, what else can Irina and Alexander surprise - their skills are already legendary. However, when Rodnina and Zaitsev drew their “golden autographs” at the Lake Placid Olympic arena, the American spectators, accustomed to everything, rose from their seats: a sense of novelty and freshness wafted from the Muscovites’ Olympic program.
They first appeared on the ice together in April 1972 - the already famous figure skater I. Rodnina and A. Zaitsev, whose name was known only to a narrow circle of coaches. A new duet was being created at the CSKA skating rink. He was born difficult, in creative thoughts. And just ten months later, during the 1973 European Championship in Cologne, Rodnina and Zaitsev collected an unprecedented “harvest” of top marks: 12 “sixes”.
“The skating of Irina and Alexander is the standard of a magnificent combination of the highest individual skill and great mutual understanding. They created a bright, colorful performance on ice,” one of the West German newspapers wrote then.
Probably, there would be nothing surprising in this statement, which appeared the morning after the Muscovites performed in Vienna in the fall of 1979, if not for one significant circumstance: the skaters missed the pre-Olympic season.
On February 23, 1979, a son, Sasha, appeared in their friendly family. What Irina did when she returned to the ice was unanimously called a sporting feat.
Irina Rodnina - Alexander Zaitsev - famous figure skaters who competed as part of the USSR national team in pair skating, Olympic champions, world and European champions.
In 1972, S.A. Zhuk began to look for a partner for Rodnina. In recent years, Irina has become an international class master. A partner was needed who could rise to Rodnina's level.
Within a few months, S. A. Zhuk managed to reveal the talent of Alexander Zaitsev, teach him to perform elements that he had never dreamed of before. Alexander's physical data allowed him to perform more complex elements than before - high lifts, powerful jumps and cascades. Already at the Moscow international tournament in December 1972, the new couple proved their promise.
At the 1973 European Championships in Cologne, in the compulsory program to the tunes of F. Lowe for the musical “My Fair Lady,” Irina and Alexander brilliantly skated all six elements and were awarded three ratings of 6.0. The free composition, in which the skaters flawlessly performed a 2.5-turn axel, cascades, and one-arm lifts to the music of Dunaevsky and dance Russian melodies, received nine ratings of 6.0 and nine - 5.9!
This was the debut of the Rodnina-Zaitsev pair.
Spectators remember how, during the free program at the World Championships in Bratislava, the music suddenly stopped. The coach made a sign: to continue skating, the skaters clearly, without hesitation, completed all the elements and met exactly in the allotted time. The athletes refused the permitted re-skating. All ratings were the same: 5.9. They received world champion medals.
From 1975 to 1980, at the USSR, European, world championships, and at the Olympic Games, the sum of places for Irina and Alexander was the same - 9, and everywhere all the judges put them in first place.
In 1974, Rodnina and Zaitsev, renowned champions and leaders of world pair skating, having parted ways with their former coach, turned to Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova with an offer to work together.
It was decided not to change the style of skating, only to correct the execution of some elements, and the selection of music became different - more varied in character and rhythm.
At the 1976 European Championships, Rodnina and Zaitsev once again showed that they were the best in pair skating. They became spouses. They performed flawlessly at the Olympics. The second were Kermer and Osterreich, then Gross - Kagelman, Vorobyova - Vlasov, Babilonia - Gardner. Rodnina performed with a fever, but it went unnoticed; the athletes received 15 marks of 5.9 for the free program.
In 1978, at the European Championships in Strasbourg, Soviet figure skaters won two gold, three silver and one bronze medals; at the World Championships in Ottawa - two gold and one silver. The highest ranks were again won by Rodnina and Zaitsev.
In the 1979 season, Irina was preparing to become a mother. After the birth of their son and a year-long break, the duo was again invincible.
At the match of the country's strongest skaters in December 1979 in Leningrad, Rodnina and Zaitsev skated brilliantly, as before. A month later, at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Irina and Alexander performed like champions, heading for the 1980 Olympics. And at it Rodnina won the third gold medal, Zaitsev the second.
It does not seem that in the foreseeable future anyone else will be able to repeat this record of athletic longevity and victories.
A minor injury to Irina prevented them from competing at the 1980 World Championships in Dortmund.
In December 1980, the farewell ball of the great duo took place at the Luzhniki Sports Palace.
After finishing his amateur sports career, Alexander Zaitsev became a coach.
Irina Rodnina worked as a senior coach at the Dynamo sports society and taught at the Institute of Physical Education. Since 1990, she lived and worked as a coach at the international figure skating center. Her students R. Kovarzhikova and R. Novotny became world champions in 1995.
On February 7, 2014, together with V. Tretyak, I. Rodnina lit the Olympic flame at the opening of the Olympics in Sochi.
culture: Do you know the answer to why Zhuk chose you as the partner of the current Olympic champion?
Zaitsev: My first partner, Galina Blazhenova, looked very much like Rodnina. I suspect that Stanislav Alekseevich noticed this similarity and decided to create a couple with Irina. After the 1972 Olympic Games in Sapporo, when it became clear that the Rodnin-Ulanov duo was breaking up, Zhuk invited me.
culture: One girl could be very offended by you for such a decision...
Zaitsev: I understand the question. We're talking about Karelina. She skated with Georgy Proskurin. I was close friends with them. Having received an offer from Zhuk, I decided to consult with Galya. She supported. And only many years later I learned that at that moment Proskurin was going to retire from the sport, and Karelina wanted to perform with me. Galina then acted nobly and somewhat to her own detriment.
culture: Who had the final say in choosing the musical accompaniment?
Zaitsev: Irina and I looked for suitable compositions ourselves, and the coaches also got involved. This applies equally to Zhuk and Tatyana Tarasova. This happened at the first stage, later representatives of our sport increasingly began to resort to the services of editors. Elena Tchaikovskaya recommended her master, Alik Goldstein. Everyone came to him with their ideas. Over time, Alik learned to understand what suited us best, and offered already “pressed” material.
In 1975, a devoted fan of our couple, composer Alexei Mazhukov, composed and recorded instrumental accompaniment for a short program. I liked the studio version, but in the ice palace the sound was monstrously distorted. We were shocked because no backup option was provided. Alexey Sergeevich did not believe it until he arrived at the arena. After hearing this, I quickly assembled the orchestra and made a new recording.
culture: Your generation of athletes had close connections with cultural figures. Is your friendship still there?
Zaitsev: Leshchenko, Vinokur, Senchina, Kobzon often traveled with us as a support group. Excellent relations have developed with Pakhmutova and Dobronravov. Alexandra Nikolaevna always invited people to anniversary concerts and continues to amaze us with her inexhaustible energy. Their duet with Nikolai Nikolaevich amazes with their professionalism. Often they received tasks within a strict thematic framework and at the same time managed to create, under time pressure, not routine songs, but real masterpieces - beautiful and needed by people. Therefore, it was with great pleasure that we included Pakhmutova’s works in our programs. The farewell performance was performed to a song with the symbolic words “We have already played the first half.”
culture: How was your relationship with your “comrades in civilian clothes”?
Zaitsev: We called them “photographers.” Abroad, they minded their own business and met with someone. And they didn’t annoy us with checks and restrictions. Cultural figures caused them much more problems. There is a well-known joke by Yuri Nikulin. Getting off the plane in London, he asked the committee member: how to say “I am asking for political asylum” in English? He almost fell off the ramp, and Nikulin was banned from traveling abroad for a long time. Sometimes five of these “photographers” were sent with the ballet, but the dancers still managed to escape.
culture: This was not the case with figure skaters. Were the athletes more patriotic?
Zaitsev: Maybe. But we should not forget that the strongest figure skaters, even from capital countries, had the status of amateurs, and ballet dancers had the status of professionals, and they could immediately sign a lucrative contract. Belousova and Protopopov remained abroad in a new capacity. The champions had a conflict with the management of the troupe. It was their names on the posters that attracted viewers, and their earnings were standard, according to Soviet rates. The couple prepared in advance to escape - Belousova even took a sewing machine.
culture: Have you been offered to sign a contract abroad?
Zaitsev: Yes. But we sent everyone to management. There were no plans to run away.
culture: In the 70s and 80s, relations with Western countries were not the easiest. Did you feel any tension when communicating with foreign colleagues?
Zaitsev: The language barrier created more problems. But in general the relationship was friendly. In addition, we do not have a contact sport like hockey or boxing. I remember the case when on May 9, in the final of the European Championship, an opponent from Germany simply did not enter the ring. Apparently, he was afraid that on such a significant day the Soviet champion would blame him for his father and grandfather. I recently returned from training camp in Kislovodsk. There I talked to boxers and told them: “What a thankless sport: you not only lost, you also got punched in the face!” And in figure skating, spectators react more to the aesthetic component. People all over the world were rooting for us. I remember one German fan. It was clear that she was not a rich lady, but at the same time she went to many tournaments. She constantly gave gifts and said kind words.
It is impossible to forget Eva, a Finnish citizen of the same age as the 20th century. Once she told me: “I’m sitting at home, in the center of St. Petersburg, I’ve set the table, waiting for guests. But for some reason no one comes to me. Then they started shouting and shooting under the windows. It was November 7, according to the new style, 1917.” The family left for Finland, which soon became a foreign country. Eva worked as an ISU translator and always sincerely tried to help us. In those years, even figure skaters from capitalist countries were not given cash prizes. But sponsoring companies donated jewelry. And if the reward seemed inappropriate to someone, she could negotiate an exchange. All cooperation with Finnish colleagues went through this lady.
culture: Was it difficult to move from Leningrad to the capital in 1972?
Zaitsev: I was settled on Peschanaya Street near the Sokol metro station - in a hostel, which was officially called a boarding house. If you hang signs on this building with the names of the champions who lived there in different years, then all the walls can be lined with them. Usually they accommodated four people, but I had only one neighbor - basketball player Viktor Petrakov. I only slept in the room, there was no time left for the rest. Ice training started at 9.15. We were expected at the palace 45 minutes before the start. I left the house at seven. At this hour, only one dumpling place was open on Sokol, and I ate so much meat in dough there that I couldn’t look at this dish in other establishments. Problems also arose in the evening. The second training ended at ten. The 24-hour restaurant in the airport building helped out.
culture: Did Irina feed you?
Zaitsev: We often went to training camps and competitions, where we were provided with food. Of course, Irina cared too. And even more so - her mother, my future mother-in-law. Yulia Yakovlevna is a unique person. Surprisingly homemade and hospitable. It looks fragile. But she went through the entire war as a nurse, dragging wounded men twice her size from the line of fire. When she put on a uniform in front of me for the first time, I was simply stunned by the number of orders and medals. She graduated in the 45th as a first lieutenant, but received more awards than her colonel husband.
During the divorce, my mother-in-law took my son-in-law’s side and told me: “Sasha, this is not the Ira I married you.” She especially loved Shurik, our son. And everyone adored her. The Institute of Pediatrics came to the funeral in full force. Even when my wife and I got a separate apartment, it happened that at three o’clock in the morning he brought friends not home, but to Yulia Yakovlevna. She always set the table and listened to our jokes, including the one about our mother-in-law. My friend, the famous hockey player Alexander Maltsev, could not believe that such relationships in the family were possible.
culture: Who do you feel more like, a Muscovite or a Leningrader?
Zaitsev: He left the banks of the Neva at the age of twenty. So there are many more friends and acquaintances in Moscow. Nevertheless, Peter is dear to me. I am very dissatisfied with all the renamings of the first half of the 90s. After all, a smart solution was proposed: to call only the central historical part St. Petersburg, and leave all new buildings and working outskirts as Leningrad. The same can be said about Stalingrad. There, on every stand, poster, monument, the former name is written, and not Volgograd...
culture: Why, following the example of many colleagues, didn’t they switch to ice shows after finishing their careers?
Zaitsev: I've had enough. I've ridden myself to the point of nausea. But I still regret that I became an official and did not choose the coaching path. The Deputy Head of the Winter Sports Department worked at the Sports Committee. Top sports leaders are generally a special caste. When they won the Olympics in Sochi, they celebrated louder than anyone else. At the very first failures, they hid their heads in the sand: the Ministry of Sports, they say, is responsible for mass and children’s sports, and the ROC has only representative functions...
Until there is personal responsibility, management failures will not disappear. The same doping scandals could have been avoided. We must be able to negotiate at the international level. And so many innocent athletes suffered.
culture: In your opinion, should sports organizations be led only by formerly renowned champions who know the situation from the inside?
Zaitsev: It's difficult to answer definitively. And great personalities can make a mess. Once Rodnina complained to Tarasov about some boss that he was “an oak with an oak.” Anatoly Vladimirovich reassured her: “Irochka, oak is valuable wood.” It often happens that famous athletes are absolutely not ready for organizational activities. But Sergei Pavlovich Pavlov did not achieve success as an athlete, but became an outstanding functionary. Recently a monument was deservedly erected to him. He knew how to think strategically.
Photo at the announcement: Vadim Nikolaev/TASS Photo Chronicle
Alexander Zaitsev (skater)
Alexander Gennadievich Zaitsev. Born on June 16, 1952 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Soviet figure skater, two-time Olympic champion in figure skating in pairs (1976, 1980) with Irina Rodnina, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1973).
From an early age he was involved in figure skating. He started as a single skater, then began skating in pairs. Together with their partner, they were part of the national team.
In 1972, the star duo, Alexey Ulanov, broke up (they managed to win many awards, including Olympic gold). The fact is that Rodnina’s partner was married to figure skater Smirnova, with whom he decided to pair up.
In April 1972, Rodnina's coach Stanislav Zhuk decided to create a new pair. This is how the duet Irina Rodnina - Alexander Zaitsev appeared.
The couple played for the Central Sports Club of the Army (CSKA).
Alexander Zaitsev had excellent jumping technique and was very quickly able to master complex elements of pair skating. In September 1972, the new couple I. Rodnin - A. Zaitsev performed for the first time at demonstration performances in Zaporozhye.
At the 1973 European Championships in Cologne, Rodnina - Zaitsev not only beat the pair Smirnov - Ulanov by the unanimous opinion of all 9 judges, but also received 12 ratings of 6.0 out of 18 possible.
At the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), an incident occurred that went down in the history of figure skating. Due to a short circuit in the radio room, the sound was turned off during the free program of Rodnina - Zaitsev (later it turned out that the short circuit was deliberately organized by a Czech employee, who was thus trying to take revenge on the USSR for the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968). Coach S.A. Zhuk gave instructions from behind the side to continue the program, and the couple skated without music to the applause of the audience. Referee Carl Enderlin, noting the couple’s “will to win,” nevertheless ordered a reduction in scores due to skating without music. Not a single 6.0 rating was given. The couple refused to perform the program at the end of the competition.
In 1974 he graduated from the State Central Institute of Physical Culture (SCOLIFK).
Since October 1974, she trained the couple (Rodnina and Zaitsev themselves left Zhuk).
At the 1975 World Championships, during the warm-up before the free program, Rodnina collided with W. Kagelmann. The couple decided to give up one lift, however, the judges again unanimously gave the couple 1st place, with scores up to 6.0.
Since 1976 - member of the CPSU.
At the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, A. Zaitsev “overtrained”, his excitement also took its toll, and after a cleanly executed short program, several mistakes were made in the free program - in particular, Zaitsev touched his hand when landing from a double axel. However, the triple flip twist was executed perfectly. All judges gave first places, 10 ratings were 5.9 and 8 - 5.8.
At the 1977 World Championships, the short program (set to the music of Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy for the film “The First Glove”) and the free program were purely performed. Soviet judge Valentin Piseev was the only one to give a score of 6.0.
The legendary victory was won by the couple at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, having performed both programs absolutely cleanly (in the free program, including the double axel jump and triple twist).
Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev. Olympics - 1980
After retiring from big-time sports in 1980, Alexander Zaitsev worked for some time at the Sports Committee, and then moved on to coaching at Dynamo.
He worked abroad - in Australia, Italy, England, Austria, Turkey, USA.
For outstanding achievements in sports he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Alexander Zaitsev's height: 185 centimeters.
Personal life of Alexander Zaitsev:
Was married twice.
His first wife is Irina Rodnina, his ice partner. They got married in 1975. Their wedding was celebrated very widely; US television came to filming.
The marriage gave birth to a son, Alexander Zaitsev, a ceramic artist, on February 23, 1979. He gave him his granddaughter Sonya.
The second wife is Galina Karelina (Motovilova), figure skater, bronze medalist of the 1971 European Championships, bronze medalist of the 1970 and 1971 USSR Championships, silver medalist of the 1970 Universiade in pair skating. She was married to hockey player Anatoly Motovilov, and has a daughter from her first marriage. Galina works as a pairs figure skating coach in Moscow.
Galina Karelina - the second wife of Alexander Zaitsev
Achievements of Alexander Zaitsev:
Olympic Games:
Gold - Innsbruck 1976
Gold - Lake Placid 1980
World Championships:
Gold - Bratislava 1973
Gold - Munich 1974
Gold - Colorado Springs 1975
Gold - Gothenburg 1976
Gold - Tokyo 1977
Gold - Ottawa 1978
European Championships:
Gold - Cologne 1973
Gold - Zagreb 1974
Gold - Copenhagen 1975
Gold - Geneva 1976
Gold - Helsinki 1977
Gold - Strasbourg 1978
Gold - Gothenburg 1980
Irina Rodina ended up at the skating rink due to pneumonia. As a child, she suffered from pneumonia 11 times! Doctors recommended outdoor exercise, and the parents took their daughter to the skating rink.
Rodnina started out as a singles skater, but in 1964, coach Stanislav Zhuk paired Irina with Alexei Ulanov. Before this, Alexey performed with his sister, who, according to Zhuk, was slowing him down.
Budan Victor/TASS
The Rodnina-Ulanov pair made their debut in 1966 at the first international Moscow Skates tournament. Three years later, at the European Championships, their duet created a sensation. During their career, the couple took four gold medals at the world championships and won the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, where their career together ended...
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Rodnina claims that she was never romantically involved with Ulanov. However, with the appearance of figure skater Lyudmila Smirnova, everyone started talking about a love triangle. In those years, communication between Rodnina and Ulanov was strained. They conflicted and quarreled. It’s amazing how, in such a tense atmosphere, the couple continued to win competitions and receive standing ovations.
By the Olympics in Sapporo, Rodnina already wanted to leave the sport. Ulanov wanted to be paired with Smirnova. Lyudmila was skating with Andrei Suraikin, they had an affair, but Alexei Ulanov suggested that Smirnova not only skate together, but also get married.
Sabadash Igor/TASS
Despite the ups and downs of love, Rodnina and Ulanov remained a couple, skated flawlessly in Sapporo and received the well-deserved “gold”. The plans still include one more joint world championship in Calgary, where a tragedy occurred: during training, Ulanov dropped his homeland on the ice. The figure skater suffered a serious concussion.
She refused to believe that her partner could have done this on purpose, but the coach had no doubt: this did not happen by accident. Lyudmila Smirnova also took part in the same championship. According to Zhuk, Ulanov was simply “clearing” the path to “gold” for her. Rodnina overcame herself and went out onto the ice. The Rodnina-Ulanov pair won gold again. And it fell apart.
Zufarov Valery/TASS
The coach persuaded Rodnina to stay in the sport and found her a new partner - Alexander Zaitsev. Soon Rodnina and Zaitsev got married. At the next two Olympics they became competitors to the Smirnova-Ulanov spouses. The Rodnina-Zaitsev pair took gold from their opponents twice.
Now Rodnina is not married. From her marriage to Zaitsev she has a son, Alexander. From his second marriage to businessman Leonid Minkovsky - daughter Alena.
The Smirnova-Ulanov couple broke up after 21 years of marriage. The athletes had a son, Nikolai, and a daughter, Irina.
Tatiana Navka and Alexander Zhulin
Tatyana Navka met Alexander Zhulin in 1994 while training in Lake Placid (USA). Zhulin was then paired with Maya Usova, and Navka skated with Samvel Gezalyan. Zhulin began training Navka, and in 2000 the couple got married. That same year their daughter Alexandra was born.
Anvar Galeev/TASS
In 2006, the family returned from the USA to Moscow to participate in the Stars on Ice show. Navka paired up with actor Marat Basharov, Zhulin - with Ingeborga Dapkunaite. Rivalry arose between the spouses, and Navka also became infatuated with her partner.
Zhulin did not believe in treason, but one day he received a message from Basharov’s wife Elizaveta: “Open your eyes! My husband and your wife are dating!”
At that time, Alexander Zhulin had a new student, Natalya Mikhailova - in her arms, the deceived husband hastened to forget. Zhulin himself stated: “Natasha gave me what Tanya did not want and could no longer do: passion, admiration, care.”
But the separation was difficult for Zhulin: “I was losing my family, and it seemed that the earth was slipping from under my feet. I felt pathetic, funny and ridiculous.” Zhulin and Navka tried to restore their relationship, but mutual grievances left the marriage no chance.
In 2011, Alexander married Natalya Mikhailova. The couple had a daughter, Ekaterina.
In March 2012, on the show “Ice Age. Professionals Cup”, former spouses Navka and Zhulin performed as a couple for the last time. They performed a dance to the romance “Thank you for everything, good friend...”.
Navka and Basharov soon broke up, believing that their romance was a mistake. The figure skater’s next passion was singer Alexei Vorobyov, but this relationship did not last long.
On August 1, 2015, Tatyana Navka married the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. The couple has a daughter, Nadezhda.
Andrey Bukin - Olga Abankina - Elena Vasyukova
Andrei Bukin was married to Olga Abankina, with whom he skated together since 1969. In 1983, the skaters had a son, Andrei, but before that the couple went through a difficult period in their relationship.
In 1977, coach Tatyana Tarasova paired Bukin with Natalya Bestemyanova. Olga was jealous of her husband and calmed down when Bestemyanova got married to European champion Igor Bobrin in 1983. The girls even became friends. It was from Natalya Bestemyanova that Olga sought support when she learned about her husband’s real betrayal.
This happened in February 1993. After a tour in Germany, Bukin appeared at the door without a bag and announced that he was leaving. But that day Olga left. She grabbed her coat, ran out into the street and went to Bestemyanova and Bobrin. They were not surprised by her arrival. By that time, everyone already knew about the romance between Bukin and figure skater Elena Vasyukova, with whom he worked at the ice theater.
Utkin Igor/TASS
Vasyukova was also married, and the affair broke up two families at once.
But, unlike Vasyukova, Bukin was in no hurry to file a divorce from Olga Abankina. Even when it became known about Vasyukova’s pregnancy, he did not propose to his mistress. In 1993, Ivan was born. Bukin gave the boy his last name.
The skater decided to live in two families. He provided financially for both his wife and his mistress, taking part in the lives of both sons.
Roman Kostomarov - Oksana Domnina - Vladimir Yaglych
They met on the show Ice Age. When an office romance began between figure skater Oksana Domnina and actor Vladimir Yaglych, both were in a relationship. Yaglych was filing for a divorce from actress Svetlana Khodchenkova. And Domnina lived in a civil marriage with figure skater Roman Kostomarov, and they had a daughter, Anastasia.
Kostomarov was having a hard time with the breakup and tried to keep Oksana. In memory of five years of marriage, the skater got a Love - crucifixion ("Love is a crucifixion") tattoo on his arm, but this did not save him from breaking up.
However, the romance between Domnina and Yaglych did not last long, and the skater returned to Kostomarov. This time they not only officially got married, but also decided to get married. In 2016, the couple had a second child, son Ilya.
Irina Lobacheva - Ilya Averbukh - Dmitry Maryanov
Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva met in 1992. Together with their coaches they moved to the USA, started skating as a couple and got married in 1995. In 2004, their son Martin was born, and in 2007 the couple announced their divorce.
Irina admitted that the reason was work. Ilya was seized by a “gold fever”. He wanted to earn more and more, but there was no time left for his family. Lobacheva practically did not see her husband, the relationship turned into a “marriage by telephone.”
Divorce became a difficult period in Irina’s life. Due to stress, she suffered a miscarriage.
The figure skater received support from actor Dmitry Maryanov, with whom she skated on the Ice Age show. Dmitry found a common language with Irina’s son Martin, and he, in turn, became friends with Maryanov’s son Danya. Irina admitted that she finally allowed herself to “just be happy.”
Lobacheva and Maryanov lived together from 2009 to 2011.
Alexandra Savelyeva - Alexey Yagudin - Tatyana Totmyanina
Oleg Dyachenko/TASS
Alexandra Savelyeva and Alexey Yagudin were a very beautiful couple. He is a famous figure skater, she is the lead singer of the Factory group. Their relationship began on the show Ice Age. But the beautiful fairy tale ended. Fans claimed that the reason was Yagudin’s affair with figure skater Tatyana Totmyanina. Savelyeva denied this version. She called the reason for the breakup that Yagudin “is a single skater not only in figure skating, but also in life.” But Yagudin really fell in love with Totmyanina.
