Irina Rodnina

Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina (Template:Lang-rus; 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.<ref name=CSM080805/> 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.

Early life and family

Rodnina was born in Moscow on 12 September 1949. Her father was Soviet Army officer Konstantin (Nikolaevich) Rodnin, from a village named Yaminovo on the outskirts of Vologda. Her mother was Ukrainian Jewish paramedic Yulia (Yakovlevna) Rodnina. Her parents met each other during the Second World War, and both took part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria against the Empire of Japan as the war came to a close. She has an older sister, Valentina, who worked as an engineer. As a young child, Rodnina was often sick, suffering from pneumonia eleven times. On the advice of her doctor to give Rodnina additional exercise and outdoor time, and in 1954 took her to an ice rink for the first time at Pryamikov Children Park of Moscow.<ref name="profile" />

Figure skating career

Since the sixth form of secondary school, age 13,<ref name="archi120106" /> she trained at Children and Youth Sports School of CSKA on Leningradsky Prospekt.<ref name="kom122004"/>

File:Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov in 1970.jpg

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.Template:Citation needed Rodnina/Ulanov won their first World title in 1969, ahead of Tamara Moskvina/Alexei Mishin. They won four consecutive World titles.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="profile" /> 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.<ref name="profile" /> 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 Slovak worker acting in retaliation for the suppression of the Prague Spring.<ref name="profile" /><ref name="rodninaera" /> Known for intense concentration, they finished the program in silence, earning a standing ovation and a gold medal upon completion,<ref name="brit" /> ahead of Smirnova/Ulanov, whom they again defeated in 1974.

In 1974, Rodnina/Zaitsev left Zhuk, with whom the working relationship had become strained,<ref name=profile/> 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.<ref name=profile/> 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.<ref name=Khavin/> Rodnina, along with Ulanov and her later partner Alexander Zaitsev "completely dominated international pair skating throughout the 1970s".<ref name="kestnbaum-112">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="kestnbaum-112" /><ref name=CT910101/>

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."<ref name=CT910214/>

Political career

Rodnina became a member of the Public Chamber of Russia in 2005.<ref name=csm110205/> In the 2007 legislative election, she was elected to the State Duma as a member of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.<ref name=CSM080805/> On 17 December 2012, Rodnina supported<ref>Система анализа результатов голосований на заседаниях Государственной Думы</ref> the Dima Yakovlev Law, the law in the Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the United States.

Sanctions

Rodnina was sanctioned by the United Kingdom from 15 March 2022 in relation to Russia's actions in Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2022, the Ukrainian Parliament sanctioned Rodnina for her support of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name=ITG221213/> 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".<ref name=Gazeta230203/>

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.<ref name=profile/> From her second marriage with the film producer Leonid Menkovsky, Rodnina has a daughter, Alyona Minkovski, born in 1986.<ref name=profile/> She is currently divorced.<ref name=int1/> She spent a number of years living in the United States and then moved back to Russia.<ref name=int1/><ref name=int3/>

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.<ref name="Guardian1">Template:Cite news</ref> She said she was practicing her right to free expression,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but critics claimed she was making a racist comment about the African-American president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Guardian1"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=BBC140211/><ref name=apolrus/>

Results

With Ulanov

Event	1967–68	1968–69	1969–70	1970–71	1971–72
Winter Olympics					1st
World Championships		1st	1st	1st	1st
European Championships	5th	1st	1st	1st	1st
Soviet Championships	3rd	3rd	1st	1st
Prize of Moscow News	1st	2nd	1st

With Zaitsev

Event	1972–73	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80
Winter Olympics				1st				1st
World Championships	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
European Championships	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st		1st
Soviet Championships	1st	1st	1st		1st
Prize of Moscow News						1st

Other honours and awards

• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1972)<ref name=Khavin/>
• Order of Lenin (1976)<ref name=Khavin/>

File:Vladimir Putin at award ceremonies (2019-11-21) 15.jpg

Presentation of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class, 21 November 2019

File:Vladimir Putin 7 March 2000-1.jpg

Presentation of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class, 7 March 2000

File:Ирина Роднина.jpg

Presentation of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class, 6 May 2010

• Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"
• International Skating Union's Jacques Favart Award, first recipient (1981)<ref>Hines, p. xxvii</ref>
• Inducted into International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (1988)<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
• Inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1989)
• In the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, she was given the honor of being the lighter of the Olympic Cauldron along with Vladislav Tretiak

External links

• Template:Webarchive
• Template:Olympics.com profile
• Template:Olympedia
• Irina Rodnina in Encyclopædia Britannica
• Pairs on Ice: Rodnina and Ulanov Template:Webarchive
• Pairs on Ice: Rodnina and Zaitsev Template:Webarchive