“I need to get my motivation back on the ice. I won everything that was possible, ”said Alina Zagitova in December 2019. This happened following her unsuccessful performance in the Grand Prix final in Turin. Fans of the single skater were terribly upset. The 17-year-old athlete decided to take a break. Alina has not yet kept her promise to return to professional sports. On May 18, Zagitova turns 21.
“To be the best means to be the first”
“They were introduced by friends. It was my mother’s first love, and my father’s too, ”Alina talks regarding her parents. She is a native of Izhevsk. Father Ilnaz Zagitov played for various hockey clubs, and then began to coach.
As a child, my mother dreamed of figure skating, but then there was not enough money to make her dream come true. Over time, Leysan Zagitova became the owner of beauty salons. And the manager of his eldest daughter.
“In sports, everything is very clear. To be the best means to be the first, ”Alina is sure. At first, she did not like figure skating at all. The girl in three streams sobbed in training.
Her first coaches Larisa Sanina and Natalya Antipina managed to change everything. Zagitova tried to leave the skating rink for good seven times. And returned so many times.
The rapid rise of the figure skater happened following she joined the team of the famous Eteri Tutberidze in 2015. True, Zagitova did not immediately appreciate her lucky chance.
Alina Zagitova and Eteri Tutberidze
A serious conflict arose between her and the coach, as a result of which Eteri excluded Alina from her team for four months. “She kicked me out because she started to get lazy,” the famous coach shared.
Zagitova took up her mind. She is the only single skater in the history of Russia who has won all the titles in world figure skating. At the age of 15, in 2018, Alina became the Olympic champion in Pyeongchang.
Alina Zagitova holds the Olympic medals she won in Pyeongchang
“Are you working as gravediggers?”
And in 2019, in the final of the Grand Prix in figure skating in Turin, Alina showed only the sixth result. Fell in the free program.
“I believe she is fighting! She fights with herself. Yes, a changed body! Yes, there are problems! Those who say that it is time for Alina to finish, are you working as gravediggers? Shame on you? The girl made a mistake for the first time, ”the legendary coach Tatyana Tarasova was indignant.
Tatyana Navka and Alina Zagitova
“She has matured, her body has taken shape, and it is no longer so easy for her to maintain such a level of technical equipment of the program,” Olympic champion Tatyana Navka supported Zagitova.
Alina was still invited to the gala performance. But the athlete refused to participate in the demonstration program, citing an injury sustained during a fall.
And soon Zagitova announced her decision in the near future to limit herself to performances in ice shows, master classes, and get an education. “Now I have everything in my life and there should always be something missing,” said the skater.
Alina Zagitova
“Zagitova is very much loved. She has a strong character, we will still see the old Zagitova, ”Ilya Averbukh, the silver medalist of the Olympic Games, was sure.
“Either not enough or it’s just not her”
Alina really went to study – at the Faculty of Journalism at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Municipal Service. Direction – “Production and cultural policy.”
“I study literature, law, history, a lot of things. Because now my life is connected not only with sports, but also with television, and this is very interesting, ”Zagitova assured.
She began to try her hand as a TV presenter and correspondent. She was criticized to the nines by commentator Dmitry Guberniev:
“As far as I know, Alina is engaged with someone – I don’t know who it is. I have a feeling that if she does some work with someone, then it’s either not enough, or it’s just not her.
Alina Zagitova
Zagitova spoke regarding her desire to return to big sport last year. Say, she will ask the choreographer to compose several new programs for her. Three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina advised the fans of the athlete not to count on much then.
“She says this, then something else. I was already lost in what she said and what she wants. There are already a lot of such statements, do not focus too much attention on them, ”recommended Irina Konstantinovna.
Photo source: Vladimir Velengurin/KP, Figure skating Russia Federation/Global Look Press, Larisa Kudryavtseva, Ivan Makeev/KP, Channel One Press Service
