Irina Slutskaya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Irina Slutskaya
Slutskaya in 2016
Personal information
Native name	Ирина Эдуардовна Слуцкая
Full name	Irina Eduardovna Slutskaya
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1979-02-09) 9 February 1979 (age 46) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.60 m
Coach	Zhanna Gromova
Skating club	Sport Club Moskvitch
Began skating	1984
Retired	2006
Medal record Representing  Russia Figure skating: Ladies' singles Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 1 World Championships 2 3 1 European Championships 7 2 0 Grand Prix Final 4 3 2 World Junior Championships 1 0 1 Total 14 9 5 Winter Olympics Silver 2002 Salt Lake City Ladies' singles Bronze 2006 Turin Ladies' singles World Championships Gold 2002 Nagano Ladies' singles Gold 2005 Moscow Ladies' singles Silver 1998 Minneapolis Ladies' singles Silver 2000 Nice Ladies' singles Silver 2001 Vancouver Ladies' singles Bronze 1996 Edmonton Ladies' singles European Championships Gold 1996 Sofia Ladies' singles Gold 1997 Paris Ladies' singles Gold 2000 Vienna Ladies' singles Gold 2001 Bratislava Ladies' singles Gold 2003 Malmö Ladies' singles Gold 2005 Turin Ladies' singles Gold 2006 Lyon Ladies' singles Silver 1998 Milano Ladies' singles Silver 2002 Lausanne Ladies' singles Grand Prix Final Gold 1999–2000 Lyon Ladies' singles Gold 2000–01 Tokyo Ladies' singles Gold 2001–02 Kitchener Ladies' singles Gold 2004–05 Beijing Ladies' singles Silver 1995–96 Paris Ladies' singles Silver 2002–03 Saint Petersburg Ladies' singles Silver 2005–06 Tokyo Ladies' singles Bronze 1996–97 Hamilton Ladies' singles Bronze 1998–99 Saint Petersburg Ladies' singles World Junior Championships Gold 1995 Budapest Ladies' singles Bronze 1994 Colorado Springs Ladies' singles

Irina Eduardovna Slutskaya (born 9 February 1979) is a famous Russian former figure skater. She is known for her amazing athletic skills on the ice.

Irina won many important titles during her career. She was a two-time World champion in 2002 and 2005. She also won two Olympic medals: a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 2006. Irina became a European champion seven times, which is a record for ladies' singles skating! She also won the Grand Prix Final four times and the Russian national title four times.

Irina was the first female skater to land a difficult jump combination: a triple lutz followed by a triple loop. She also created her own special move, a double Biellmann spin with a foot change. Because of her many wins, she is considered one of the most successful ladies' singles skaters in Russian and European history.

Irina Slutskaya's Skating Career

Starting Young

Irina Slutskaya began skating when she was just four years old. Her mother encouraged her to try the sport. By age six, she was coached by Zhanna Gromova.

Irina quickly showed she was a talented junior skater. She won a bronze medal at the 1994 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in December 1993. This event also marked the start of a long rivalry with American skater Michelle Kwan.

In the 1994–95 season, Irina continued to improve. She won the 1995 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in November 1994. She then earned a bronze medal at the 1995 Russian Figure Skating Championships. This allowed her to compete in her first senior international event. At the 1995 European Figure Skating Championships, she finished fifth. Later, at the 1995 World Figure Skating Championships, she placed seventh overall.

Becoming a Champion: 1995–1998

In the 1995–96 season, Irina competed in the first-ever Champions Series, which is now called the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. She won a bronze medal at 1995 Skate America. In January 1996, she made history at the 1996 European Figure Skating Championships. She became the first Russian woman to win the European title. She performed six triple jumps in her free skate.

At the 1995–96 Champions Series Final in Paris, she won a silver medal. In March, she competed at the 1996 World Figure Skating Championships in Canada. She earned a bronze medal, her first World podium finish.

The next season, 1996–97, Irina won her first Champions Series title at 1996 Skate Canada International. She also won two more events. In January 1997, she won her second European title. At the 1997 World Figure Skating Championships, she finished fourth.

In the 1997–98 season, Irina won silver at the 1998 European Figure Skating Championships. In February, she competed in her first Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. She placed fifth overall. The next month, she won a silver medal at the 1998 World Figure Skating Championships. She landed two triple-triple jump combinations in her free skate.

Dominating the Ice: 1999–2002

After a challenging 1998–99 season where she finished fourth at the Russian Championships, Irina made a strong comeback. In December 1999, she won her first Russian national title. The next month, she won the 1999–2000 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. She became the first woman to perform a triple lutz-triple loop combination in a competition.

In February, she won her third European title. At the 2000 World Figure Skating Championships, she finished second behind Michelle Kwan.

Irina continued her strong performance in the 2000–01 season. She won her fourth European title. She also defended her Grand Prix Final title. At the 2001 World Championships, she became the first woman to land a triple salchow-triple loop-double toe loop combination. She won the silver medal.

In the 2001–02 season, Irina won many events. She won her third straight Russian national title. However, she lost her European title to Maria Butyrskaya.

Slutskaya at the 2002 Winter Olympics

Irina then competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She was in second place after the short program. In the free skate, she finished second, earning the silver medal. This was the second Olympic medal for a Russian woman in figure skating. Later, a Russian businessman gave Irina a special gold medal as a "consolation."

The next month, Irina won her first World title in Nagano. She was first after both the qualifying round and the short program. She won the free skate as well, securing her first World championship.

Facing Challenges and Making a Comeback: 2002–2006

The 2002–03 season was tough for Irina. She won her fifth European title in January 2003. However, she decided not to compete at the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships. This was because her mother became very ill and needed a kidney transplant.

Soon after her mother started to get better, Irina herself became very tired and had swelling in her legs. Doctors had trouble figuring out what was wrong. She missed most of the 2003–04 season. She was eventually diagnosed with vasculitis, a condition that affects blood vessels. Even though doctors told her to avoid the cold, she competed at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships and finished ninth.

In 2005, Irina made an amazing comeback after spending time in the hospital. This season was her best ever. She won every competition she entered! She won the 2005 European Figure Skating Championships, matching the record for most European titles. At the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships, she won her second World title. She performed seven triple jumps and received high scores for her artistry.

Irina said her free skate at the 2005 Worlds was "the skate of her life." She also shared an inspiring message:

This is the question they ask: how could you get up after your fall last year? That's not right at all. You can't talk that way. When a person is ill, it's not a fall, it's a misfortune. And no one, unfortunately, is safe from that. I only want to say to those who don't believe in their [own capacity for] recovery: believe, fight... I got up — you can too.

On 19 January 2006, Irina won the 2006 European Figure Skating Championships for the seventh time. This broke the record and made her the most successful ladies' skater at the event. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Irina was a favorite to win gold. She was in second place after the short program. In the free skate, she had some mistakes and won the bronze medal. She officially retired from competitive skating after the 2006 Olympics.

Life After Skating

After retiring from competitive skating, Irina Slutskaya started a new career in show business. She hosted figure skating reality shows on Russia Channel 1, like Stars on Ice and Ice Age. She also released a music CD and acted in a Russian TV show about figure skating called Hot Ice.

In 2009, she was honored by being inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Irina also became an ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Political Career

In 2016, Irina Slutskaya began a career in politics. She joined the United Russia party. In September 2016, she became a deputy (a type of elected official) in the Moscow Oblast Duma, which is like a regional parliament.

Personal Life

Irina Slutskaya was born in 1979 in Moscow, Soviet Union. Her mother was a former cross-country skier. Irina was raised in the Russian Orthodox faith.

She married Sergei Mikheev in August 1999. They met at a summer camp. They had a son named Artem in November 2007 and a daughter named Varvara in October 2010. Irina and Sergei divorced in 2016.

In June 2018, Irina married a businessman named Alexei Govyrin. In October 2019, she gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Kira.

Programs

Results

GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix

Images for kids

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  Slutskaya at the 2002 Winter Olympics

See also

• List of select Jewish figure skaters