Yana Kudryavtseva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yana Kudryavtseva
Kudryavtseva at the 2016 World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva
Nickname(s)	Angel with iron wings, Crystal Statuette, Ice Queen, Kudry, Yanochka, The Princess of Rhythmic Gymnastics
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 27) Moscow, Russia
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team	2007–2017
Club	Gazprom
Gym	Novogorsk
Head coach(es)	Irina Viner
Assistant coach(es)	Elena Karpushenko
Choreographer	Elena Karpushenko
Eponymous skills	a. (The Kudry) Back bend to roll over apparatus catch b. Spinning ball on the tip of the finger while doing front walkover c. Chaine turn wrapped in ribbon serpentine with one arm on the back
Retired	January 2017
World ranking	2 (2016 Season) 1 (2015 Season) 1 (2014 Season) 4 (2013 Season)
Medal record International gymnastics competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 0 World Championships 13 3 0 European Games 4 0 0 European Championships 9 0 0 FIG World Cup 73 14 6 Junior European Championships 2 0 0 Total 109 23 7 Representing  Russia Rhythmic Gymnastics Olympic Games Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro All-Around World Championships Gold 2013 Kyiv All-Around Gold 2013 Kyiv Clubs Gold 2013 Kyiv Ribbon Gold 2014 Izmir All-Around Gold 2014 Izmir Hoop Gold 2014 Izmir Ball Gold 2014 Izmir Clubs Gold 2014 Izmir Team Gold 2015 Stuttgart All-Around Gold 2015 Stuttgart Clubs Gold 2015 Stuttgart Ball Gold 2015 Stuttgart Ribbon Gold 2015 Stuttgart Team Silver 2013 Kyiv Hoop Silver 2013 Kyiv Ball Silver 2014 Izmir Ribbon European Championships Gold 2013 Vienna Team Gold 2013 Vienna Ball Gold 2013 Vienna Clubs Gold 2014 Baku All-Around Gold 2015 Minsk Team Gold 2015 Minsk Ball Gold 2015 Minsk Clubs Gold 2015 Minsk Ribbon Gold 2016 Holon All-Around European Games Gold 2015 Baku All-Around Gold 2015 Baku Ball Gold 2015 Baku Clubs Gold 2015 Baku Ribbon Junior European Championships Gold 2012 Nizhy Novgorod Ball Gold 2012 Nizhy Novgorod Team

Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva (born September 30, 1997) is a retired Russian rhythmic gymnast. She was known for her amazing skills and grace. Yana won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the All-around event.

She was also a three-time World Champion from 2013 to 2015. Yana won the 2015 European Games All-around title. She also became the European Championships All-around champion twice, in 2014 and 2016.

Yana holds a special record: she was the youngest rhythmic gymnast ever to win the World Championships All-around title. She was only 15 years old! She broke another record at 16 by winning two World All-around titles in a row. At 17, she became the youngest to win three World All-around titles.

Yana retired in January 2017 because of several leg injuries. Even with her injuries, she always finished on the podium in international All-around competitions.

About Yana's Life

Yana's father, Aleksey Kudryavtsev, was an Olympic swimmer. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Yana's mother called her an "Angel with iron wings" because she looked delicate but was very strong. Yana has a younger sister named Anna.

During her gymnastics career, Yana trained for 6–8 hours every day. Her schedule included choreography and practice in the morning and afternoon. Her nickname at the gym was "Crystal Statuette."

Yana married Russian ice hockey player Dmitri Kugryshev in July 2018. They have two daughters. Eva Dmitrievna Kugrysheva was born on December 25, 2018. Their second daughter, Zoya, was born on August 29, 2020. Both of her daughters started rhythmic gymnastics at a young age.

Yana's Gymnastics Journey

Starting Out as a Junior

Yana's father first introduced her to gymnastics when she was four years old. He wanted her to improve her posture and flexibility. She started competing internationally in 2007.

Yana won junior national competitions in Russia in 2009, 2011, and 2012. In 2011 and 2012, she won junior World Cup titles. At the 2012 European Junior Championships, she won a gold medal in the ball event. She also helped the Russian junior team win a gold medal.

Becoming a Senior Gymnast

2013: A Big Year

Yana started competing as a senior in 2013. At her first World Cup event in Sofia, she won the All-around gold medal. This made her the first rhythmic gymnast to win a World Cup All-around gold in her very first try! She also won gold medals in hoop and clubs.

Yana then competed at her first senior European Championships. She helped Russia win the Team gold medal. She also won gold medals in clubs and ball. Yana became the youngest gold medalist at the Europeans since Alina Kabaeva, who also won at 15.

Yana performing with the hoop at the 2013 World Championships.

Later in 2013, Yana competed at her first World Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine. She won gold medals in ribbon and clubs. She also took silver medals in ball and hoop. Yana won the All-around gold medal at these World Championships. This made her the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the World Championships All-around title at just 15 years old.

2014: Winning Back-to-Back Titles

Yana continued her success in 2014. She won many gold medals at various World Cup events. At the 2014 Russian Championships, she won her first National All-around title.

In June 2014, Yana won the 2014 European All-around title. In September, at the 2014 World Championships, Yana and her teammates won the Team gold. She also won three gold medals in individual events (ball, hoop, clubs).

Yana won the All-around title again at the 2014 World Championships. This made her the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win two All-around World titles in a row at 16 years old. She also received the Longines Prize for Elegance.

2015: Three World Titles

Yana at the 2015 European Games.

In 2015, Yana swept all the gold medals at the Bucharest World Cup. At the 2015 European Championships, she won four gold medals: in ball, clubs, ribbon, and team.

In June 2015, Yana won the first-ever All-around title at the 2015 European Games. She also won gold medals in ball, clubs, and ribbon.

At the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart, Yana and her teammates won the Team gold. Even with an ankle injury, she won gold medals in Ball, Clubs, and Ribbon. She then won her third All-around title in a row. This made her the youngest gymnast to win three World All-around titles at 17 years old. After the championships, Yana had treatment for her ankle injury.

2016: The Olympic Year

Yana Kudryavtseva at the 2016 World Cup in Pesaro.

Yana started her 2016 season at the 2016 World Cup Pesaro. She won the All-around gold medal with a new personal best score. She then won all the gold medals at the 2016 Tashkent World Cup.

In June 2016, Yana won the All-around gold medal at the 2016 European Championships.

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics

Yana (left) on the Olympic podium with her silver medal.

Yana went to the 2016 Summer Olympics as the reigning World All-around champion. In the final, she was leading after the first two routines. However, she made a small mistake in her clubs routine. She dropped one of her clubs at the very end.

Despite this, she performed a strong ribbon routine. Yana won the silver medal with a total score of 75.608 points. Her teammate, Margarita Mamun, won the gold. Even though she didn't win gold, Yana is the only rhythmic gymnast who never finished off the podium in an international All-around competition.

Retirement

Yana Kudryavtseva officially retired in January 2017. This was due to a leg injury, including a fracture in her left foot.

Gymnastics Style

Yana Kudryavtseva was known for her very clean and graceful performances. She had unique skills, like spinning the ball on her fingertip. She also had special ways of catching the apparatus and doing ribbon movements.

The International Federation of Gymnastics even approved new moves because of her innovative skills. These included a "dive jump" with clubs and a special club bounce.

Records and Achievements

Yana Kudryavtseva holds many impressive records:

• She was the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the World Championships All-around at 15 years old in 2013.
• She is the only rhythmic gymnast who never finished off the podium in an international All-around competition.
• She was the youngest to win two All-around World titles in a row at 16 years old (2014).
• She was the youngest to win three All-around World titles in a row at 17 years old (2015).
• She was the first All-around champion at the first European Games.
• She was the first rhythmic gymnast to win a World Cup All-around title in her senior debut (2013).
• She was the first rhythmic gymnast to score 19.000 points at the World Championships in hoop (2014).

Routine Music

Yana at the 2016 Pesaro World Cup podium.

Yana performed her routines to different types of music. Here are some examples:

• In 2016, her Hoop routine used "Kon (Slavyanskaya)" and her Ball routine used music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• For her 2015 Hoop routine, she used "Spring Waters" by Sergei Rachmaninov. Her Clubs routine was to "El Vuelo De Moscardón" (Flight of the Bumblebee).
• In 2014, her Hoop routine was to "Jota Aragonesa" by Mikhail Glinka. Her Ribbon routine used music from Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
• In 2013, her Ball routine was to "Nocturne No. 2 Op. 9 in E Flat Major" by Frédéric Chopin.

Images for kids

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  Yana performing with the ball at the 2015 Baku European Games.

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  Yana at the 2015 Moscow Grand Prix gala.

See also

In Spanish: Yana Kudriávtseva para niños