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
Hometown	Moscow
Residence	Moscow
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
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 (Russian: Я́на Алексе́евна Кудря́вцева; born September 30, 1997) is a retired Russian rhythmic gymnast. She is famous for her incredible skill and grace. Yana won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in the All-around event.

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

Yana holds a special record as the youngest rhythmic gymnast ever to win the World Championships All-around. She was only 15 years old! She broke another record at 16, becoming the youngest to win two All-around World 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. One of these was a fracture in her left foot. This injury happened during the 2016 World Cup in Kazan. Throughout her amazing career, she always finished on the podium in every international All-around competition.

Early Life and Family

Yana's father, Aleksey Kudryavtsev, was a very successful swimmer. He won an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He won it in the 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay.

Yana's mother, Viktoriia Kharitonova, called her an "Angel with iron wings." This nickname means Yana looked delicate like a ballerina but was also incredibly strong and determined. Yana has a younger sister named Anna.

During her gymnastics career, Yana trained for 6 to 8 hours every day. Her day usually started early with choreography and practice. She would then have a second practice in the afternoon. Her nickname at the gym was "Crystal Statuette."

Even with all her success, Yana stayed humble. She said, "I cannot say I have accomplished really a lot. Like Irina Viner says: 'When you're on the victory podium, you're a queen, but when you come down from it, you're nobody. You cannot be too proud of yourself.' I am just like my teammates, we're all equal."

Yana married Russian ice hockey player Dmitri Kugryshev in July 2018. They announced their engagement in June 2018. On October 4, 2018, Yana shared that she was expecting a baby. Their first daughter, Eva Dmitrievna Kugrysheva, was born on December 25, 2018. On April 1, 2020, Yana announced her second pregnancy. Their second daughter, Zoya, was born on August 29, 2020. Both of her daughters started rhythmic gymnastics at a young age. They are coached by Victoria Ilina.

Gymnastics Career

Junior Competitions

Yana's father first introduced her to gymnastics when she was four years old. He wanted to help her improve her posture and flexibility. She made her international debut at the 2007 IT Finland competition.

Yana won junior national competitions in Russia. These included the national junior championships in 2009, 2011, and 2012. In 2011 and 2012, she won junior World Cup titles at the Pesaro World Cup.

At the 2012 European Junior Championships, Yana won the gold medal in the ball event. She also helped the Russian junior team win the team gold medal.

Senior Competitions

2013 Season

Yana started her senior career at the 2013 Moscow Grand Prix. At her first World Cup event in Sofia, she made history. She became the first rhythmic gymnast to win a World Cup All-around gold medal in her very first try. She also won gold medals in hoop and clubs.

Yana won her second All-around gold medal at the 2013 Minsk World Cup. She then competed at her first senior European Championships. She helped Russia win the Team gold medal. Yana won gold in clubs and ball, scoring a perfect 19.000 points. She became the youngest gold medalist at the Europeans since Alina Kabaeva.

Yana debuted 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, becoming the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the World Championships All-around at 15 years old.

2014 Season

Yana started her 2014 season at the 2014 Moscow Grand Prix. She won gold in the All-around at the 2014 Thiais Grand Prix. At the 2014 Stuttgart World Cup, she won the All-around gold medal. She also won three gold medals in the event finals.

Yana won her first Russian National All-around title in April 2014. In June, she won the 2014 European All-around title. In August, she won All-around gold and all event finals at the 2014 Sofia World Cup.

At the 2014 World Championships, Yana and her teammates won the Team gold. Yana won three gold medals in ball, hoop, and clubs. She also won a silver in ribbon. In the All-around, Yana became the youngest gymnast to win back-to-back World All-around titles. She was only 16 years old.

2015 Season

Yana started her 2015 season with a silver medal at the 2015 Moscow Grand Prix. She then swept all the gold medals at the 2015 Bucharest World Cup. This included the All-around and all event finals.

Yana at the 2015 European Games

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

In September, Yana competed at the 2015 World Championships. She was still recovering from an ankle injury. Despite this, she won gold medals in Ball, Clubs, and Ribbon. In the All-around finals, Yana won her third consecutive World All-around title. She was 17 years old. After the World Championships, Yana had treatment for her ankle injury.

2016 Season

Yana began 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-around gold at the 2016 Tashkent World Cup. She also won all four apparatus finals.

Yana Kudryavtseva at the 2016 World Cup in Pesaro

In June, Yana won the 2016 European Championships All-around gold medal. At the 2016 Baku World Cup, she took the All-around silver medal. She also won gold medals in hoop, clubs, and ribbon.

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics

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

Yana entered the Olympic Games as the reigning World All-around champion. In the individual All-around final, Yana was in the lead after the first two routines. However, she made a mistake in her clubs routine. She dropped one of her clubs at the very end. This mistake cost her the gold medal.

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

Retirement

In November 2016, it was announced that Yana had ended her career. This was due to her leg injury. Her coach, Irina Viner, said Yana would need more operations. Yana's retirement was officially confirmed in January 2017.

Gymnastics Style

Yana Kudryavtseva was known for her very clean technique and graceful movements. She had many unique skills. These included spinning the ball on the tip of her finger and special ways of catching the apparatus. She also had difficult throws with clubs and unique ribbon movements.

Yana's new and creative moves led to the International Federation of Gymnastics approving new skills. These skills are now named after her.

Endorsements

In 2014, Yana Kudryavtseva became an official ambassador for luxury watches Longines. She took over from another famous gymnast, Evgenia Kanaeva.

Records and Achievements

• Youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the World Championships All-around at 15 years old (2013).
• The only rhythmic gymnast who has never finished off the podium in an international All-around competition.
• Youngest rhythmic gymnast to win back-to-back World All-around titles at 16 years old (2014).
• Youngest rhythmic gymnast to win 3 consecutive World All-around titles at 17 years old (2015).
• First All-around champion at the first European Games.
• She shares the record with Evgenia Kanaeva for winning 3 World All-around titles without sharing the win with other gymnasts.
• First rhythmic gymnast to win a World Cup All-around title in her senior debut (2013).
• She held the previous World Record score of 76.450 points under the 2013–2016 judging system.
• She holds the highest score in any apparatus under the 2013–2016 judging system (19.450 in Hoop).
• First rhythmic gymnast to score 19.000 points at the World Championships (in Hoop) under the 2013–2016 judging system (2014).
• Sixth rhythmic gymnast to defend her All-around title at the World Championships in a row.

Routine Music

Yana at the 2016 Pesaro World Cup

Competitive Results

(Team competitions for senior gymnasts are held at the World Championships, European Championships, and other Continental Games.)

Detailed Olympic Results

Images for kids

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  Yana 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