The worst tragedies in the world of figure skating. Tatyana Totmyanina - biography, information, personal life Which figure skater fell from a support with her head

In October 2004, at the Skate America tournament, Maxim tore off the support and dropped Tanya on the ice. Then he decided to leave the sport. Then I finally found the strength and continued to fight.

Chance for a couple

After the fall incident, you, Maxim, had to see a psychologist. And Tatyana managed it herself. Why?

Tatyana: It was easier for me to return to the ice because I don’t remember anything. Well, I fell, it hurt. Consciousness turned on in the morning when I saw myself in the mirror - my whole face was covered in bruises.

Maxim: At first, my feeling of guilt just went off scale. And I decided to give up on everything. But the psychologist helped me overcome my fear. It was annoying that everyone’s attention was now focused on the supports: “Will they do them or will Tanya fall again?!” It seems like you are skating the program - everything is fine. And suddenly he starts to feel feverish, his legs are shaking. At the first performance, I did not dare to perform a lift. Gathering our will into a fist, we rode to the end. I was still able to overcome myself. Things got easier from there.

At the beginning of your career, you had to endure lack of money and instability. Did you support each other then?

Maxim: I came to St. Petersburg from Volgograd at the age of 16. Lived in the dormitory of the Olympic Reserve School. The hardest time was summer, when the boarding school closed and you had to spend the night wherever you had to. And Tanya poked around the corners with her mother. We lived separately for a long time, but the conditions were equally difficult - communal apartments, rented apartments, "corners" with friends. Everyday life consumed too much energy. And the thoughts pestered me: “Why am I here? Maybe it’s all in vain?” But I knew I could, and I wanted to take my chance. Refusing was like death. When I went to St. Petersburg, I dreamed of conquering the world right away. And I looked around and realized how naive I was. But there was no turning back... And yet it was easier for me: at least they gave me food and drink in the dorm. And Tanya was spinning herself.

Tatyana: At the age of 14, there was a choice: stay in Perm and forget about figure skating, or go. And we decided together with my mother. The initiative was mine, but the last word belongs to her. In St. Petersburg, at first I spent 3-4 hours on the road, in trolleybuses. I get home and there is nothing to eat. I could have lived in the same boarding school, but my mother did not let me “free my life.”

Maxim: Plus, we felt that we were capable of more. Disagreements began with the coach. We were looking for a person who would believe in us. It was Oleg Vasiliev, the Olympic champion.

Tatyana: On New Year's Day 2001, Oleg stopped by with congratulations to coach Tamara Moskvina. She suggested: “Take a couple.” And he invited us to train in Chicago. We left there not because we wanted the sweet life, Hollywood, but because of a hopeless situation. They could either go to ice ballet as a backup dancer, or fly to another continent. And we chose.

In America, you started with a blank slate - without knowledge of the language, without experience communicating with locals. How did you get out?

Maxim: The hardest thing for me was that all the time, except for work, you are in an information vacuum. Like on another planet. And we arrived without any means of subsistence. We took the minimum with us so that it would last until the next season, and then the unknown. This spurred and mobilized. We had to survive. And the rumors and conversations that were going on in Russia also interfered: how ungrateful we are, that we were raised and raised, and we are such traitors.

As a result, I mastered English, learned to drive a car and cook. And I realized that life in the West is like a treadmill: the faster you run, the faster it spins. And if you stop, you might fall. And in the pursuit of happiness, many break down without calculating their strength. We knew what we were going for - victory on the ice.

Opportunity to touch each other

YOU, Maxim, are the envy of many men. And for you, Tanya, girls. Such closeness before everyone's eyes!

Maxim: I’m on the ice - like a surgeon during an operation: I completely cut off all feelings.

Tatyana: We have already gotten used to each other. And we dealt with our emotions.

And you don’t care which parts of the body you take on?

Maxim: At the boarding school, the guys asked me: “How do you touch her there during support?” I answered: “But I don’t even think about it.” You think there is no reason why you are holding the girl, but as if she would not fall from your hands onto the ice. Outwardly everything is romantic - Romeo and Juliet. And so - work. We just have the opportunity ( both, in unison)...to touch each other in public.

Tatyana: Even if the skaters are lovers or spouses, on the ice you are still forced to treat your partner as an instrument - a support or a wall bars. But - alive. There can be no intimacy on ice! Yes, you can pretend to be “it”, and passion can boil in your soul, but it’s impossible to get SUCH a buzz at the stadium. So tell the girls: don’t let them envy you.

Maxim: Combining personal and work is not easy for us. Well, for example. We live together during competitions. Before a performance, Tanya likes to take a walk first and then sleep. And I am the opposite. She will come from a party and wake me up. Then - I her. And in the end, both did not rest. Or Tanya really likes shopping. Even without money, just walk around, look at beautiful things, dream about what she will buy when she can. This thought inspires her. And it tires me. I don't like to choose for a long time. When I go to the store, I clearly know what I want. And we decided: first - business interests, and then - personal life.

Tatyana: We each have our own. And we don't pester each other. Maybe that’s why they didn’t quarrel.

Ceiling at the top

You said that after the Olympics you will go into professional sports. Is this the final decision?

Maxim: We weighed our strengths and realized that we were tired of the eternal “state of war.” Now they are talking and writing about us. But everything can change. At the end of the season you come off the pedestal - and you have to start all over again. And every year it becomes more and more difficult to climb to the top. Young, 18-year-old Chinese, for example, don’t care about anything, they are aggressive and hungry. And we have reached our ceiling - it is no longer possible to twist four turns. Moreover, many will not even notice the technical complexity of the elements. It’s like in the circus: the audience doesn’t care whether the acrobat under the circus big top spins five turns or four. The main thing is entertainment, effect. And maybe the money will get better.

Amateur sports didn’t bring you any capital?

Tatyana: We spent half the money we earned during performances in America there, and bought apartments for the rest. That's all! Once, after an injury, I missed half a season. And the savings were coming to an end. It's time to fly to the Russian Figure Skating Championships. And here we are sitting, drinking tea at the Chicago airport. Everyone has $300 in their pocket, and the unknown lies ahead. And one of us said: “Don’t worry, we will survive!”

Read more Olympic details on the sports page.

FIGURE SKATING

As SS already reported, figure skater Tatyana Totmyanina began training after a terrible fall on October 23 at the Grand Prix - Skate America in Pittsburgh. Yesterday, during the Chicago-St. Petersburg teleconference, organized in the Northern capital, Tatyana admitted: she remembers little of what happened that evening.

– Do you go to the doctor or are you allowed to train without restrictions?– the correspondent of “Soviet Sport” asked the first question to the figure skater.

“I have to see a specialist, I do this 2-3 times a week,” Tatyana’s voice sounds weak. And the point here, apparently, is not only that it is still early morning in America. – We will probably have to visit doctors both in France, where we are going in the near future, and in Moscow.

– Is it true that after the fall, psychologist Elena Deryabina, who once collaborated with Evgeni Plushenko, joined in working with you and Maxim Marinin?

There is a pause. Figure skating coach Oleg Vasiliev takes the floor.

- Pure truth. The psychologist has been working with the guys for two weeks now. In this situation it is simply necessary. After all, psychological trauma can be much deeper than physical. Maxim especially needed the help of a psychologist. And I can say that the guys’ condition has improved noticeably. In any case, now they are again practicing almost all the elements, including that very fatal support.

- Tatyana, aren’t you scared at all?

– To be honest, I absolutely don’t remember what happened on the ice then. That’s why I’m not afraid now. But sometimes my head feels dizzy, of course – it’s a concussion after all.

– What was your mother’s first reaction?

“At that moment she was in St. Petersburg and, of course, she was in shock: first seeing and then hearing about my injury was very difficult for her. And when I called myself, my mother immediately shouted into the phone: “I’m flying out to you in America!” In general, it was not she who calmed me down, but I who calmed her down. She persuaded me to stay at home. In response, my mother said: “You now have two birthdays - November 2 and October 23.”

– It’s no secret that you starred in films in America. And if you were offered to play yourself and included in this film a performance at the unfortunate Grand Prix, would you agree to such a role?

– (After a pause.) I don’t know. It's easier to play someone else's fate. And so this is not a feature film, but a documentary film.

– When do you plan to make your first start after the injury?

Oleg Vasiliev answers.

– This will be the Russian Championship, which will be held in St. Petersburg in early January. We want to defend the title of champions, although the mere fact of getting on the ice will be a big deal.

BY THE WAY

TOTIMANINA WAS TREATED BY AMERICA

As Oleg Nilov, president of the St. Petersburg Figure Skating Federation, who participated in the teleconference, admitted, all expenses for Tatyana Totmyanina’s treatment were borne by the US Figure Skating Federation. It cost $50,000. “True, they didn’t tell us about this right away, but only the next day. Apparently, the Americans first became convinced that everything was not so scary, and only then made a decision,” stated Oleg Nilov.

Tatyana Totmyanina is a famous Russian athlete, international master, European and world champion in doubles. The biography of this person is often of interest to fans, especially how the girl was able to return to the ice after an unsuccessful fall.

Childhood

Tatyana Ivanovna Totmyanina was born on October 2, 1981 in Perm. She was in poor health, so at the age of four, her parents decided to enroll her in a figure skating club in the hope that the lessons would help the girl. The first coach was A. Kislukhin, with the help of whom she began to master single skating.

Way to success

At the age of 15, the young figure skater began training under the guidance of Tatyana Pavlova. However, the athlete did not have much success for too long, although her technique was developed at a high level. Then the coach advised her to try her hand at pair skating. So Tatyana Totmyanina began working with someone who was just looking for a partner. They trained at the Yubileiny stadium in St. Petersburg, where the girl met her future husband, Alexei Yagudin.

The duet consisted of two professionals. In 1997, Tatyana Totmyanina was part of the Russian national team at the SKA Sports School in St. Petersburg. The figure skater’s biography was supplemented by a new event in 1999: she and her partner took third place at the national championship and successfully performed at international competitions, entering the top ten athletes at the European and World Championships. Unfortunately, in 2001, a conflict arose with the coach, and the couple moved to Oleg Vasiliev, leaving for Chicago.

Main achievements of partners

The new mentor changed the style of skating and attracted choreographer Juzelle Arena and Svetlana Korol to work. Tatyana Totmyanina is a figure skater with high dedication, determination and good physical characteristics. The partner has the same character traits. Joint efforts led to great results. In 2002, Maxim and Tatyana took an honorable fourth place in Salt Leith City, and the following season they won all world competitions, and also won second place in the World Figure Skating Championships. In 2004, they were able to become world leaders.

Figure skater Tatyana Totmyanina: fall from support

In October 2004, on the way to the Skate America Grand Prix, an unexpected event occurred during a performance: while being supported on one hand, the skater fell on the ice and lost consciousness. Maxim also could not stand on his feet, but he did not have any serious injuries. The girl was urgently hospitalized. She had many bruises, a cut lip and knocked out teeth, but the most unpleasant diagnosis was a concussion. Doctors gave her eight stitches and installed a temporary crown.

The coach had to support the young athlete’s mother over the phone, because she was ready to rush from Russia to Pittsburgh, and it was impossible to obtain a visa in two days. Marinin, one of the most reliable skater partners, considered himself to be the culprit of what happened, and he had a strong psychological barrier, which required the help of professionals to overcome. The figure skater thought differently, admitting her own mistake.

Her fans strongly supported her and were confident that nothing would stop the true Olympic champion, she would definitely continue her performances. The athlete assured in response that this phenomenon often happens in figure skating, so there is no need to be upset, she will definitely return.

At first, the doctors said: Tatyana Totmyanina, whose injury is very serious, should stop training for about a month. The figure skater was not going to put up with this, and as soon as she felt better, she began to rush to the skating rink. The courage of this individual deserves respect! Even the coach, just in case, took her car to a service station and asked the technicians not to rush into repairs. Tanya did not remember the moment of her fall. Fortunately, she recovered very quickly and after two weeks she received permission to continue her favorite activity.

Tatyana Totmyanina after a fall on the ice

When the girl began her professional activities, at the very first Russian figure skating championship she was again hospitalized, but for a different reason. The media reported that even earlier she had been diagnosed with cholecystitis, but long flights and changes in diet exacerbated her condition.

However, Tatyana Totmyanina, whose head injury and other ailments could not stop the purposeful girl, returned to the sport again after some time. In the same season, the couple won the World and European Figure Skating Championships. In 2006, athletes won the winter competitions held in Italy (Turin).

Activities after amateur career

After the main victory in their lives, Maxim and Tatyana decided to take a break, after which they intended to return to big-time sports. Alas, they were unable to reach an agreement with the Figure Skating Federation on financial issues, so a return was out of the question.

In 2007, Totmyanina and Marinin refused to take part in the Stradivarius Golden Ice tour and transferred to Ilya Averbukh’s Ice Symphony project. Later, the girl appeared in the Channel One television program “Ice Age” together with Leonid Zakoshansky and in 2013, Oscar Kuchera became her partner.

Personal life

Today Tatyana Totmyanina is the wife of figure skater Alexei Yagudin. They met long before they started their life together. It was at the age of 15 at the Yubileiny stadium. In the circle of athletes, everyone knows each other, and that’s how this meeting happened. According to her future husband, at that time he treated Tanya as an ordinary girl who was very serious and immersed in her career. Feelings manifested themselves many years later, when both personalities left big sports and took part in the show. They were often together and eventually decided to live under the same roof. They were in no hurry to officially sign, although an offer was received from Alexei.

In 2009, Tatyana announced that she wanted three children from her beloved husband. This wish was made for New Year's Eve. A real miracle has happened! A month and a half later, it turned out that the famous figure skater was pregnant. In November, a wonderful girl named Elizabeth was born. The parents were happy about this event, although, according to Tatyana, the birth of a baby was a serious test for her. The athlete did not know how to deal with small children, but her husband and mother-in-law helped her a lot, for which the young mother is very grateful to them. Now she has experience, and communicating with the baby evokes a more reverent feeling.

Raising a daughter

Often in a family where one child grows up, the parents spoil and indulge him greatly. Tatyana and Alexey practice a completely different approach: in their opinion, the baby should grow up in constant struggle and achieve everything on his own, starting from infancy. This will allow him to grow strong and seasoned. Surely such a decision is justified by Tatiana’s fear for her daughter, who will face the problem of making decisions on her own. So, little Lisa gets used to the fact that a nanny is often with her, and her parents return home only in the evening. You need to love a child, but you cannot completely surrender to him. With his appearance, the life of parents should not change, since they have their own desires, goals and needs, therefore everyone in the family should be of equal value.

Today Lisa is already five years old, and the question remains: will she follow in the footsteps of her mother and father? Tanya and Lesha want to protect their daughter from the harsh conditions of figure skating and serious injuries, although the little girl imitates them and is already skating. In the girl’s life, of course, there will be sports, but not amateur ones. This is what Alexey Yagudin and Tatyana Totmyanina decided.

The biography of the professional figure skater is still of interest to fans awaiting new events in life (the appearance of the next child) and the success of the Olympic champion. Although she retired from amateur sports, we continue to see her on TV screens.

Pairs figure skating is always a story of relationships between a man and a woman told on the ice - love, attraction, passion, suffering. According to experts, among Russian figure skaters there are three couples who conveyed the whole gamut of such feelings in their programs - Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergey Grinkov and, of course, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. In every movement of this St. Petersburg couple one could read love and reverent attitude towards each other.

Today Elena Berezhnaya turns 39 years old.

Everything is grown up

Lena Berezhnaya was born in a small southern city - Nevinnomyssk. Despite the fact that she moved to St. Petersburg a long time ago, in her homeland she is considered the most famous person, and local residents are proud of their fellow countrywoman.

She started figure skating at the age of 3 and immediately made a name for herself. Her extraordinary talent was noted by her coaches. In particular, the famous Russian mentor Stanislav Zhuk drew attention to Elena. Already at the age of 13, the figure skater moved to Moscow to devote herself entirely to ice dancing. Lena left for the capital all alone; her family remained in Nevinnomyssk. The parents were very worried, but they let their daughter go.

In a Moscow dormitory for athletes, Elena was the only girl. But she didn’t pay attention to the boys’ sidelong glances, concentrating on figure skating.

“My life was scheduled minute by minute,” Berezhnaya recalled. - The school is a sports boarding school where I lived and studied for a long time. Then the first competitions began, constant traveling - moving, it was no longer possible to remain there as a teenager. Everything was adult."

In every movement of Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze one could read love and reverent attitude towards each other. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Her first partner was the Latvian figure skater Oleg Shlyakhov. The athlete was four years older than Lena, and their relationship on the ice was not easy. The guy was rude and treated the fragile girl without due respect. In 2014, the sports drama “Champions” was released, where the relationships of the skaters were fully revealed. Any mistake by Lena ended in a scandal, Shlyakhov even raised his hand against her. Berezhnaya’s friends tried to stand up for her, even giving Lyakhov a “dark” treatment. Among the defenders was Anton Sikharulidze. But these “educational measures” had no effect on the aggressive guy. He took Lena to Latvia, where their skating ended in a terrible tragedy.

With a slight movement of the skate...

This happened during one of the training sessions in 1996. The guys perfected their program for the European Championships. While performing a parallel rotation, Shlyakhov did not calculate the distance and hit Elena in the temple with the blade of his skate. Her temporal bone was pierced, and fragments damaged the lining of the brain. Berezhnaya's life hung by a thread. Today she recalls with a smile that terrible moment: “...and with a slight movement of his foot his skate hit me in the head...”

She had to undergo two complex neurosurgical operations, and she forgot how to walk and talk. During this difficult period, 19-year-old Anton Sikharulidze was constantly next to Lena. The guy in love ran away from training camps and training sessions and rushed to the intensive care unit with a huge bouquet of flowers to hold Lena’s hand and speak kind words to her.

“At first I didn’t understand for a long time what happened,” the skater admitted in one interview. - When they told me that they had surgery on my head, I thought: well, I’ll have to skip a few training sessions. But when they said that I would have to lie down without getting up for at least two weeks, I realized that everything turned out to be much more complicated.”

Elena recalled that she was terribly worried because the doctors shaved off her long hair. Then she saw herself in the mirror and was shocked: a bald head with a huge scar, bruises under her eyes. According to her, part of her face was paralyzed.

Soon she began to feel severe depression, but Anton was nearby, who taught Lena to walk again, and then held her hand during her first steps on the ice. Experienced doctors frowned and unanimously said that we could forget about sports and ice skating in general. Three months after the unfortunate injury, Lena and Anton moved to St. Petersburg, where the legendary Tamara Moskvina became their coach.

Unprecedented pressure

This couple became silver medalists at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. Inexperienced viewers, seeing the interview with Lena and Anton, laughed, saying that the figure skater is a true blonde and cannot put two words together. They did not know that Berezhnaya simply could not speak; her speech was impaired. And Anton courageously took the heat upon himself, answering all the journalists’ tricky questions and not allowing his partner to be offended.

Every year the guys skated better and better. Twice they became world champions, once they took second place at the world championship. They went to the Olympics in Salt Lake City, America, as undisputed favorites.

Elena Berezhnaya is completely immersed in work, heads the St. Petersburg State Ice Theater and trains talented St. Petersburg children. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

World figure skating leaders have long been irritated by the decades-long dominance of the USSR and Russia in figure skating. And in the USA, behind-the-scenes games began, the victims of which were a St. Petersburg couple. After performing the short and free programs, the Russian pair won gold, and the guys were awarded the long-awaited medals. Immediately, US newspapers published devastating articles denouncing supposedly “corrupt” judges. The jury was subjected to unprecedented pressure, including threats of physical violence. And the judges wavered. They reviewed the results and an unprecedented repeat award ceremony took place. Not only Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya, but also the Canadian couple Sale-Pelletier climbed to the top step of the podium.

Happy mother

After that Olympics, the athletes left amateur sports. They became stars, they were invited to television, radio and newspapers. Then, in 2002, Lena still experienced serious problems with speech. But she courageously came to all interviews and, unlike Anton, was never late. It's time for her to take the rap in front of the journalists for two. But no one asked Lena tricky questions. Without exception, all the people who interacted with her immediately and irrevocably fell in love with this charming girl.

The irresistible couple skated professionally for four years and took part in ice shows. Their personal life has cracked, Anton is an addicted person, and Elena did not hold back her loved one.

Today Elena Berezhnaya is a happy mother, she has two children Tristan and Sophia-Diana from English figure skater Stephen Cousins. She is completely immersed in her work, heads the St. Petersburg State Ice Theater and trains talented St. Petersburg children.

The World Figure Skating Championships, which started in Milan, are perceived by many as a bright holiday. However, in this sport there can be serious injuries, blood, and real tragedies. "SE" remembered some of them.

1) Shock Zhang Dan

At the 2006 Olympics, a Chinese woman fell unsuccessfully after being thrown out and crashed into the side. Due to painful shock, the athlete was forced to interrupt the performance, but the judges gave her the opportunity to recover, and the Chinese managed to skate the program to the end, and in the end even received Olympic silver.

2) Didier's fainting

At the 2011 Universiade in Turkey, French singles skater Candice Didier suffered a severe blow during the free skate, but managed to complete the performance and independently reach the “tears and kisses” zone. There the skater lost consciousness. The medical team prepared to carry out resuscitation procedures, but ammonia was enough to save the athlete.

3) Gregory's warm-up

In 2007, an American woman was seriously injured during warm-ups at the Canadian Grand Prix. Melissa Gregory, who performed in a dance duet with a figure skater of Russian origin Denis Petukhov. The partner was spinning his partner in one of the elements, but could not hold on and threw her flat onto the ice. At the same time, Petukhov himself flew off in the other direction. Gregory was hospitalized but escaped serious injury.

4) Wetzel Breathing

At the 1994 Olympics, a German Mandy Wetzel hit her chest hard during a performance with Ingo Steuer. While performing an element, Mandy fell on the ice, her partner pressed her on top, after which the skater began to choke. Ingo urgently carried Wetzel to the side and handed her over to the doctors. Some time after treatment, Mandy returned to the national team and even won the 1997 World Championship with the same partner.

5) Blood of Redford

In 2011, at the World Championships in Moscow, a Canadian figure skater broke her partner’s nose with her elbow during a performance. Eric Radford. Radford immediately began to bleed, but the pair miraculously managed to finish the short program, even though Eric was forced to wipe the blood off on ice during the performance.

6) Drama Menshov

In 2013, during the World Team Championship, the Russians fell after performing a jump and suffered a dislocated shoulder. The pain was so severe that the skater was unable to finish the performance and withdrew from the competition.

7) Palamarchuk knockout

At the 2000 World Championships, Ukrainian Dmitry Paramarchuk dropped his partner Julia Obertas. The girl landed on the figure skater's head, knocking him out. Doctors brought Paramarchuk to his senses and took him off the ice, but Dmitry fainted again over the side and was hospitalized. Fortunately, this fall did not have tragic consequences.

8) Downed Chinese

In 2012, American figure skater Adam Rippon and Chinese Nan Song collided during the warm-up before the free program at the Chinese Grand Prix. Rippon ran into his smaller opponent and knocked him to the ground. As a result, Son withdrew from the competition, and Rippon continued performing as if nothing had happened.

9) The fall of Totmyanina

2004 at the Skate America tournament Russian Maxim Marinin lost his balance while performing a high lift and dropped his partner Tatiana Totmyanina. The figure skater hit her head on the ice and lost consciousness. Tatyana was taken to the hospital with a concussion and a large number of bruises. But she managed to recover and become an Olympic champion together with Marinin.

10) Dube's Scar

In 2007, Canadian figure skater Jessica Dube, performing in tandem with Bryce Davison, while performing a parallel rotation, received a blow to the face with a skate. Fortunately, the blade did not hit the eyes or damage the bone, but the cut required 83 stitches.

11) Flight of Prokuronova

In 2006, many were shocked by the terrible fall from support Olga Prokuronova, performing in tandem with Karel Stefel for the Czech Republic. During the skate, the partner tripped and dropped his partner onto the ice in such a way that from the outside it seemed that her body was broken in half. Olga managed to leave the ice herself, but there was no question of continuing the performance.

12) Disabled Binnebos

In 1999, an American figure skater Paul Binnebos, while performing support, he dropped his partner on himself Laura Handy. The result of the fall was a severe traumatic brain injury to Paul. Part of the skater’s face was paralyzed, he ended his career, but still returned to the ice and became a figure skating coach.