How Alina Zagitova Turned into One of the Youngest Olympic Champions?
15 year old Alina Zagitova made a real sensation at 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang by winning gold in ladies' singles figure skating. She is the second youngest Olympic champion in this discipline after Tara Lipinski, who was 26 days younger than Alina, when she won her gold Olympic medal at 1998 Winter Olympics.
Though Zagitova is rather young, she already has a great number of achievements. And so, her victory in PyeongChang became just one more proof of this athlete’s talent. Would you like to find out more about this young Russian sports star? Then, let’s have a closer look at Alina’s life and career.
Contents
Background
Alina Zagitova poster
Alina Zagitova was born on May 18, 2002, in Izhevsk (Russia). Her parents are Leysan Zagitova and Ilnaz Zagitov, an ice hockey coach. She has a younger sister, Sabina. A curious fact is that Alina was nameless during her first year and then, her parents made up their minds to name her after Russian rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Alina Zagitova poster
The athlete told about that: “I was named in her honour. When I was born, they did not give me a name until I was one year old. Once my parents watched gymnastics. Alina Kabaeva was competing, they looked at each other and decided to call me this name - Alina”. By the way, the gymnast is one of Zagitova’s idols: “I know how strong her character is. And I liked very much how she performed”.
Alina Zagitova poster
At 4, Alina started to take skating lessons. At the age of 13, Zagitova moved to Moscow together with her grandmother to be coached by Eteri Tutberidze and Sergei Dudakov. At 2016 Russian Junior Championships, she finished on the 9th place.
Besides figure skating, Alina is fond of drawing and is a lover of pets (she has a dog, a cat and two chinchillas at home). In figure skating, her role models are her teammate Evgenia Medvedeva, who won a silver medal in PyeongChang and was the 2016 World Champion, and Italian Carolina Kostner, who was the 2012 World Champion.
2016-2017 Season and Zagitova’s International Debut
Alina Zagitova made an international debut at 2016-17 ISU Junior Grand Prix in August 2016, and won a gold medal. Winning one more medal, this time bronze, at the Grand Prix in Slovenia, the figure skater was qualified for the final of competition in Marseille, where she won a gold medal with 207.43 points, the highest score for a junior lady figure skater.
The same season, Zagitova won a silver medal at 2017 Russian Championships and became a gold medalist of the European Youth Olympic Festival. In addition, she claimed gold at 2017 World Junior Championships. Alina became a Master of Sport of International Class in the Russian Federation in 2017.
2017-2018 Season
Alina Zagitova poster
The 2017/18 season started with a victory of CS Lombardia Trophy. The figure skater qualified for her second Grand Prix Final after winning the events in China and Internationaux de France. As a result, Alina won her second Grand Prix Final with the score of 223.30 points.
Later that season, Zagitova won the Russian National Championships, being the best in both short and free skate programs. Taking part in 2018 European Championships in Moscow, the figure skater won her first European gold. After that, she became a member of the Russian Olympic team along with Evgenia Medvedeva and Maria Sotskova.
2018 Winter Olympics
Alina Zagitova poster
At 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Alina Zagitova won gold and silver medals. The competitions started with the team event. Alina finished first in ladies’ free skating and helped the team of Olympic Athletes from Russia to gain silver medals in the event.
In the ladies’ individual event, Alina finished first in the short program and second in free skating. As a result, she earned 239.57 points and became a gold medalist.
The athlete shared her emotions after winning the competition: “I won. Honestly, my hands are shaking, because I haven’t understood yet that I am an Olympic champion”.
By the way, the skater’s medal became the first gold for the team of OAR at 2018 Winter Olympics. However, Zagitova came into the Olympic history not only because of her gold medal. Her program was the most technically difficult in the history of Olympic Games. Also, in the free skating program, she became the only skater, who performed all her 11 jumps in the second half of the program.
