Irina Slutskaya

Irina Eduardovna Sluzkaja (Russian Ирина Эдуардовна Слуцкая / irinɑ slutskɑæ / listen / i;? Born February 9, 1979 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a former Russian figure skater who started in a single run. It is the world champion of 2002 and 2005 and the European Championships of 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Career

Sluzkaja is the only child of a Russian mother and a Jewish father. Her mother was a cross-country skier. She started at the age of four years with the figure skating. She started for the sports club Moskvich and trained since the age of six at Zhanna Gromova.

1995 Sluzkaja was Junior World Champion and played their first World Cup and European Championship. Just one year later, in 1996, she became European Champion in Sofia and won at the World Championships in Edmonton with bronze behind Michelle Kwan and Chen Lu their first medal. In 1997 she defended her European title in Paris. In 1998, she became vice European champion behind her compatriot Maria Butyrskaya and Vice World Champion behind Michelle Kwan. In her first Olympic Games she finished fifth in Nagano. In the next season, they could not qualify for international tournament and thought to a career end. But in 2000, she launched a successful comeback. For the first time she became Russian Champion. At the Grand Prix Final in Lyon, which she won, she landed seven triple jumps, including the first woman ever a triple Lutz- triple loop jumps combination. In Vienna she won before Butyrskaya her third European title. At the world championships in Nice they defeated Michelle Kwan and won the silver medal, she pointed the first woman to a triple Salchow - triple loop jumps double toe loop combination. Sluzkaja also invented the double Biellmann pirouette, a Biellmann pirouette with change of foot. A year later she defended both their national championship titles, as well as in Bratislava their European Championship title and also their victory at the Grand Prix Final. At the World Championships, she was again second behind Kwan. In the Olympic year 2002 she again defended their national championship and won for the third time in a row, the Grand Prix Final. At the European Championships she defeated Maria Butyrskaya. For the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City a duel between Sluzkaja and Michelle Kwan was expected. After the short program Sluzkaja was just behind Kwan. However, this made ​​mistakes. Sluzkaja had to win the long program, but made ​​a few minor bugs. So they lost the freestyle with four to five judges votes against the U.S. American Sarah Hughes and won the silver medal. Russia lodged an objection against the result, but this was rejected. A month later Sluzkaja was in Nagano for the first time world champion.

In 2003 Sluzkaja won in Malmö their fifth European title, but could not attend the World Cup due to illness. She had learned that her mother was seriously ill and needed a kidney transplant. Then she fell ill himself at a vasculitis, an autoimmune disease, and therefore takes today drugs. In October 2004, also followed by a knee injury. So they had to cancel all tournaments up to the World Cup, with this it was enough because of the injury but only for ninth place. Her doctors had discouraged her from participation.

Cured of injuries and illnesses, she went into the 2004/2005 season, which should be their most successful. She won all the competitions in the ISU Grand Prix series, in which they took part and at the end of it for the fourth time in her career, the Grand Prix Final. In Turin, it was the sixth time European champion. Your most emotional appearance followed at their home World Cup in Moscow. After she had shown a flawless freestyle, she broke into tears in the evaluation while the audience " Ira " choirs sang. The free program at this World Cup it is still known as course of their lives, not least because it took place in front of her family and friends after this serious time for them.

The following year Sluzkaja was in Lyon for the seventh time European champion and now holds the sole record title in the women's competition at the European Championships. At the Olympic Winter Games 2006 in Turin was Sluzkaja like four years earlier. Considered the favorite for the gold medal After the short program she lay just behind the US-American Sasha Cohen at number two, but showed in the freestyle her triple flip only twice and crashed on the triple loop jumps and won thus behind the Japanese Olympic gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa and the US-American Sasha Cohen only Bronze. Then Sluzkaja ended her competitive career.

In August 1999 Sluzkaja married her boyfriend Sergei Mikheyev. The couple met three years earlier at a training camp near Moscow know. In 2000, she completed a course of study at the Moscow Sports Academy. In November 2007 she became the mother of a son and a daughter in October 2010.

Sluzkaja worked as a presenter and actress in various shows and series on Russian television.

Results

  • Z = Withdrawn
Winter Olympic Games Figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics 1996 World Figure Skating Championships 1998 World Figure Skating Championships 2000 World Figure Skating Championships 2001 World Figure Skating Championships 2002 World Figure Skating Championships 2005 World Figure Skating Championships 1996 European Figure Skating Championships 1997 European Figure Skating Championships 1998 European Figure Skating Championships 2000 European Figure Skating Championships 2001 European Figure Skating Championships 2002 European Figure Skating Championships 2003 European Figure Skating Championships 2005 European Figure Skating Championships 2006 European Figure Skating Championships Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Single skating World Junior Figure Skating Championships Biellmann spin 2004 World Figure Skating Championships Flip jump 1995 World Figure Skating Championships 1997 World Figure Skating Championships 2003 World Figure Skating Championships 1995 European Figure Skating Championships 2004 European Figure Skating Championships Russian Figure Skating Championships International Skating Union Lily Kronberger Sonja Henie Cecilia Colledge Megan Taylor Barbara Ann Scott Jeannette Altwegg Jacqueline du Bief Tenley Albright Gundi Busch Carol Heiss Petra Burka Peggy Fleming Gabriele Seyfert Trixi Schuba Karen Magnussen Christine Errath Dianne de Leeuw Dorothy Hamill Elaine Zayak Rosalynn Sumners Debi Thomas Jill Trenary Kristi Yamaguchi Kimmie Meissner Carolina Kostner Eva Pawlik Valda Osborn Hanna Walter Regine Heitzer Claudia Kristofics-Binder Claudia Leistner Sarah Meier (figure skater) Tiffany Chin Janina Wirth Simone Koch Laëtitia Hubert Sydne Vogel Jennifer Kirk Caroline Zhang Rachael Flatt Kanako Murakami Adelina Sotnikova Elena Sokolova Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
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