After the 2018 Winter Olympics, Alina Zagitova became one of the best female skaters in the world. Her profile is a single skating. Even before she came of age, the girl collected as many titles and awards as many professional athletes can’t get in their entire career.
The assortment of Alina’s advantages over others is an amazing desire for perfection, perseverance in achieving goals and, as a bonus, good genetics.
Childhood and the beginning of a sports career
The girl was born on May 18, 2002. In the family Zagitovs it was the first child. At that time, they all lived in Izhevsk, a major cultural center of the Udmurt Republic. Surprisingly, the girl got the name from the famous athlete Alina Kabaeva. By coincidence, parents for a long time could not decide on this issue until a successful gymnast appeared on the TV screen.
Alina's father and her younger sister Sabina Ilnaz Zagitov was the coach of the Izhstal hockey team. He was the personification of perseverance and will.It was his example and the advice that sent both sisters to the sport, in particular, to figure skating. The girls' mom also dreamed of making a career, but the circumstances were stronger. Therefore, the girls had to realize unrealized dreams. Mom's support became one of the decisive factors in the appearance of a new star Alina in Russian figure skating.
It all started as entertainment. Girls came to ride on the ice only at the weekend. Nobody persuaded them and, moreover, did not force them. Alina started real trainings at the age of 5 and gave up this activity several times. She was fascinated by drawing and other hobbies. But when at the age of 7 it became clear that the girl was endowed with talent, she decided to devote herself entirely to figure skating. So in 2007, began the career of a young winner.
Until 2015, Zagitova trained on the basis of Izhevsk Children's Sports School. The main classes were held in the Almetyevsk Palace of Sports under the name "Jubilee". Larisa Sanina and Natalya Antipina became the first teachers for Alina. They spared no effort and invested a decent base in the future figure skater. They still maintain contact, helping the girl with advice and worrying about her in all competitions.
At a certain point in the hometown for Zagitova there were no rivals left. There is a need to find worthy competitors for personal growth. Thus, a thirteen year old girl moved to Moscow. Here the young, fragile spirit Alina was difficult. Eteri Tutberidze's acquaintance became an important moment in the girl's sports career. All young talents, without exception, wanted to get to this coach. But it was in Aline that Eteri Georgievna saw the future successful athlete. So Alina got into the Tutberidze team, but in less than three months she was excluded from it. According to the coach, the girl was unable to restructure from her usual teaching system to a new one.
For Eteri Georgievna it was important that the athlete himself worked on himself. Alina did not argue and silently transferred to the team of Anna Tsareva. Then everything did not work out either: the girl consistently received two serious injuries. At first, with an unsuccessful fall, the arm was broken. The girl decided not to retreat, and even to perform an injury at the Games. As a result, Alina received a fracture of the foot. For treatment it took two weeks of bed rest. Their girlfriend spent in his hometown. She had to re-learn to walk, not to mention the lost skills of skating. When the parents decided to bring Alina to Izhevsk for good, Eteri Tutberidze surprised everyone with a second chance offer for an unlucky athlete.
Zagitova gladly accepted the offer and began to learn from her own mistakes. This time she adopted the policy of conducting trainings of a new coach. The girl tried to recover faster and begin to show results. Such persistence was crowned with success. The coaching staff of the Tutberidze team recognizes that high hopes are associated with Alina.
Achievements in sport
The first serious event, in which Alina Zagitova participated, took place in January 2016. It was the Championship of Russia among juniors. The girl showed her plastic in the most difficult program for her level. The jury was delighted, which was reflected in the estimates. This was the ninth place, which in these conditions was a good result for Zagitova.
Then there was a confident victory at the Junior Grand Prix in France, after which Alina won bronze in a similar tournament in Slovenia. These successes paved the way for the girl to the final stage of the Grand Prix, where Alina showed herself in all her glory and won the gold medal, not leaving her rivals a single chance. She was the best in the short and random programs, as well as on the amount of points. In 2016, the girl got silver in the Championship of Russia, at the beginning of 2017 Zagitova won gold in the Russian championship among juniors.
In 2017 there was another victory. This time in Turkey at the European Youth Olympic Festival. The girl's personal record was set next, for which she was awarded a prize in Taipei at the Junior World Championships.September of the same year was marked by the first performance at adult competitions. It was the Lombardy Cup and again the first place. Following in China was a new victory in the free program.
The end of the year was especially productive. The list of achievements included several awards and titles:
- title of champion of Russia;
- European champion title;
- the title of master of sports of Russia of international class.
Actual achievements of the figure skater
Earlier this year, Alina was in fifth place in the International Skating Union. At the 2018 Olympics, Zagitova’s performance received a quite expected judge rating - a gold medal and first place. Thanks to her victory, the Russian team can boast of silver in the team competition, despite the small number of women.
The main achievement at the moment is the world record, which the girl broke on February 21 as part of the Winter Olympics. By this, she immediately demonstrated her superiority over her rival and team-mate Evgenia Medvedeva, who showed a slightly less vivid result.
Young age skater is not a hindrance. She not only earns the highest awards for the country, but also gives hope for similar success in the future.
Our pride. I was so worried about her.