Irina Rodnina. The legend of pair skating lights the Olympic Cauldron at Sochi

2014 Opening Ceremony

Prepared by Anna Snigireva

World ChampionshipsGold 1978 Ottawa PairsGold 1977 Tokyo PairsGold 1976 Gothenburg PairsGold 1975 Colorado Springs Pairs

Gold 1974 Munich PairsGold 1973 Bratislava PairsGold 1972 Calgary PairsGold 1971 Lyon PairsGold 1970 Ljubljana Pairs Gold 1969 Colorado Springs Pairs

European ChampionshipsGold 1980 Gothenburg PairsGold 1978 Strasbourg PairsGold 1977 Helsinki PairsGold 1796 Geneva PairsGold 1975 Copenhagen PairsGold 1974 Zagreb PairsGold 1973 Cologne PairsGold 1971 Zuerich PairsGold 1970 Leningrad PairsGold 1969 Garmisch-

PartenkirchenPairs

Brief Biography

Ø Born in 1949, suffered from pneumonia 11 times

Ø At the age of 6 was brought to a skating ring

Ø Paired with Alexey Ulanov Irina Rodnina won their first World title in 1969, followed by next two World titles, 1970 and 1971.

Ø Rodnina/Ulanov competed in 1972 Olympics and captured the Gold after what Irina was seriously injured and the pair fell apart

«We shall never surrender» Sir Winston Churchill

Ø Irina Rodnina recovered from the injury and started training again teamed up with Alexander Zaytsev

Ø Rodnina/Zaytsev won six consecutive World titles together, as well as seven European gold medals, and won their first Olympic title together in 1976. In 1980 they captured their second Olympic Gold and retired

Political Career

Ø Irina Rodnina became a member of the Public Chamber of Russia in 2005

Ø In the 2007 legislative election, Irina Rodnina was elected to the State Duma as a member of United Russia party.

Irina Rodnina’s life path illustrates the following British sayings

• He who would catch fish must not mind getting wet

• No pains, no gains

Thanks for your attention!

Thanks for your attention!