Elena Radionova is a Russian figure skater, the first and so far the only one in history two-time champion World Junior Women's single skating. The girl is one of those people about whom they say: “Golden Fund”. Lena’s presence at the skating rink is a sign that you can’t relax.
Having moved from the youth level to the adult level, the athlete clearly demonstrated the level of ambition, desire and capabilities: her debut European Championship - and immediately a silver medal. In 2015, the entire podium of the continental championship belonged to the Russians.
Childhood and youth
Lena was born on January 6, 1999 in the capital of Russia. IN figure skating The girl, who was barely 4 years old, was taken away by her father. The father did not pursue the goal of raising a champion; the task was much more mundane - to rid his daughter of clubfoot. Moreover, the mother protested - it was a pity to expose such a small child to cold. Dad turned out to be right, the girl’s legs straightened out, and along with this her athletic talent was revealed.
At the age of 5, Lena won her first children's competition. The event is still remembered by a framed letter in a prominent place in the Radionovs’ apartment. The baby fell into the hands of Inna Goncharenko, who raised several generations of talented skaters. The girl considered the coach her second mother.
Elena Radionova and coach Inna Goncharenko It became more difficult when Radionova went to school: after classes on ice, choreography and physical training, lessons awaited her, and in the evening, tutors arrived, with the help of whom she had to fill in the gaps in the curriculum. Sunday was declared a day off. Later, the schoolgirl was transferred to home schooling.
Elena finished 11th grade by successfully passing the Unified State Exam, although she admits in one of her interviews that it was difficult to combine her studies with her career. Internal discipline was required, but the girl understood that, first of all, she herself needed it.
Elena Radionova in her youth The list of the skater’s favorite subjects included Russian language and literature, but her relationship with physics did not work out. Lena chose biology as an additional subject for the Unified State Exam, because she planned to enter the Moscow Institute of Physical Education and Sports (MIFKIS).
Radionova is often asked if she regrets missing her youth. After all, when her peers were living bright days filled with parties, spending their school years side by side, the figure skater was cut off from all this, working a lot and hard.
However, Elena does not consider her life boring and rightly notes: “Everyone studies at school, but only a few get into figure skating.”
Elena Radionova with her mother The girl has a warm relationship with her parents, especially close to her mother, who played a big role in the formation of the future ice star and knew about all the problems and aspirations of the child. She became the main critic, who had the right to give advice and speak the truth face to face.
Lena was born with a vulnerable character, she took everything to heart, took failures hard and greatly rejoiced at victories. She says that her life is constant emotions that are impossible to cope with. However, this quality plays into the hands, because figure skaters are akin to actors - the viewer loves the manifestation of sincere feelings.
Figure skating
Elena's sports biography is full of victories. The first success came in the 2007/2008 season at the capital's junior figure skating championship age group. There the girl received a silver medal. The next year she won the Russian Championship in her age category, and beat her future colleague.
In the 2009/2010 season, Radionova tried her luck in the first junior national championship, where she was content with 11th place. But a year later Lena became 4th. The following season, the figure skater made her debut in the adult Russian championship and entered the top five athletes. Afterwards the girl won gold medal in the final of the Russian Cup, bronze in the national junior championship and won international tournament Triglav Trophy in Slovenia.
The 2012/2013 season brought Elena Radionova the title of world junior champion. In the fight for the highest medal, she pushed aside the same Anna Pogorilaya. Without slowing down, the figure skater won silver in the adult Russian championship, in which she won, as well as gold in the junior competition.
Elena Radionova at the Russian Championships in 2013Next year, the Russian woman is again the best in the world among juniors. This time Lena left behind Serafima Sakhanovich and. Radionova finished the Russian adult championship in 3rd place. The girl did not make it to the home Olympics for offensive reasons - she was 6 months short of the required age threshold.
Japan Open 2014 was a kind of consolation. At the tournament in Tokyo, the European team represented by Lena, Anna Pogorila, and Tomas Werner snatched victory from the national team North America. Skating under the Stars and Stripes were Jeffrey Battle and Mirai Nagasu. The hosts of the competition in the persons of Takahiko Kozuka, Kanako Murakami, Satoko Miyahara and Takahito Mura remained in 3rd position.
Elena Radionova at Japan Open 2014Open Championship Japan is different in that it is more demonstrative and commercial in nature, although there are judges and ratings. Skaters are skating free programs that they plan to perform in upcoming season. Elena Radionova then became the first among the girls.
At the 2015 continental championship, Elena again competed with Tuktamysheva and Pogorila. She conceded to the first, and won from the second silver award. Bronze at the Shanghai World Championships was added to this. At the national championship, Radionova rose to the highest step of the podium, and in the Grand Prix final - to the second.
Elena Radionova at the World Championships in ShanghaiIn the 2015/2016 season, Elena competed with Medvedeva at the European and Russian Championships, losing the lead both times to Evgenia, and received a bronze medal at the Moscow Grand Prix stage. Finished the world championship in 6th place.
The final of the Grand Prix of the 2016/2017 season was unsuccessful for Radionova - only 6th place, while the girl won the stage in China, and in Moscow she became second. Elena did not make it to the continental and world championships because she failed qualifying championship Russia. The figure skater was rehabilitated by World Universiade in Almaty, where she won gold.
Elena Radionova at the Universiade 2017The victory contributed to inclusion in the national team going to team championship peace to Japan. The athlete brought a silver medal from Tokyo.
In the spring of 2017, the skater changed her coach, although she stated that she could not imagine breaking off her relationship with Goncharenko, which lasted 13 years. The girl was taken under her wing by her mentor, to whom she owes the title of Olympic champion.
Personal life
The heart of the charming, fragile blonde (with a height of 163 cm, Elena weighs 49 kg) is free, she has not yet been seen in any amorous story. The girl jokes that her only love so far is figure skating. Even my best friend is my colleague Adelina Sotnikova. It is interesting that, thinking about the future, Elena does not want her children to skate. He will insist, for example, on gymnastics.
In addition to sports, Lena is interested in cinema, is well versed in French cinema, and loves films with the participation of. By the way, cinema has long gone beyond mere interest; the figure skater wants to become an actress and play a lyrical character. When his sports career comes to an end, he plans to enter GITIS. However, the pretty blonde has a chance of success in cinema. Now Radionova is a student at the Russian University of Physical Culture.
The girl plans to get a driver's license and dreams of driving her own Mercedes. Studying English language. Despite her dizzying achievements in sports, Lena is rarely recognized on the streets, which cannot be said about the virtual space.
After the next performance, tens of thousands of letters pour into the email inbox, and the excitement continues for a couple of months.
There are fans from America, Europe and Japan, it is impossible to answer everyone, only a select few receive letters from the ice star. A woman lives in the Land of the Rising Sun, a former fan of Yulia Lipnitskaya. Now her favorite is Elena. A fan sends the athlete charming souvenirs - bears dressed in costumes in which the figure skater performs.
IN "Instagram" Elena Radionova generously shares the latest photos and videos from her personal life with subscribers. There are pictures there from vacation, in which the athlete is captured in a swimsuit, from official events, but for the most part this sporting events. You can find a figure skater in
After the short program, where the army athlete took second place, experts were convinced that the podium of the competition among women's singles would remain with the Russian troika Anna Pogorilaya — Elena Rodionova — Yulia Lipnitskaya. One Saturday performances in free program got a surprise.
The most talked about athlete of the tournament, Olympic champion Sochi-2014 in team competitions Yulia Lipnitskaya interrupted her performance in the middle of her free program, and after a long meeting with the coach and judges, she continued, but without jumping. As the skater’s mentor said after the skate: Alexey Urmanov, “Yulia’s leg is lost. Now it is difficult to assess the scale of the tragedy. It is possible that these are echoes of a back injury.”
Due to the stop, Elena Radionova, who entered the ice after Lipnitskaya, delayed her performance by 3 minutes. As the army figure skater herself said, “I felt that something would happen before my skate today, my intuition worked. But it didn’t throw me off, it didn’t throw me off too much.”
“Lena actually said, “We’re probably getting dressed early.” I looked at the time. I say, “no, it should already be the middle of Lipnitskaya’s program. Let's go." And sure enough: we got out, and there was this stop. I had to wait backstage. Of course, such situations are always exhausting, but you have to be able to cope with everything. “Anything can happen in a career,” Radionova’s coach told the press center of the Army Club. Inna Goncharenko.
According to the results of the rental, Radionova scored 123.67 points (57.92 for technique and 66.75 for components) and took second place in the double event (short and free program). The first was the bronze medalist of the 2016 World Championship Anna Pogorilaya (141.28 points), the third was silver medalist sixth stage of the Grand Prix of the 2015/2016 season “NHK Trophy 2015” American Courtney Hicks(119.30). The next start for Radionova will be the fifth stage of the Audi Cup of China 2016 Grand Prix, which will be held from November 18 to 20 in Beijing (China).
After Radionova’s speech, the army figure skater’s mentor Inna Goncharenko answered questions from the CSKA press center.
— Inna Germanovna, how do you evaluate Elena Radionova’s performance?
— I rate it very highly. Lena skated very beautifully. She fought like a tigress - it's always interesting to watch. Radionova once again showed her character and enormous potential. Our exit was delayed due to the fact that Yulia Lipnitskaya had a stop in the program - this always knocks out. We tried to maintain composure and Lena succeeded. She fell off on one jump because she didn’t calculate the speed, but overall I’m happy. This is her first start and it turned out much better than last year. We have a week left until China. We will draw conclusions, make adjustments, and generally work. This tournament was a good start to the season.
— At the Grand Prix stage in Moscow, Elena demonstrated her free program for the first time this season.
- Yes, in my opinion, Lena has one of the most beautiful images among girls - Princess Turandot. We have been wanting to take on this topic for a long time. We thought about this season or next, but decided not to delay. It's time, because the topic is serious, beautiful, and interesting. And Lena, of course, presents it very beautifully, with all her artistry. She's great.
— Experts also noted Radionova’s short program.
- I think that short program Lena has one of the best of the season. Yes, the music is not so simple, but Lena feels it, she is very organic in it. Both Lena and I like this program. From the first moment, as soon as we started skating this program, it was clear that it would take place and would be good. But we will still bring it to perfection.
— Which program does Elena cope better with?
— Lena’s free program is at least no worse than the short program. The free program is more time-consuming. It is very difficult to dance at the same high tempo as the short one - that is why for the free dance a more global, detailed theme is taken.
— What are your future plans for the season?
— In two weeks we are performing in China. But the main thing now is participation in the Russian Championship, which will be held from December 20 to 25 in Chelyabinsk. It is also very important for us to perform well at the Grand Prix final of this season.
Elena Radionova. Free program
Who's talking about what, and I'm talking about figure skating again)
In my last post on this topic, one of the gossip girls asked me to make a separate post about our girls, and here it is, in fact:)
The moment for such a post is more than appropriate: in the near future (from Thursday to Saturday) the Final of the Grand Prix series will be held in Marseille, both among adults and among juniors. In the Final, 6 athletes will compete in each event; in the senior competitions, 4 athletes will defend the honor of the country - Evgenia Medvedeva, Anna Pogorilaya, Elena Radionova and Maria Sotskova; In the junior finals, exactly half of our girls were: Anastasia Gubanova, Alina Zagitova and Elizaveta Nugumanova, three more places were won by Japanese girls.
7 of the 12 strongest figure skaters in the world are from Russia, and this does not count those who, unfortunately, were injured or did not start the season very well. This is the flower garden we have now in figure skating))
I love all our girls and root for each one (of course, there are those for whom I root a little more), so I will try to show each of them in the best light)
Let's start, perhaps, with the current champion of the Grand Prix Final, Russia, Europe and the World, holder of the world record in the Free Skating program - Evgenia Medvedeva. Zhenya won all these awards in her debut season as an adult; the season before that (2014/15) she also won all the major junior titles.
My wife just recently (November 17) turned 17 years old, she trains in Moscow in Eteri Tutberidze’s group.
This season's programs for Zhenya were staged by Ilya Averbukh
Zhenya's strengths, of course, include her ability to concentrate and skate cleanly, she is very stable, and has good stretch. Zhenya also benefits from the fact that she transfers many jumps and cascades to the second half of the program, and also jumps them with a raised arm (tano jump) or even with two raised arms (rippon jump). The fact is that all jumps performed in the second half receive a premium and are more expensive) Many skaters try to transfer some elements to the second half, however, not everyone succeeds.
Zhenya is often criticized for an incorrect edge on the lutz (according to the rules, part of the points should be deducted for it), however, the technical team sometimes misses this point and does not notice this incorrect edge. It should be said here that such concessions to top skaters are made quite often, unfortunately.
Zhenya loves anime and is learning Japanese
Zhenya has this wonderful dog named Jerry
She is very friendly with Anya Pogorila)
Anna Pogorilaya is a bronze medalist of the Russian Championship 2016 and the World Championship 2016, as well as the owner of two bronze medals European Championships (2015 and 2016). Anya is 18 years old, lives and trains in Moscow under the guidance of Anna Tsareva. To be honest, Anya is one of my favorites)))
I really like Anya's short program this season.
The free skate, in my opinion, is not so good, but also not bad
Anya's advantages include very high, flying jumps and good, one of the best in the world, gliding. Disadvantages include a lack of stability and an incorrect edge on the flip.
Anya always has very interesting performances
Very cool demonstration to the song of Conchita Wurst))
Another girl who qualified for the Grand Prix Final was Elena Radionova.
Lena is 17 years old, she was born and raised in Moscow, she trains at CSKA with Inna Goncharenko.
Lena is the owner of two silver medals Grand Prix finals and European Championships (in 2015 and 2016), Champion of Russia 2015, bronze medalist of the World Championship 2015. In addition, Lena is the only two-time world champion among juniors in history.
Lena has a very cute and playful short program)
I haven’t rated the free program yet
Lena's strengths: the ability to gather herself and tune in to the performances, she has some amazing willpower, Lena always fights for jumps and spins, even when she is sick or, as now, when she is in the process of growing, and her figure is constantly changing.
The disadvantages include not the best jumping technique (Lena’s jumps are not the lightest and highest), and some also criticize her for the fact that she has a rather strange habit of pressing her head to her shoulders during skating.
Lena in childhood))
Another Russian will also perform in Marseille - Maria Sotskova. Masha is only spending her first season with adults; she is 16 years old. Last year she came second at the World Junior Championships.
Before this season, Masha trained with Svetlana Panova, and in the summer she moved to the group with Elena Buyanova (Vodorezova)
Masha always has interesting programs that usually delight me, however, this season, I can’t say that I’m that amazed. But Masha is certainly great for making her senior debut so well and asking for the Grand Prix Final. And I really like her dress for the short program)
As for Masha’s advantages, they certainly include stability and grace) It’s always nice to look at Masha; it’s clear that as a child she spent many hours at the machine)
However, she is quite slow on the ice and does not glide well; this season, problems with jumps also began to appear - Masha sometimes does not complete them.
Masha is a very tall girl (for a figure skater), despite her young age, which may also be why she has such a hard time jumping this season.
I’ll briefly tell you about three of my favorite junior beauties: Anastasia Gubanova, Elizaveta Nugumanova and Polina Tsurskaya
I'll start with Nastya Gubanova, she is only 13 years old, she trains in St. Petersburg under the guidance of Angelina Turenko
This year, Nastya won both of her junior stages, at one of them she even broke the world record in the free program among juniors
Nastya has very musical skating and excellent gliding for her age; on foreign forums she is often called Princess Anastasia)
Liza Nugumanova, like Nastya, is 13 years old. She lives and trains in St. Petersburg, and Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin himself is listed as Lisa’s coach.
Lisa has some problems with jumping, she is just the most charming child who is not at all afraid of performing in front of a large audience)
Lisa at the Christmas show in Oberstdorf in 2014, just a charge of positivity))
Polina Tsurskaya, our strongest junior from last season, unfortunately, will not take part in the Grand Prix Final due to injury. She won both of her stages in September, however, she was injured after them, so she will have to miss the competition in France
This season Polina has a very touching short program to the soundtrack of Game of Thrones) However, the program has nothing to do with the events of the series
And she also has a 3lutz-3toe loop cascade that is simply stunning in height and range) And in general, she has some of the best jumps in the world!
I consider it necessary to write about two more of our girls: Yulia Lipnitskaya and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who, unfortunately, were not able to compete for participation in the Grand Prix Final this season, but I am sure that they will compete for medals at the Russian Championship
Lisa is only 19 years old, and during this time she has already experienced a lot of things in her life. sports career: she had a successful debut (she became the first skater to win two Grand Prix stages in her debut season), there was a season of failure when she struggled with overweight, puberty and injuries (unfortunately this season fell just Olympic Games), then Lisa had an extremely successful year when she won the Grand Prix Final, European and World Championships, jumping a unique jump - a triple axel. Last year, Lisa again struggled with injuries and herself, and now she is gradually returning to her level)
Here's Lisa's amazing short program at the 2015 World Championships when she jumped her 3rd Axel. Only Lisa, Mao Asada and Japanese junior Rika Kihara are currently jumping the three and a half rotation Axel. Lisa became only the 10th girl in history to land this jump in competition)
Lisa has an almost unique jumping technique: all her jumps are high, light, and from the right edges. However, she does not have the strongest rotations and has fairly similar programs (East, tango)
This season is going very poorly for Yulia Lipnitskaya, she had to withdraw from the stage in America due to an injury, then she competed at competitions in Moscow, where she skated an excellent short program
But in the free program, unfortunately, her injury worsened, so she had to take a technical break and miss most of the program (
I won’t even give a link to that rental, unless it’s hard to find on YouTube.
According to Alexey Urmanov, who trains Yulia, everything is fine with her now and she will compete at the Russian Championship in Novosibirsk.
Yulia blossomed after Sochi, became a real beauty, I hope we will see her on the podium again))
And this is not all our stars figure skating, the competition is just off the charts right now. For the last few years, foreigners have been calling the Russian Championship the Hunger Games)))
The fact is that only 3 athletes can qualify for the European and World Championships, and for the rest the season will end at the end of December.
And now a few of our beauties on the catwalks and in life: 
It must be said that despite the competition, the girls get along well with each other, and social networks you can find quite a lot of general photos))
Good luck to them and may the best team win!
