On September 12, 1949, the world-famous figure skater Irina Rodnina was born in Moscow. The athlete’s biography is full of all kinds of achievements and awards. She managed to become a world champion ten times and an Olympic champion three times. Her name is forever inscribed in the history of world and Russian figure skating. Millions of people are her fans, and they are interested not only in her sports career, but also in various details from the life that the nationality leads...
Jewish on her mother’s side and Russian on her father’s side, the girl inherited her father’s strong-willed character and her mother’s talented genes, which greatly contributed to her future successes. Her life is the life of an outstanding, strong and purposeful woman.
Brief biography and personal life
Irina’s father, Konstantin Nikolaevich Rodnin, was a Russian military man, and her mother, Yulia Yakovlevna Rodnina, was a medical worker originally from Ukraine, but of Jewish origin. The figure skater also has an older sister, Valentina, who chose scientific activity and became a mathematical engineer.
This is the story of the family into which figure skater Irina Rodnina was born. A brief biography and the personal life of the athlete have always interested fans. Her first husband is figure skater Alexander Zaitsev, with whom Irina married in 1975, and before that she competed as a pair at championships for several years. They divorced in 1985. The figure skater's second husband is a film producer and businessman with whom she lived for several happy years in America, but also divorced. Now Irina Konstantinovna is not married.
In her first and second marriages, the athlete had a son and daughter in 1979 and 1986, respectively. The son is Alexander Zaitsev, who became a ceramic artist, and the daughter is Alena Minkovskaya, who currently lives and works as a TV presenter in Washington. Irina Konstantinovna also has a granddaughter, Sonya Zaitseva. Thus began a new maternal chapter in the life led by Irina Rodnina - a biography in which children began to play a very important role.
How it all began
It is interesting that Irina Rodnina was brought into sports by poor health. As a child, she was a sickly child and often suffered from pneumonia. Therefore, doctors recommended that the girl’s parents spend more time outdoors, doing physical exercise and thereby strengthening her immune system. Then Irina’s father and mother decided to take her to the skating rink in the Pryamikov Cultural Park. So in 1954, at the age of five, the girl discovered the world of figure skating. And this world, to the great delight of many connoisseurs of sports art, subsequently learned what a treasure Irina Rodnina is. The short biography and description of her subsequent achievements are truly amazing.
Rodnina’s first coach in the children’s section was Yakov Smushkin. Later, in 1960, an eleven-year-old girl managed to get into the CSKA figure skating section, where she first performed in single skating. Since 1962, she began to be trained by Sonja and Miloslav Balun. And the first achievement of the young figure skater was third place at the All-Union Youth Competitions in 1963, which Irina won in pairs skating with
Successes under the leadership of S. A. Zhuk
Since 1964, S.A. Zhuk became Irina Rodnina’s coach, who paired the girl with the new coach persistently led the newly formed couple to victories, constantly complicating the program, including more and more complex elements in it. In 1968, Rodnina and Ulanov entered the national team. And starting from the 1969 European Championships, gold medals were won one after another. For winning the 1969 championship, Rodnina received the honorary title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.
At the 1972 Olympics, the couple still managed to achieve victory in a very tough fight. This triumph is not easy for Irina. Literally the day before the championship, the girl falls from a support during training and is hospitalized with an intracranial hematoma and concussion. The skater performs the short program cleanly, but she barely manages to complete the free program. For gold at the Olympics, Rodnina receives the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. However, after this victory, the pair of Ulanov and Rodnina breaks up. Alexey gets together with his wife Smirnova, and Irina is even thinking about leaving the big world. However, from this moment on, the life led by Irina Rodnina becomes even more successful. Biography, nationality, genes, in which Slavic and Jewish blood were intertwined, gave rise to a very strong spirit in the skater. Neither injury nor the loss of his partner could break him.
New partner and new victories
In April 1972, Irina became a couple with We can say that from this moment a new stage begins in the life led by Irina Rodnina. The biography, in which her personal life was somewhere in the background, changes when she meets a new partner, who will later become the figure skater’s first husband.
From the very beginning, everyone notes that Rodnina, paired with Zaitsev, has a much higher level of mutual understanding and consistency than paired with her previous partner. And new victories begin.
The will to win
In Bratislava at the World Championships, held in 1973, Rodnina and Zaitsev, during their free performance, encounter a surprise - a short circuit occurs in the radio room, and right during a difficult lift the sound of the number is interrupted. Despite the complete silence that reigned for several seconds in the huge hall, the couple continues to show their program, following the instructions that coach S. A. Zhuk sends them with signs. Silence gives way to applause from the audience, to which the skaters finish their heroic performance. However, the couple does not receive a single highest mark, since they refuse to re-roll the program at the end of the competition and receive a reduction in points for performing without music. This unfair incident, which nevertheless demonstrates the will to win and love for the art of figure skating, goes down in the history of the sport.
Transition to a new coach
In 1974, Rodnina makes a serious decision. She comes to the conclusion that she needs to move from Zhuk to Tatyana Tarasova. Soon the favorite students of this still very young coach with a great future are the couple Alexander Zaitsev - Irina Rodnina. Their biography takes on new features. Irina Konstantinovna cites fatigue from the coach’s behavior as the reason for leaving Zhuk.
Tarasova brings more theatrical art and expressiveness to the couple's performances. Also, Zaitsev and Rodnina continue to amaze viewers with complex elements that were practically impossible to perform and were far ahead of the then existing figure skating technique. The very next year at the World Championships the couple again won first place. Irina Rodnina’s major victory was also the “gold” at the 1980 Olympics, where the thirty-year-old figure skater and already a mother, together with her partner, managed to skate a very difficult program cleanly and amaze all the judges. History includes the athlete’s tears during the award ceremony.
List of victories
It is not surprising that today the most successful athlete in the history of pairs figure skating is Irina Rodnina. The figure skater’s brief biography includes three Olympic victories, ten consecutive victories at the world championships since 1969, eleven at the European championships and six at the USSR championships. So, until 1980, Irina and her partners did not lose a single competition. Such an amazing success, embodied in a long series of confident victories, was explained not only by the incredible complexity of the main elements of the numbers performed, but also by the beauty and grace of the connecting elements, as well as the high speed and perfect synchronization of the pair. All this amazed the championship judges year after year and delighted and captivated millions of spectators.
Work as a trainer
In 1981, Rodnina, together with Zaitsev, entered professional sports. After finishing her career as a figure skater, Irina Konstantinovna first works at the Komsomol Central Committee, and then at the Dynamo society as a senior coach and teaches at the Institute of Physical Culture. From 1900 to 2002 he lived in the USA, where he worked as a coach at the international figure skating center. In 1995, her students Novotny and Kovarzhikova became world champions, for which Irina Rodnina was awarded honorary Czech citizenship. In many countries of the world, as well as in Russia, Irina Rodnina has become a real legend. A short biography in English of the figure skater and coach is familiar to thousands of her fans in America and other countries of the world.
Social activity
In 2002, Rodnina returned to Russia and became involved in active social activities. Since 2005, she has hosted the author’s program “Stadium” on Radio Russia. In the public all-Russian organization “National Health League”, the athlete serves as a member of the presidium. And in the organization “All-Russian Voluntary Society “Sports Russia”” he takes the place of chairman of the central council.
Now he is a member of the Council for Physical Culture and Sports under the President of the Russian Federation. And during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, she lit the Olympic flame along with
List of awards
The sports career and social activities led by Irina Rodnina were successful. The athlete’s biography is truly brilliant and full of awards. Among the main achievements of Irina Konstantinovna the following can be noted:
- in 1976 she was awarded the Order of Lenin;
- in 1972 and 1980 she received two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor;
- in 1999 she received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree;
- in 2009 she was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, and the Bronze Olympic Order;
- in 2002 and 2003 she became a laureate of the Olympia National Prize for public recognition of the achievements of women in Russia;
- in 2005 she won the “Russian of the Year” award in the “Triumphant” category.
Forever in the hearts of fans
To date, no one has yet managed to surpass the sporting success that Irina Rodnina achieved. The biography of this great figure skater inspires many motivated people, showing that real recognition comes to those who truly deserve it. And her magnificent performances will forever remain in the memory and hearts of figure skating fans.
Famous Russian figure skater, three-time Olympic champion, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
Biography of Irina Rodnina
In childhood Irina Rodnina was not in good health. The girl suffered from pneumonia 11 times. After another illness, in order to somehow improve the child’s health, Irina’s parents took her to the skating rink. It is thanks to the care and attention of parents Rodnina In her biography, she became seriously interested in figure skating. The girl was talented and diligent, so she soon ended up in the CSK figure skating section.
In 1974 Rodnina Graduated from the Institute of Physical Culture.
Career of Irina Rodnina
The athlete’s first serious victory came in 1963, when Irina became third at the USSR youth competitions.
After Irina began training and performing in tandem with Alexey Ulanov(coach S. Zhuk), victories literally rained down, although they were achieved with serious difficulty. In 1967 - victory at the competition "Moscow skates", twice (in 1968 and 1969) the couple became third at the USSR Championship. Take first place at the European Championships in the biography of the figure skater Irina Rodnina succeeded in 1969. At the same time, the athlete received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. The first victory at the World Championships occurred in the same 1969.
In September 2013, it became known that Rodnina posted a photo collage on her Twitter account in which black Barack Obama and his wife are depicted against the background of a banana, which was regarded by part of society as racist.
After a successful period in his biography Irina Rodnina failures followed. At the USSR Championship in 1970, the Rodnina-Ulanov pair took only fourth place. In 1972, literally a day before the World Championships, Irina received a serious injury (concussion, hematoma), but still decided to compete. That same year, her partner leaves her. Then Irina Konstantinovna decided to leave sports in her biography. But the coach paired her with the most talented skater - Alexandra Zaitseva.
At the next European Championship, Zaitsev-Rodnina receive a record number of points. In 1973, at the World Championships in Bratislava, the skaters continued their performance, despite the absence of music. In 1975, speaking at the World Championships (under the guidance of coach Tarasova), the couple again took first place.
At the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), an incident occurred that went down in the history of figure skating. There was a short circuit in the radio room, the sound was turned off during the free program of Rodnina - Zaitsev (later it turned out that the short circuit was deliberately organized by a Czech employee, who was thus trying to take revenge on the USSR for the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968). The coach from behind the side gave instructions to continue the program, and the couple skated without music to the applause of the audience. Referee Karl Enderlin, noting the “will to win” of the couple, nevertheless gave instructions to reduce the scores in connection with skating without music (the couple, naturally, refused to perform the program at the end of the competition), which is why not a single score of 6.0 was given did not have.
“In the first seconds we didn’t understand anything. And thank God that at that moment I was next to the coach. He managed to give us a task - to continue the performance. Naturally, we accomplished everything. For us, the coach’s words are law. And the law is undeniable,” the athlete explained.
Personal life of Irina Rodnina
In 1975 Rodnina married Zaitseva. The couple continued to perform, showing excellent programs at the 1976 Olympics and the 1977 World Championships. She was able to win the Olympics for the third time in 1980.
In 1985 she divorced Zaitsev and remarried a film producer Leonid Minkovsky. They had a daughter, Alena. After this, the family soon moved to the USA.
“For me, like for any person, the most important thing in life is children. I am happy that I have a daughter and a son. Regarding sports, this is a part of my life, a huge part of it. And, of course, all achievements, all positive and negative emotions will forever remain in memory. But children are still different. This is everything for me,” says Irina.
In 1999, Irina Konstantinovna divorced Minkovsky and returned to Moscow.
In 2007 Rodnina was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. She was on the list of the ruling United Russia party from the Omsk region. In the Duma, she took the position of deputy chairman of the Education Committee.
Irina often takes part in various television programs and shows, including “Smak” and “Let Them Talk.”
As an athlete who has not lost in a single tournament in her entire career, Irina Rodnina was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Awarded the Order of Lenin (1976), two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1972, 1980), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (1999), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2009) and the Bronze Olympic Order . Twice winner of the National Prize for public recognition of the achievements of women in Russia “Olympia” for 2002 and 2003. Winner of the “Russian of the Year” award (2005) in the “Triumphant” category.
Sports achievements of Irina Rodnina
With Alexey Ulanov
Winter Olympics (1st place in 1971-72)
World Championships (1st place in 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72)
European Championships (5th place 1967-68, 1st place 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72)
USSR Championships (3rd place 1967-68, 1968-69, 1st place 1969-70, 1970-71)
Tournament for the prizes of the Moscow News newspaper (1st place 1967-68, 2nd place 1968-69, 1st place 1969-70).
With Alexander Zaitsev
Winter Olympics (1st place 1975-76, 1979-80)
World Championships (1st place 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78)
European Championships (1st place 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1979-80)
USSR Championships (1st place 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1976-77)
Tournament for the prizes of the Moscow News newspaper (1st place 1977-78)
Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna (09/12/1949) is a Soviet figure skater who was included in the Guinness Book of Records as an athlete who never lost in international competitions. She has three Olympic golds and 10 victories at world championships. Currently a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the United Russia party.
“I don’t understand athletes who come to competitions and then start complaining about loss of shape, old injuries, and so on. And the worst thing is if they then refuse to fight and are withdrawn from the tournament. Do we really need to explain to adults that victory is not easy? It comes through overcoming, through “I can’t.” And if you are performing for the honor of the country, you must be ready to die for it!”
Childhood
Irina Rodnina was born on September 12, 1949 in Moscow. Her father is a career military man, and her mother is a medical worker. It is interesting that it was health problems that predetermined the path of the future Olympic champion. As a child, Irina often suffered from pneumonia, and doctors advised her parents to send the girl to sports. But such that classes are held in the fresh air. And since it was winter, there was little choice - skiing or figure skating. The parents chose the latter, since there was a good skating rink near their house.
After some time, Rodnina’s mother decided that the girl should take skating seriously and enrolled her in the section. Irina’s first coach was Yakov Smushin. Subsequently, several mentors changed, and as a result, Rodnina ended up in the CSKA section, and her classes were led by Czech specialists Miloslav and Sonya Balun.
This period of Irina Rodnina’s career was marked by bronze medals at the All-Union youth competitions. Then the skater performed in pairs with Oleg Vlasov.
Career
Under the leadership of S. Zhuk
When Irina Rodnina was 15 years old (1964), Stanislav Zhuk became her coach. Alexey Ulanov became her partner on the ice. The couple trained a lot and after three years won their first gold - at the Moscow Skates tournament. And a year later they became bronze medalists at the USSR Championship.
The first international success came at the European Championships in 1969. Despite finishing 2nd in the short program, Ulanov and Rodnina managed to pull themselves together and win the competition. After this, Irina was given the title of Honored Master of Sports. That same year, the skaters won their first gold at the world championships. And in 1972 success came at the Olympic Games.
Also in 1972, Rodnina stopped performing in tandem with Ulanov, as he preferred to skate with his wife. There was even a moment when Irina was thinking about leaving big-time sports. But coach Stanislav Zhuk dissuaded the girl, finding her a new partner in the person of young Alexander Zaitsev. Together with him, Rodnina very quickly mastered all the complex elements and a year later the pair won the European Championship, beating, by the way, the Ulanov-Smirnov pair.
This stage of Irina Rodnina’s career was marked by another historical event in the world of figure skating. An unpleasant incident occurred at the World Championships in Bratislava. During the performance, the music turned off. It later turned out that this was a deliberate sabotage. But Rodnina and Zaitsev did not stop their performance, completing the program to a standing ovation from the public.
“When the music turned off, out of the corner of my eye I saw the judges making gestures for us to stop. But we were already ahead. We did everything else by inertia. I only heard the creaking of skates. The audience was silent at first, and then began to applaud.”
After Rodnina and Zaitsev’s performance, the judges invited them to perform again - to the music. But the skaters flatly refused, saying that the technical failure was not their fault. As a result, the referees decided to lower the scores. But in the final standings, Soviet athletes were again first.
Under the leadership of T. Tarasova
In 1974, Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev made, one might say, a historic decision. They change their coach and go to Tatyana Tarasova. The reasons for this action are not entirely clear. Rodnina herself once said that it was a matter of relationship. Stanislav Zhuk was more despotic, and Tarasova, on the contrary, communicated with her charges as equals.
The new mentor brought more artistry to the skaters' skating. And the new program literally captivated the judges at the ’76 Olympics. Even though the couple made several mistakes during the performance, the referees gave very high marks. Thus, Irina Rodnina became an Olympic champion for the second time.
At the 1980 Games, Zaitsev and Rodnina were under enormous pressure from Western rivals and journalists. They were accused of using prohibited elements in figure skating. Tatyana Tarasova was even forced to redo the program in a few months, removing several supports from it. But the pressure did not affect the Soviet skaters. They skated both programs brilliantly; Irina Rodnina, at the age of 30, became a three-time winner of the Olympic Games. During the award ceremony, the athlete could not hold back her tears. The photo with her tear-stained eyes later went around all the world's media.
After sports
After finishing her career, Irina Rodnina began working as a coach. She taught at the Institute of Physical Education. In 1990, the athlete went to America, where she also worked with young skaters. Irina Konstantinovna returned to her homeland only 12 years later, and from that moment she decided to engage in politics.
She nominated her candidacy for elections to the State Duma in 2003. But then she couldn’t win and get into parliament. She had to wait four years until, in 2007, she was finally elected on the United Russia list. Irina Rodnina also actively participates in the public life of the country. It was she, together with hockey player Vladislav Tretyak, who was entrusted with the honorable mission of lighting the fire at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Personal life
Irina Rodnina has already been married twice. Her first chosen one was her figure skating partner, Alexander Zaitsev. From this marriage Rodnina had a son, who was named, like his father, Sasha. Now he is a grown man. He is a ceramic artist by profession.
Irina Rodnina’s second husband was businessman Leonid Minkovsky. In 1986, the couple gave birth to a child, daughter Alena. Now the girl lives in America, where she works on television.
Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina is an outstanding Soviet athlete, famous for her long series of triumphant victories at European and world figure skating competitions, raising the sport of her native country to unprecedented heights. She became a three-time Olympic champion, won 24 international gold medals, without losing a single competition from 1969 to 1980.At the end of a dizzying sports career, Irina worked in the Komsomol Central Committee, as a coach, teacher, radio presenter, and was involved in public and government activities.
At the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the sports star, guests tried to find out from her the mysterious secret of eternal youth “Makropolus”, which Irina probably knows, because she still remains a young soul, has an active lifestyle, full of strength, positivity and sincerity. She herself perceived the serious date as her usual highest score of 6:0.
Childhood of Irina Rodnina
The future legendary figure skater was born in Moscow on September 12, 1949 in the family of a military man and a nurse. My father was from the Vologda village of Yanino, my mother was from Ukraine. To improve the health of their daughter, who by the age of five had had pneumonia 11 times, her family chose ice skating. 
At first, they took their child to the skating rink in the Tagansky children's park named after. N.N. Pryamikov, then to the garden named after. Zhdanov in Sormovo. Irina’s first teacher was Yakov Smushkin, who at that time himself performed in figure skating. Under his guidance, she mastered the technique of sliding, the first spirals, jumps, spins and other mandatory elements on the ice.
The girl became physically stronger and fell in love with skates. Having successfully passed the preliminary examination, the diligent and capable student entered CSKA. At first she was a single skater, later she skated with Oleg Vlasov.
The beginning of Irina Rodnina's career
In 1964, Stanislav Zhuk became the mentor of the 15-year-old athlete, and Alexey Ulanov became her partner. After 2 years they were already successfully performing at international competitions. In 1969, at the European Championships in Germany, the skaters became winners, despite the fact that they arrived at the tournament without their coach, because his travel abroad was banned. 
At the World Championships, 5 years later, they again became first, earning approval in the form of the maximum score from all the judges. The next year turned out to be less successful for the athletes - mistakes were made at the national championship. But, thanks to the brilliant performance of the free part of the program, they retained their leadership.
In subsequent years, the couple continued to be the undisputed leader; in 1972, she won Olympic gold in Sapporo.
On the eve of the 1972 World Cup in Canada, Irina fell from a high support during training. She suffered a serious head injury, but showed real courage by performing despite being unwell and winning first place.
However, after the incident, the couple broke up - according to rumors, Ulanov allegedly deliberately dropped his partner, since he was married to Lyudmila Smirnova and wanted to perform with her, which he did later.
Sports career of Irina Rodnina after injury
Having recovered from her injury, Irina began performing with a new partner, Leningrader Alexander Zaitsev. The skater noted the amazing feeling of her partner’s reliability, and the judges noted the unity of their actions and amazing consistency. They won the European Championship in 1973, beating, by the way, the Smirnov-Ulanov pair.Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev - Kalinka-Malinka
At the World Championships of the same year, the Rodnina-Zaitsev pair were again among the leaders. Moreover, they skated in extreme conditions - in the middle of the performance the musical accompaniment was turned off for technical reasons.
Irina Rodnina and Tatyana Tarasova
In 1974, the figure skater graduated from the State Central Institute of Physical Education. In October, the star couple changed their coach. There were several versions of what happened - from the athlete’s growing independence to her unwillingness to tolerate Stanislav Zhuk’s behavior. 
Together with the new mentor Tatyana Tarasova, who brought more creative imagination into the performances of the masters, Rodnina and Zaitsev won the 1975 World Cup.
At the Olympics a year later they again won gold medals. Season 1978-79 The skaters missed out due to family reasons: in February 1979, their son was born.
But soon the couple began training again. Irina's third Olympic victory in 1980 was especially memorable and touched the audience, due to the tears that she could not hold back during the singing of the USSR anthem at the medal ceremony.
Career of coach Irina Rodnina
After finishing her performances, the athlete was for some time an employee of the apparatus of the Komsomol Central Committee and was busy with coaching and teaching activities. 
From 1990 to 2002, at the invitation of the International Figure Skating Center, Irina worked in the USA. There, despite the personal problems associated with her divorce from her second husband, she managed to gain a reputation as a brilliant specialist. This circumstance became especially obvious when her students - Kovarzhikova-Navotny - became world champions.
Returning to Moscow, the figure skater took part in various television programs, was active in public activities - she was a member of the presidium of the National Health League, the head of the All-Russian Voluntary Society Sports Russia. 
In 2003 and a year later, Irina tried to become a deputy of the State Duma, but was defeated in the elections. Two years later, she took a seat in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
In 2007, Irina became a deputy of the State Duma of the 5th convocation from United Russia, taking the position of deputy chairman of the education committee. After another 4 years, she again joined the State Duma, becoming a member of the Committee on CIS Affairs.
Personal life of Irina Rodnina
For the first time, Irina Rodnina married her figure skating partner Alexander Zaitsev. Since 1972, they began training together, and after winning the 1975 World Championships, the young people got married. Moreover, even US television came to the athletes’ grand wedding. 
In their marriage, Alexander Jr. was born on February 23, 1979. He is an artist. Until 1997, he lived and worked in the USA, and then returned to Moscow. In 2008, he gave his famous parents a granddaughter, Sofia.
Irina and Alexander lived together for 8 years and maintained friendly relations. But the couple divorced after the end of their sports career. Everyone had their own plans for the future.
Irina’s second husband was Leonid Minkovsky, an entrepreneur from Dnepropetrovsk and film producer. They had a daughter, Alena, in 1986. She is not married. Lives in Washington, works as a correspondent.
The couple moved to the USA because there was no work for Irina in Russia after her maternity leave, but in America she was able to train new “champions”.
Irina noted in an interview that, living in America with her husband and two children, she constantly experienced a lack of communication, language and culture. A few years after the move, the couple separated. As stated in some media, her husband left for her friend.
The athlete is included in the Guinness Book of Records as a figure skater who has never lost in international competitions. Rodnina has many awards, including the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, and “For Services to the Fatherland.”
Earlier, Rodnina noted that she does not plan to marry again. However, not so long ago her friendship with the doctor Pavel Niederman grew into a strong feeling.
Irina Rodnina today
In 2010, the renowned and most famous figure skater in the world, according to a VTsIOM poll, entered the Top 10 idols of the 20th century in the Russian Federation - at the same time as such outstanding personalities as Gagarin, Solzhenitsyn, Vysotsky. 
She holds the position of member of the Council for Physical Education and Sports under the head of state and oversees a number of sports projects.
Working in the State Duma, she is involved in children's and youth sports, leads many specialized projects, making trips to all corners of Russia. In 2013, she opened the season at the Omsk Ice Palace named after her, where Omsk residents from three years old train.
She often appears on television, in particular in the programs “My Hero”, the film “Irina Rodnina. Invincible,” created using newsreels from her personal archives, as a captain together with Lev Leshchenko, Vladimir Zhirinovsky insulted Rodnina during a speech and, instead of apologizing, left (along with members of his party) the hall. His colleagues believe that the reason for this behavior is the unacceptable remarks of the athlete, which she allegedly allows to be made to the deputies speaking at the parliamentary rostrum while sitting in the front row. Irina Konstantinovna replied that “rudeness” should be punished, so she filed a complaint with the State Duma Ethics Commission.
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