Figure skater Khudayberdieva: “Ilinykh was my idol, I was very inspired by her skating and, of course, by her beauty”

Russian figure skater Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva who dances on ice with Yegor Bazin, said in her column on that in her youth she was captivated by the production of the number “Swan Lake” performed by Elena Ilinykh And Nikita Katsalapov at the Sochi Olympic Games.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov became bronze medalists at the 2014 Games in ice dancing and won gold in the team competition.

— 2014. Sochi Olympic Games. The parents said with annoyed looks: “What a shame Lisa is still little! ” And they dreamed that she would become the winner of a home gold medal. To be honest, I always felt guilty about it. When you grow up in a family where everything is done for the good of your sport, any failure or potential dissatisfaction with your mom and dad takes a toll on your psyche. Feelings of disappointment, worthlessness, and uncertainty that you are doing anything worthwhile.

For the first time I saw dancers performing on television when I was 11 years old. Yes, of course, I knew who Navka-Kostomarov and Lobacheva-Averbukh were, but I never saw their performances and was not interested. But in 2014 my first serious love happened – “Swan Lake” by Ilins and Katsalapov. I was in love with Lena and the way she behaved on the ice until I was 15 years old. She was my idol, I was very inspired by her skating and, of course, her beauty. Mom and Dad saw this and asked in a stern voice: “Why do you constantly watch these dancers?” Maybe you would like to start dancing now? At that time, for some reason, among parents of young figure skaters, taking up dancing was equated with losing status. I didn’t want to start dancing right away, I just really liked the way they skated and showed their emotions,” Khudayberdieva wrote.

Ilyinykh announced her retirement as a figure skater in 2019. Married to ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, she has three sons.

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