Career overview

Early career

Alexey Yagudin was introduced to skating at age four by his mother, Zoya, who saw the activity as a way to improve his health. He learned all his double jumps before age ten, the five triple jumps before age twelve, and the triple Axel jump before he turned thirteen. His first coach was Alexander Mayorov, and then he was introduced to the famous Russian coach Alexei Mishin when Mayorov moved to Sweden in 1992. Yagudin trained in Mishin's group from 1992 to 1998. He began competing at the international level in 1994, and won the 1996 World Junior Championships. The famous rivalry with fellow Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko began when they trained in Mishin's group, and intensified after Yagudin left.

Senior career

In 1997, Yagudin competed in the World Championships for the first time and won a bronze medal.

In 1998, Yagudin led a Russian sweep of the medals at the 1998 European Championships with Evgeni Plushenko in second and Alexander Abt in third. Later that year, he competed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics despite a severe case of pneumonia, and finished in 5th place. A month later, he won the 1998 World Championships. He became the first Russian single skater from the post-Soviet era to win the World title. He was the second-youngest male World Champion at the age of 18 years and 15 days, 6 days older than Donald McPherson in 1963. About two months after the event, Yagudin left Mishin and joined Tatiana Tarasova, who would coach him until his retirement in 2003.

In the 1998-99 season, Yagudin won eleven out of the thirteen competitions in which he participated, which included the defeat of Kurt Browning in the World Professional Championships, and winning the Grand Prix Final. He claimed his second consecutive 2000 European title over both Plushenko and former Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov. At the 2000 World Championships, he successfully defended his World title against Plushenko. It was his second consecutive World title.

Yagudin struggled at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. He was forced to withdraw from the 1999-2000 Grand Prix Final due to a knee injury, and then lost to Plushenko at the Russian Nationals and 2000 European Championships. He recovered and won the 2000 World Championships, his third consecutive World title.

Yagudin's 2000-01 season was marred by injuries and inconsistency. He lost to Plushenko at the 2000-01 Grand Prix Final, Russian Championships, and the 2001 European Championships. A foot injury sustained shortly before the 2001 World Championships led to a disastrous performance in the qualifying round. He stood in fifth place in his group before the short program. He staged a comeback with a stunning performance of his short program The Revolutionary Etude, winning a standing ovation and compliments of 'It was all about heart and guts'. He went on to win the silver medal.

Yagudin started the 2001-02 Olympic season with a third-place finish at the Goodwill Games in September. He altered his training regimen as a result, and then enjoyed the best season in his career. He defeated Plushenko at the 2001-02 Grand Prix Final and regained his European title. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Yagudin won the men's event, receiving first-place votes from every judge throughout the competition. He received four 6.0 scores for his long program. Yagudin's perfect marks are the most for an Olympic performance since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's free dance in 1984. and set a record for a men's skater in the Olympics. Yagudin went on to win his fourth World title after the Olympics, and earned received six perfect 6.0s for his short program and another two for his free skating at the competition. He became the first singles skater to receive six perfect marks for the short program, including the first ever perfect mark for required elements. This record cannot be equaled or broken because the International Skating Union introduced its new scoring system after the 2003 season.

Alexei was diagnosed with a congenital hip disorder after the Olympic season. He was advised by doctors to stay off the ice for several months. Yagudin chose not to follow this advice and competed at 2002 Skate America. He won the short program, but had to withdraw due to his injury before the free skating. Yagudin later announced his retirement from competitive skating. His final performance as an eligible skater came during a farewell gala at Skate Canada with a performance of a new program, Memorial, and his short program from the previous season, Racing.

He was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the Russian Federation in 2003.

He never won the Russian Championships despite his many other achievements, mainly because of his rival.

Professional career

Yagudin then turned professional in 2003, touring with Stars on Ice and Ice Symphony in Russia.

In 2004, Yagudin toured with Stars on Ice for the second year in a row. He also worked with the French figure skater Brian Joubert as a consultant coach. In November he won two professional competitions with two new programs, The Feeling Begins (music by Peter Gabriel) and Moon Over Bourbon Street (music by Sting). The next year, he continued with the Stars on Ice tour and his Passion program was choreographed with a difficult acrobatic routine that took place seven meters up in the air. Since returning to his hometown of Saint Petersburg in 2005, Yagudin has skated in various Russian ice shows and took part in the Russian TV show Stars on Ice, later renamed Ice Age.

In 2006, after a full Olympic cycle since Salt Lake City, Yagudin performed his famous Winter program on tour and a new program Sway (music by Pussycat Dolls). In fall he took part in the Russian TV show Stars on Ice having a former gymnast, Oksana Pushkina, as his partner.

In 2007, Yagudin first toured in the U.S. with the Stars on Ice, and then toured in Russia. He skated a comic number Blues for Klook and a flamenco number Legenda. In July 2007, Yagudin underwent surgery to have a titanium hip joint implanted. In August, Yagudin announced that he intended to return to eligible sports after more than four years of competing as a professional skater. His former coach Tatiana Tarasova and former choreographer Nikolai Morozov agreed to coach him should he return. However, Yagudin suffered another injury while on tour in November 2007. Afterward he stated that returning to competitive skating would be too difficult under the circumstances. He later realized that a return to eligible skating would not be feasible, and continued his professional career, taking part in the Russian TV show again, which was renamed Ice Age. This time he was paired with a pop singer Victoria Dayneko with whom he also recorded a song Needle.

In 2008, Yagudin finished the Ice Age tour and then made his debut on the stage in a theater play where he played a Russian President. His career as an actor continued with getting one of the main roles in a Russian TV series about figure skating My Hot Ice. In fall he participated in the second season of Ice Age partnered with actress Valeria Lanskaya.

In 2009, Yagudin performed regularly on the Ice Age tour. He also adventured into a popular TV show Good evening, Moscow! as a host. In fall he participated the third season of Ice Age, still paired with Valeria Lanskaya.

In 2010, Yagudin completed his third Ice Age tour. In June he skated in the Supermatch: Medalist on Ice show in Korea, performing Sway and Winter. On September 4, he participated in the Artistry on Ice show in Beijing. During the show, the wedding ceremony of the famous Chinese pair skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, the 2010 Olympic champions was held. As one of the invited guests he gave his blessing to the couple and performed Winter and Sway afterward. It was his first visit to China.

In 2011, Yagudin told an interviewer that due to the hip replacement surgery he had undergone, he is no longer able to do all his triple jumps. He continues to perform his popular Winter program in shows around the world.

Personal life

Alexei Yagudin was born in Leningrad, (now Saint Petersburg), Russia. His parents divorced when he was young and he grew up as the only child of a single mother.

Yagudin moved to the United States in 1999 to train with Tatiana Tarasova. Later that year the Champions on Ice tour dismissed him because of his alleged excessive drinking. He lived in the United States for almost seven years.

Yagudin underwent hip surgery after touring with Stars on Ice. He assisted Tarasova with coaching over summer and early fall until his arrest for Driving While Intoxicated in September.

He published his autobiography, Alexei Yagudin: Overcome, in Japan in 2005. It was published in Russia in 2007 under the title, НаPRолом, with extra chapters and photos added to cover his recent life.

On June 2, 2008, Yagudin's car was stolen with one of his World Championships gold medals in it. The medal and car were never located.

His fiancée, Olympic pair skating champion Tatiana Totmianina gave birth to his first child, a daughter named Elizaveta ("Liza"), on November 20, 2009. They also have a Yorkshire Terrier named Varia.

Yagudin stated that he and Totmianina do not want Liza to become a competitive skater, and hope she will concentrate on studying and music as she grows up.

On May 20, 2015, it was announced that Totmianina was pregnant with the couple's second child. On October 2, 2015, the couple's second daughter, Michèle, was born.

In 2011, Yagudin joined a Russian campaign to promote healthy lifestyles. He took part in free physical trainings held in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan and Novosibirsk. He stated, "I would like to achieve through this campaign at least the understanding of people that 30 or 40 minutes of their day can improve their health now and in the future."

Honours and awards

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class (5 May 2003) - for outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the XIX Olympic Games 2002 in Salt Lake City
• National Sports Award "Glory," "Best Athlete of 2002"

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2002-2003	Racing	The Man in the Iron Mask	Born to Be Wild Memorial
2001-2002	Winter	The Man in the Iron Mask	Overcome The Man in the Iron Mask
2000-2001	The Revolutionary Etude	Gladiator	Gladiator Stand by Me My Baby You We Are the Champions
1999-2000	Nutrocker	Broken Arrow Tosca	Come Fly with Me September Morn
1998-1999	Circus	Lawrence of Arabia	Here Comes the Big Parade The Prince of Rose
1997-1998	Ziganotchka	Troika, or Snowstorm	Play it Again Sachmo Mack the Knife
1996-1997	Ruslan and Lyudmila	Carmen	One Banana
1995-1996	The Nutcracker	Gaîté Parisienne
1994-1995	Toccata and Fugue in D minor	Hussar medley
1993-1994		Concierto de Aranjuez

Competitive highlights

Major events

Results
International
Event	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Olympics					5th				1st
Worlds				3rd	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st
Europeans			6th	5th	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	1st
GP (CS) Final				5th	4th	1st		2nd	1st
Cup of Russia				2nd	1st
Lalique					1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Nations/Spark.				3rd		1st
Skate America				3rd		1st	1st	2nd		WD
Skate Canada							1st	1st	1st
Goodwill Games	8th								3rd
Prague Skate		3rd
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	4th		1st
National
Russian Champ.	5th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd

All events

Amateur status, senior-level

Amateur status, senior-level
Events	Location	QR	SP	FS	Total
2002-03 season
Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic	Daytona, USA				1
Sears Canadian Open	Red Deer, Canada				1
Hallmark Skater's Championship	Columbus, USA				1
Top Jump	France				1
2002 Skate America	Spokane, USA	-	1	WD	-
Crest Whitestrips International Figure Skating Challenge	Auburn Hills, USA				5
2001-02 season
2002 World Championships	Nagano, Japan	1	1	1	1
2002 Winter Olympics	Salt Lake City, USA	-	1	1	1
2002 European Championships	Lausanne, Switzerland	1	1	1	1
2001-02 Grand Prix Final	Kitchener, Canada	2 (SP)	2 (FS1)	1 (FS2)	1
2001 Trophée Lalique	Paris, France	-	1	1	1
2001 Skate Canada International	Saskatoon, Canada	-	1	1	1
Masters of Figure Skating	San Diego, USA				1
2001 Goodwill Games	Brisbane, Australia	-	3	3	3
2000-01 season
2001 World Championships	Vancouver, Canada	5	2	2	2
2001 European Championships	Bratislava, Slovakia	1	1	1	2
2000-01 Grand Prix Final	Tokyo, Japan	1 (SP)	2 (FS)	2 (SF)	2
2000 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia	-	3	2	2
2000 Trophée Lalique	Paris, France	-	1	1	1
2000 Skate Canada International	Mississauga, Canada	-	1	1	1
2000 Skate America	Colorado Springs, USA	-	1	2	2
Masters of Figure Skating	Boise, USA				2
Canadian Open	Hamilton, Canada				1
Japan Open	Tokyo, Japan				1
Hershey's Kisses Figure Skating Challenge	Detroit, USA				1
1999-2000 season
2000 World Championships	Nice, France	1	1	1	1
2000 European Championships	Vienna, Austria	1	1	2	2
2000 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia	-	2	2	2
1999 Trophée Lalique	Paris, France	-	1	1	1
1999 Skate Canada International	Saint John, Canada	-	1	1	1
1999 Skate America	Colorado Springs, USA	-	1	1	1
Masters of Figure Skating	Green Bay, USA				2
Japan Open	Tokyo, Japan				1
Grand Slam Super Teams of Skating	Kitchener, Canada				2
Keri Lotion Classic	Orlando, USA				1
1998-99 season
1999 World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1	2	1	1
1999 European Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	3	2	1	1
1998-99 Grand Prix Final	Saint Petersburg, Russia	-	1	1	1
1999 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia				2
1998 Trophée Lalique	Paris, France	-	2	1	1
1998 Sparkassen Cup on Ice	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	-	1	1	1
1998 Skate America	Detroit, USA	-	1	1	1
Japan Open	Tokyo, Japan				2
World Professional Championships	Washington D.C., USA				1
World Team Challenge	Milwaukee, USA				1
Challenge of Champions	Sunrise, USA				1
Hershey's Kisses Challenge	Binghamton, USA				1
1997-98 season
1998 World Championships	Minneapolis, USA	2	1	2	1
1998 Winter Olympics	Nagano, Japan	-	4	5	5
1998 European Championships	Milan, Italy	-	1	1	1
1997-98 Champions Series Final	Munich, Germany	-	6	4	4
1998 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia	-	1	3	2
1997 Cup of Russia	Saint Petersburg, Russia	-	1	1	1
1997 Trophée Lalique	Paris, France	-	2	1	1
Skate Israel	Metulla, Israel				1
1997 Finlandia Trophy	Helsinki, Finland	-	1	1	1
1996-97 season
1997 World Championships	Lausanne, Switzerland	6	5	3	3
1997 European Championships	Paris, France	-	5	4	5
1996-97 Champions Series Final	Hamilton, Canada	-	6	5	5
1997 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia				3
1996 Cup of Russia	Saint Petersburg, Russia	-	2	2	2
1996 Nations Cup	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	-	2	3	3
1996 Skate America	Springfield, USA	-	6	3	3

Amateur status, junior-level

Amateur status, junior-level
Events	Location	QR	SP	FS	Total
1995-96 season
1996 World Junior Championships	Brisbane, Australia	1	1	1	1
1996 European Championships	Sofia, Bulgaria	2	5	5	6
Centennial on Ice	Saint Petersburg, Russia				2
1996 Russian Championships	Samara, Russia				4
1995 Blue Swords	Chenmitz, Germany				1
1994-95 season
1995 Russian Championships	Moscow, Russia				5
1994 Nations Cup	Gelsenkirchen, Germany				8
1994 Goodwill Games	Saint Petersburg, Russia	-	8	8	8
1993-94 season
1994 World Junior Championships	Colorado Springs, USA				4
1994 Russian Championships	Saint Petersburg, Russia				5

Professional status

Professional status
Events	Location	Placement
2006-07 season
Ice Wars	Hoffman Estates, USA	1
2007 Japan Open	Tokyo, Japan	5 128.43
2005-06 season
Ice Wars	Peoria, USA	2
World Team Challenge	London, Ontario, Canada	2
2006 Japan Open	Saitama, Japan	6 112.70
2004-05 season
Ice Wars	Charlton, USA	1
World Team Challenge	Winnipeg, Canada	1
2003-04 season
World Team Challenge	Vancouver, Canada	3

[ Source: Wikipedia ]