Glamour Award. Why Zagitova was named athlete of the year

This year’s annual Woman of the Year award ceremony according to Glamour magazine was held on November 12. Among the nominees for the title “Sportswoman of the Year” were swimmer Yulia Efimova, track and field athlete Maria Lasitskene and fencer Sofia Velikaya. However, the victory went to young figure skater Alina Zagitova. And this is by no means her first achievement. In professional sports Alina is talked about as a legendary single figure skater, and she already holds several world records. We tell you what Zagitova has managed to achieve and how she managed to become athlete of the year at the age of 17.

“Red Ballerina”: Olympics, European and World Championships

Alina was first talked about in 2016: in August, she made her debut at the Junior Grand Prix in France, and immediately took first place. And the following year she started competing in the senior category, having reached the age of 15. In September 2017, at her first adult competition – the Lombardia Trophy tournament – Zagitova took gold. And in November, she made her first appearance at the Chinese Grand Prix in Beijing, where she also won. Two weeks after her debut in the adult Grand Prix, Zagitova confidently won the fifth stage held in France and then the final. By the end of 2017, the figure skater did not slow down, and in December she became the Russian champion for the first time.

In 2018, Alina won the title of European champion, ahead of another talented Russian – Evgenia Medvedeva, a two-time world champion. At the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Zagitova became a silver medalist in the team event and a gold medalist in the individual event. It was then that she was nicknamed “Red Ballerina” because of the bright red dress in which she performed in the free skating program.

Of course, Zagitova’s sports career does not consist of sheer luck, and there are difficulties on her way. So, the 2018 Russian Championships were not quite successful for Alina. Despite the fact that she managed to win in the short program, in the free skater made a number of mistakes, because of which she took only fifth place in the overall standings. As it turned out later, such an unexpected result for fans had an objective reason – Alina had to perform with a severe leg burn.

In March 2019, at the World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Zagitova managed to conquer another peak of single figure skating. In the short program, Alina showed the best result of the season – 82.08 points. Having scored 155.42 points for the free skating program and 237.50 in total, the girl took the first place and became the world champion.

Breaking all records: the first Russian winner of all titles

Alina became the first Russian and the second figure skater in the world to win all the important titles in figure skating. At the age of 17, she is the champion of Russia, Europe and the world, as well as the winner of the Olympic Games and the Grand Prix Final. Before her, only one figure skater could boast such an achievement – Kim Young-Ah from South Korea. However, this is not the only record that Zagitova has set.

Alina is the first figure skater in the world to perform all jumps in the second part of the program. And both in the short and free skating. In figure skating, such performance is considered difficult and is rewarded with additional points. Only in the season-2018/19 Alina changed the usual tactics and added jumps to the first half of the performance. It seems that such elements are in principle well given to Zagitova. One of her trump cards is the most complicated cascade of triple lutz and triple rittberger.

In 2018, Zagitova became the first and only skater who managed to score more than 82 points in the short program under the old judging system. She also set records under the new one: in the short program, the girl became the first to score more than 80 points, and in the free skating – more than 150. By now Alina has managed to break the world record in the short program four times. Her best result is 82.92 points, which she got at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Second “home”: Zagitova in Japan

Figure skating is not Zagitova’s only passion. As her fans note, the girl is fond of Japanese culture, including Japanese cuisine, and is even thinking about opening her own restaurant. This is Alina’s second favorite country after Russia. Which is not surprising, because the figure skater spends a lot of time in Japan: she performs on tour and cooperates with foreign brands. So, in 2020, one of the cosmetic brands will release a lipstick in the color “Alina Red” – “Red Alina”. The characteristic shade has become a kind of business card of the figure skater: she not only dyes with this lipstick at performances, but also uses the same color for costumes.

The Land of the Rising Sun reciprocates the Russian. Zagitova has many fans in Japan, and in 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave the girl an Akitu Inu puppy, which she had long dreamed of. The solemn ceremony was held in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. In the summer of 2019, the figure skater paid a return visit to the Prime Minister’s residence in Tokyo, where she also presented him with an Akita-inu – only plush. Alina named the dog Masaru, which means “victory” in Japanese.

At the age of 17, Alina Zagitova has a lot to be proud of, but she is hardly going to rest on her laurels. Although she has managed to win the most important titles in world skating, there is still no limit to perfection. With every next competition Alina improves her technique, creatively approaches to the preparation of the program and never ceases to please her fans. We can only wish her good luck and new sporting achievements.