Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin is a Russian former competitive figure skater.
55 Facts About Alexei Yagudin
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Alexei Yagudin is the 2002 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion, a three-time European champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 1996 World Junior champion, and a two-time World Professional champion.
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In 2003, Alexei Yagudin was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV degree of the Russian Federation.
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Alexei Yagudin was born on 18 March 1980 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
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Alexei Yagudin graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health.
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Alexei Yagudin was introduced to skating at age four by his mother, Zoya, who saw the activity as a way to improve his health.
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Alexei Yagudin learned all his double jumps before age ten, the five triple jumps before age twelve, and the triple Axel jump before he turned thirteen.
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Alexei Yagudin began competing at the international level in 1994, and won the 1996 World Junior Championships.
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In 1997, Alexei Yagudin competed in the World Championships for the first time and won a bronze medal.
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In 1998, Alexei Yagudin led a Russian sweep of the medals at the 1998 European Championships with Evgeni Plushenko in second and Alexander Abt in third.
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Alexei Yagudin became the first Russian single skater from the post-Soviet era to win the World title.
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Alexei Yagudin was the second-youngest male World Champion at the age of 18 years and 15 days, 6 days older than Donald McPherson in 1963.
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About two months after the event, Alexei Yagudin left Mishin and joined Tatiana Tarasova, who would coach him until his retirement in 2003.
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Alexei Yagudin successfully defended his world title against Plushenko at the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France.
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Alexei Yagudin sustained a foot injury shortly before the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver, Canada.
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Alexei Yagudin stood in fifth place after the qualifying round and placed second in the short program, receiving a standing ovation and compliments of 'It was all about heart and guts' for his performance of The Revolutionary Etude.
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Alexei Yagudin went on to win the silver medal after ranking second in the free skate.
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Alexei Yagudin altered his training regimen as a result, and then enjoyed the best season in his career.
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At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Alexei Yagudin won the men's event, receiving first-place votes from every judge throughout the competition, became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions.
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Alexei Yagudin received four 6.0 scores for his free skate.
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Alexei Yagudin became the first singles skater to receive six perfect marks for the short program, including the first ever perfect mark for required elements.
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Alexei Yagudin was diagnosed with a congenital hip disorder after the Olympic season.
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Alexei Yagudin was advised by doctors to stay off the ice for several months.
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Alexei Yagudin chose not to follow this advice and competed at 2002 Skate America.
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Alexei Yagudin won the short program, but withdrew due to his injury before the next segment.
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Alexei Yagudin was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV degree of the Russian Federation in 2003.
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Alexei Yagudin never won the Russian Championships, losing mainly to Evgeni Plushenko.
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Alexei Yagudin then turned professional in 2003, touring with Stars on Ice and Ice Symphony in Russia.
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In 2004, Alexei Yagudin toured with Stars on Ice for the second year in a row.
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Alexei Yagudin worked with the French figure skater Brian Joubert as a consultant coach.
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Since returning to his hometown of Saint Petersburg in 2005, Alexei Yagudin has skated in various Russian ice shows and took part in the Russian TV show Stars on Ice, later renamed Ice Age.
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In 2006, after a full Olympic cycle since Salt Lake City, Alexei Yagudin performed his famous Winter program on tour and a new program Sway.
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In 2007, Alexei Yagudin first toured in the US with the Stars on Ice, and then toured in Russia.
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Alexei Yagudin skated a comic number Blues for Klook and a flamenco number Legenda.
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In July 2007, Alexei Yagudin underwent surgery to have a titanium hip joint implanted.
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However, Alexei Yagudin suffered another injury while on tour in November 2007.
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In 2011, Alexei 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.
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Alexei Yagudin continues to perform his popular Winter program in shows around the world.
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In Russia, Alexei Yagudin has worked as a show host, actor and a figure skating commentator for Russian television networks.
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Alexei Yagudin 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.
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In 2008, Alexei Yagudin finished the Ice Age tour and then made his debut as the title role of Vladimir Putin in the satirical play The President's Vacation, written by Tatiana Chertova and Igor Kositsyn.
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Alexei Yagudin has appeared numerous times as a host on I Want to Know, a Russian television series where celebrities interview people to learn about their culture.
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Yagudin published his autobiography, Alexei Yagudin: Overcome, in Japan in 2005.
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In 2011, Alexei Yagudin joined a Russian campaign to promote healthy lifestyles.
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Alexei Yagudin took part in free physical trainings held in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan, and Novosibirsk.
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In 2020, Alexei Yagudin made controversial remarks about black transgender people in an Instagram story post, calling them "mistakes of nature" and wishing them to die.
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Alexei Yagudin soon deleted the post and apologized for his comments the next day.
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Alexei Yagudin moved to the United States in 1999 to train with Tatiana Tarasova.
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Alexei Yagudin lived in the United States for almost seven years before returning to Russia.
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Alexei Yagudin underwent hip surgery in 2003 after touring with Stars on Ice.
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Alexei Yagudin assisted Tarasova with coaching over the summer and early fall until his arrest for driving while intoxicated in August 2003.
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On 2 June 2008, Alexei Yagudin's car was stolen with one of his World Championships gold medals in it.
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In 2016, Alexei Yagudin married Olympic pair skating champion Tatiana Totmianina.
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Alexei Yagudin gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Elizaveta, on 20 November 2009.
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Alexei Yagudin admitted that he only wore a cross during his skating career because he found it beautiful and his children were not baptized.