Alexei Yagudin

Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin (; 18 March 1980) is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002), a three-time European champion (1998, 1999, 2002), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (1998–1999, 2001–2002), the 1996 World Junior champion, and a two-time World Professional champion (1998, 2002).

Yagudin is the only skater (all disciplines included) to have achieved a Golden Slam, a victory in all major championships (Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, Grand Prix assignments, Grand Prix Final) in the same season (2001–2002). In 2003, Yagudin was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV degree of the Russian Federation. In 2017, he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

After his retirement from eligible skating, Yagudin has toured as a professional skater and appeared as a show host, an actor and a figure skating commentator for Russian television networks. In 2019, he opened the Figure Skating Center Alexei Yagudin in Minsk, Belarus where he coaches.

Early life Alexei Yagudin was born on 18 March 1980 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. When Yagudin was four, his father moved to Germany, severing all contact with his wife and son. He graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health.

Skating career overview Early career Yagudin was introduced to skating at age four by his mother, Zoya, who saw the activity as a way to improve his health.

Senior career Yagudin during an exhibition gala in 2002 performing "Overcome" 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. He went on to win the silver medal after ranking second in the free skate.

Yagudin started the 2001–02 Olympic season with a bronze medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in September. After the Olympics, Yagudin won his fourth World title, receiving 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. He never won the Russian Championships, losing mainly to Evgeni Plushenko.

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 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 2019, he opened the Figure Skating Center Alexei Yagudin in Minsk, Belarus.

Acting and host career In Russia, Yagudin has worked as a show host, actor and a figure skating commentator for Russian television networks.

In fall of 2006, he took part in the Russian TV show Stars on Ice having a former gymnast, Oksana Viktorovna Pouchkina, as his partner. 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. It premiered at the Satire Theater in Moscow. He also adventured into a popular TV show Good evening, Moscow! as a host in 2009. In 2010, he performed in the ice musical City Lights, written by Ilia Averbukh. Since 2019, he hosts his own television show called Ice is melting with Alexei Yagudin where he interviews athletes.

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

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."

In 2020, Yagudin made controversial remarks about transgender people in an Instagram story post, calling them "mistakes of nature" and wishing them to die. The post came in reaction to fellow figure skater and activist Adam Rippon making a donation to the Okra Project, a charity aimed at helping underprivileged black transgender people. Yagudin soon deleted the post and apologized for his comments the next day. Rippon criticized Yagudin for the comments and made another $1000 donation, this time in Yagudin's name, to the same organization.

He spoke out against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, posting an all-black image on his Instagram account with the message, "Stop this nonsense!"

Personal life Yagudin moved to the United States in 1999 to train with Tatiana Tarasova. He lived in the United States for almost seven years before returning to Russia. In 1999, the Champions on Ice tour dismissed him because of his alleged excessive drinking.

In 2016, Yagudin married Olympic pair skating champion Tatiana Totmianina. They also have a Yorkshire Terrier named Varia. He admitted that he only wore a cross during his skating career because he found it beautiful and his children were not baptized.

All events Amateur status, senior-level 2001–02 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 16–24 March 2002 2002 World Championships Nagano, Japan 1 1 1 1 8–24 February 2002 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City, USA – 1 1 1 14–20 January 2002 2002 European Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 1 1 1 1 13–16 December 2001 2001–02 Grand Prix Final Kitchener, Canada 2 (SP) 2 (FS1) 1 (FS2) 1 15–18 November 2001 2001 Trophée Lalique Paris, France – 1 1 1 1–4 November 2001 2001 Skate Canada International Saskatoon, Canada – 1 1 1 Masters of Figure Skating San Diego, USA 1 4–9 September 2001 2001 Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia – 3 3 3 2000–01 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 17–25 March 2001 2001 World Championships Vancouver, Canada 5 2 2 2 15–18 February 2001 2000–01 Grand Prix Final Tokyo, Japan 1 (SP) 2 (FS) 2 (SF) 2 21–28 January 2001 2001 European Championships Bratislava, Slovakia 1 2 2 2 26–29 December 2000 2000 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia – 3 2 2 23–26 November 2000 2000 Trophée Lalique Paris, France – 1 1 1 2–5 November 2000 2000 Skate Canada International Mississauga, Canada – 1 1 1 26–29 October 2000 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 Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 23 March – 3 April 2000 2000 World Championships Nice, France 1 1 1 1 6–13 February 2000 2000 European Championships Vienna, Austria 1 1 2 2 23–25 December 1999 2000 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia – 2 2 2 18–20 November 1999 1999 Trophée Lalique Paris, France – 1 1 1 4–7 November 1999 1999 Skate Canada International Saint John, Canada – 1 1 1 27–31 October 1999 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 Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 20–28 March 1999 1999 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 1 2 1 1 5–7 March 1999 1998–99 Grand Prix Final Saint Petersburg, Russia – 1 1 1 24–31 January 1999 1999 European Championships Prague, Czech Republic 3 2 1 1 4–7 January 1999 1999 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia 2 20–22 November 1998 1998 Trophée Lalique Paris, France – 2 1 1 12–15 November 1998 1998 Sparkassen Cup on Ice Gelsenkirchen, Germany – 1 1 1 29 October – 1 November 1998 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 Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 29 March – 5 April 1998 1998 World Championships Minneapolis, USA 2 1 2 1 7–22 February 1998 1998 Winter Olympics Nagano, Japan – 4 5 5 11–18 January 1997 1998 European Championships Milan, Italy – 1 1 1 18–20 December 1997 1997–98 Champions Series Final Munich, Germany – 6 4 4 11–14 December 1997 1998 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia – 1 3 2 19–23 November 1997 1997 Cup of Russia Saint Petersburg, Russia – 1 1 1 13–16 November 1997 1997 Trophée Lalique Paris, France – 2 1 1 Skate Israel Metulla, Israel 1 3–5 October 1997 1997 Finlandia Trophy Helsinki, Finland – 1 1 1 1996–97 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 16–23 March 1997 1997 World Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 6 5 3 3 28 February – 2 March 1997 1996–97 Champions Series Final Hamilton, Canada – 6 5 5 21–25 January 1997 1997 European Championships Paris, France – 5 4 5 26–29 December 1996 1997 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia 3 12–15 December 1996 1996 Cup of Russia Saint Petersburg, Russia – 2 2 2 21–23 November 1996 1996 Nations Cup Gelsenkirchen, Germany – 2 3 3 31 October – 3 November 1996 1996 Skate America Springfield, USA – 6 3 3

Amateur status, junior-level 1995–96 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 22–28 January 1996 1996 European Championships Sofia, Bulgaria 2 5 5 6 26–30 December 1995 1996 Russian Championships Samara, Russia 4 26 November – 2 December 1995 1996 World Junior Championships Brisbane, Australia 1 1 1 1 Centennial on Ice Saint Petersburg, Russia 2 1995 Blue Swords Chemnitz, Germany 1 1994–95 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 1995 Russian Championships Moscow, Russia 5 17–20 November 1994 1994 Nations Cup Gelsenkirchen, Germany 8 1994 Goodwill Games Saint Petersburg, Russia – 8 8 8 1993–94 season Date Event Location QR SP FS Total 30 November – 5 December 1993 1994 World Junior Championships Colorado Springs, USA 4 1994 Russian Championships Saint Petersburg, Russia 5

Professional status