Evgenia Olegovna Kanaeva and Musatov. Kanaeva Evgenia Olegovna rhythmic gymnastics

Evgenia Olegovna Kanaeva (married Kanaeva-Musatov). Born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk. Russian rhythmic gymnast, two-time Olympic champion (2008, 2012), multiple world and European champion. Honored Master of Sports of the Russian Federation (2008).

Father - Oleg Kanaev, master of sports, Greco-Roman wrestling coach.

Mother - Svetlana Kanaeva, master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics.

From the age of five, Evgenia began studying in the section of the Omsk regional sports school for children and youth of the Olympic reserve (SDYUSHOR), where her grandmother, Irina Aleksandrovna, brought her. As Evgenia admitted, then she was “chubby and clubfooted.” That is why the grandmother, who was taking care of her granddaughter, came up with the idea of ​​​​taking her to the rhythmic gymnastics section - “to “lose weight” and “twist” her legs.”

Her first coach was Honored Trainer of Russia Elena Arais, the daughter of Vera Shtelbaums, who later became the personal trainer of Evgenia Kanaeva.

From the very first training, Zhenya showed excellent results, demonstrated high efficiency and determination. As her coaches later said, she often stayed in the gym after all the children had gone home. While the girl was training, the grandmother was waiting for her granddaughter.

At the age of 12, Evgenia Kanaeva was invited to a training camp in Moscow as part of a group of young gymnasts from Omsk. Her performance attracted the attention of Amina Zaripova, the coach responsible for training juniors. Evgenia was invited to train at the Olympic reserve school.

In 2003, Evgenia competed for Gazprom at the Club World Championship in the junior category (Aeon Cup), which was held in Japan. Represented Russia together with and. She won the junior competition. As Evgenia admitted: “Chashchina and Kabaeva became a huge example for me. Alina turned the world of gymnastics upside down, opened it up from a different side. She was so emotional, artistic and sincere in her performances that it was impossible to tear yourself away.”

At the same time, the head coach of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team drew attention to her. Next, Evgenia was invited to train at the Novogorsk training center - the base of the Russian national team members.

In 2007, due to the fact that Kabaeva was injured, Evgenia Kanaeva was included in the Russian national team’s application for the European Championship in Baku. She was entrusted with one item - a ribbon. And Kanaeva did not let her coaches and fans down; she won gold in the ribbon final and in the team competition.

Also in 2007, she won gold at the World Championships in Patras, Greece, in the team competition.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing Kanaeva was the youngest among all the finalists in the rhythmic gymnastics competition. But she turned out to be the most collected and made the fewest mistakes. Evgenia Kanaeva won the Olympics with an excellent score of 75.50 points, beating her closest competitor Inna Zhukova from Belarus by 3.50 points.

After the Beijing Olympics, the athlete signed advertising contracts and starred in several commercials; since 2009, she has been an official spokesperson for Longines watches for some time.

With the introduction of new rules in 2009, Evgenia Kanaeva’s style has changed significantly. At the beginning of the season, the athlete was plagued by injuries and fatigue. Nevertheless, she continued to win all competitions in the absolute championship, and only some finals in certain types of the program she lost to Vera Sesina or Anna Bessonova. In May, at the European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Kanaeva won gold in all four events of the program. In July, she won all the gold medals (9 in total) at the Universiade in Belgrade and the World Games in Taiwan.

The five gold medals won by Kanaeva at the 2009 World Games allowed Russia to take the lead in the overall standings.

At the 2009 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Mieu, Japan, Evgenia Kanaeva set a record by winning 6 gold medals out of 6 possible. Thus, she became the first gymnast in the history of rhythmic gymnastics to achieve such a result at one single world championship in rhythmic gymnastics.

In 2010, she won five gold medals at the World Championships in Moscow - in the team and all-around, as well as in individual events (jump rope, hoop, ball).

At the 2011 World Championships, held in Montpellier, France, Evgenia Kanaeva again managed to win all 6 of the 6 possible top awards in individual disciplines. As a result of the championship, Evgenia became a 17-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

On October 16, 2011, Evgenia Kanaeva scored 30 points in the ribbon exercise at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix final in Brno, Czech Republic. She became the first gymnast in the history of rhythmic gymnastics to receive the highest score under the 30-point judging system.

In 2011 - laureate of the national award “Russian of the Year”.

At the 2012 Olympics in London Kanaeva again became an Olympic champion in the most prestigious section - the all-around. In total she received 116,900. She is the only two-time Olympic champion in the all-around in the history of rhythmic gymnastics.

“I promised myself never to show my fatigue on the carpet, not to show it to the audience. We are actresses on the carpet, and everything we do should look easy and simple... I couldn’t leave the hall without working out more, without pushing myself to the last. And I got a thrill from this. I liked to overcome my capabilities,” Evgenia shared the secret of her success.

“My main rival is, of course, myself,” she admitted.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of your opponents, you need to learn from them,” Kanaeva is sure.

“When you come off the podium, you just have to forget that you won something. You need to pull yourself together again and train with redoubled force. Again, demand the maximum from yourself... I take victories calmly. It’s nice, of course, to win But as soon as I left the pedestal, I had to start all over again. For me, this is the law,” the athlete noted.

“We have a cruel sport. You can’t lose a single start: if you don’t exist, there will be someone else,” said Evgenia.

“A lot depends on expressiveness, on the soul, which has recently become more emphasized. The sport is quite artistic. But, in my opinion, the main thing is not to cross the line. And this can only be achieved without straying from sincerity. By the way, there is a lack of sincerity, as well as kindness. It’s the same in sports... The main thing is to do your work with full dedication and love, to put your soul into it,” said Kanaeva.

On December 4, 2012, she was elected vice-president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, and on the same day she announced that she was ending her sports career.

Since 2015 he has been coaching the Russian national team. The first student was an athlete from St. Petersburg, Ekaterina Ayupova.

Evgenia Kanaeva is the coach of gymnast Eleanor Romanova, who moved from Ukraine to Russia in 2016 and received Russian citizenship in September of the same year.

Evgenia Kanaeva's height: 170 centimeters.

Personal life of Evgenia Kanaeva:

She was in a relationship with a figure skater.

Husband - Igor Musatov, Russian hockey player. They met by chance - in the emergency room, Igor Musatov was injured after falling on the ice, Zhenya arrived with a leg injury. Igor proposed to Evgenia after the end of the 2012 London Olympics; before that, the couple had been dating for 1 year.

We got married on June 8, 2013. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Anton Komolov and Olga Shelest. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon on a yacht cruise in Croatia.

On March 19, 2014, the couple had a son, who was named Vladimir (they decided to name the boy in honor of Igor’s grandfather).

Sports achievements of Evgenia Kanaeva:

Olympic Games:

Gold - Beijing 2008 - all-around
Gold - London 2012 - all-around

World Championships:

Gold - Patras 2007 - team
Gold - Mieu 2009 - team
Gold - Mie 2009 - jump rope
Gold - Mie 2009 - hoop
Gold - Mieu 2009 - ball
Gold - Mieu 2009 - ribbon
Gold - Mieu 2009 - all-around
Gold - Moscow 2010 - team
Silver - Moscow 2010 - jump rope
Gold - Moscow 2010 - hoop
Gold - Moscow 2010 - ball
Gold - Moscow 2010 - all-around
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - ribbon
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - clubs
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - hoop
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - ball
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - team
Gold - Montpellier 2011 - all-around

European Championships:

Gold - Baku 2007 - team
Gold - Baku 2007 - ribbon
Gold - Turin 2008 - all-around
Gold - Baku 2009 - team
Gold - Baku 2009 - jump rope
Gold - Baku 2009 - hoop
Gold - Baku 2009 - ball
Gold - Baku 2009 - ribbon
Gold - Bremen 2010 - all-around
Gold - Minsk 2011 - team
Gold - Minsk 2011 - hoop
Gold - Minsk 2011 - ribbon
Silver - Minsk 2011 - ball
Gold - Nizhny Novgorod 2012 - all-around

Universiade:

Gold - Belgrade 2009 - all-around
Gold - Belgrade 2009 - jump rope
Gold - Belgrade 2009 - hoop
Gold - Belgrade 2009 - ball
Gold - Belgrade 2009 - ribbon
Gold - Shenzhen 2011 - all-around
Gold - Shenzhen 2011 - ball
Gold - Shenzhen 2011 - hoop
Gold - Shenzhen 2011 - clubs
Silver - Shenzhen 2011 - ribbon

World Games:

Gold - Kaohsiung 2009 - jump rope
Gold - Kaohsiung 2009 - hoop
Gold - Kaohsiung 2009 - ball
Gold - Kaohsiung 2009 - ribbon

Evgenia Kanaeva is a famous Russian gymnast. The only one who managed to become a two-time Olympic champion in the individual competition. Evgenia climbed to the top step of the podium in Beijing in 2008 and London 2012. Honored Master of Sports of Russia, awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland and the Order of Friendship.

“After a victory, as soon as you step off the podium, you must immediately forget that you won. You need to train with double, triple strength. Squeeze yourself to the last drop, demand the absolute maximum from yourself.”

Childhood

Evgenia Kaneva was born in Omsk on April 2, 1990. Her mother Svetlana Kanaeva is a coach and master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. But it was not she who brought the six-year-old girl into the sport, but her grandmother, who chose between gymnastics and figure skating.

According to Evgenia, as a child she was an overweight child and was a little clubfooted. Therefore, the grandmother insisted on her granddaughter’s sports future. After training, the girl showed her all the newly learned elements.

At first, Zhenya did not show outstanding results, but was distinguished by her enormous diligence. Her first coach, Elena Arais, remembers how persistently the young gymnast trained; she was always the last to leave the mat, staying for 2-3 hours. And such dedication brought results. Kanaeva began to succeed in very complex elements with ease; in addition, she acquired qualities necessary for a gymnast such as plasticity, lightness, and grace.

Sport became an integral part of life; Evgenia had practically no time left for anything else.

“I myself tried to keep up with everything, do my homework on time. Knowledge is needed, and this was my personal attitude. But, I admit, sometimes studying was very difficult. After training, you come back and find yourself in a “disassembled” state; you’re tired, and you don’t have time for textbooks.”

Sports career

2002 was a turning point for Zhenya. She was invited to Moscow as part of a group of young Omsk athletes. Then Amina Zaripova, the coach in charge of juniors in the Russian national team, drew the attention of the 12-year-old girl. Kaneva remains in the capital and begins studying at the Olympic reserve school. Her personal trainer is Vera Shtelbaums, who was responsible for training another Omsk gymnast, the already famous Irina Chashchina.

“I was once called the ugly duckling. What kind of nasty things have not been said yet. But thanks to this, I only became stronger. When I heard that I hadn’t completed an element, I worked again and again so that there was nothing to complain about.”

In 2003, Evgenia wins her first international tournament. At the Junior Club World Championships in Tokyo, the athlete loudly declared herself.

The famous Irina Viner, the permanent head coach of the Russian team, draws attention to her. Evgenia is invited to train in Novogorsk at the team’s base. Here the athlete gains invaluable experience; the young girl trains in the same group with famous gymnasts Alina Kabaeva and Irina Chashchina.

For Olympic gold

There is huge competition in the Russian national team. The number of strong, talented athletes is off the charts. And at the Olympics, only two athletes can represent the country in the individual competition.

After the Olympics in Athens, silver medalist Irina Chashchina ends her sports career. The leaders of the team are Alina Kabaeva, Vera Sesina and Olga Kapranova. Evgenia Kaneva is known only in narrow circles; she is considered a promising athlete, but nothing more.
2007 becomes decisive in Evgenia’s career. Before the World Championships in Baku, Kabaeva is injured and drops out of the tournament. Kanaeva gets a small chance; she is trusted with only one type - the ribbon. Evgeniya uses the chance 100 percent, she becomes the world champion in this type of exercise, winning the first award at adult international competitions

“I cried, no, I sobbed with happiness. Everyone congratulated me, but I just cried in response. At that moment I remembered all the training, effort, pain, disappointment. The whole path that led to this medal.”

The athlete started the 2008 Olympic season as a dark horse. Sesina and Kapranova were considered the main contenders for the trip to Beijing. But Evgenia begins to win international tournaments one after another: the Grand Prix final, the European Championship. And although the composition of the team was announced literally before the trip to China, it was clear that Kanaev was number one, the second ticket went to Olga Karanova, Vera Sesina went as a reserve.

At the Olympics, Evgenia had a very difficult program. She performed all the exercises flawlessly: rope, clubs, hoop and ribbon and won gold in the all-around with significant superiority. At the same time, Kanaeva was the youngest participant in the competition.

From Beijing to London

After her triumph in Beijing, Evgenia continues to train and perform. She has no plans to end her sports career. And although in 2009 Kanaeva was plagued by injuries and fatigue, she competed at all major international competitions. The rivals still have no chance. The Russian gymnast shines at the European and World Championships. She is the best at the Universiade in Belgrade and the World Games in Taiwan. In individual disciplines, she wins 6 out of 6 possible gold medals.

Kanaeva comes to London as the undisputed favorite. On the mat she is again unrivaled. Evgenia performs all the exercises flawlessly and receives the well-deserved gold.

After sports

Evgenia announced the end of her professional career at the end of 2012, at which time she became vice-president of the Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics. Kanaeva is a student at the Siberian State University of Physical Culture and Sports, many predict her future as a coach.

In the summer of 2013, the gymnast married Omsk Avangard hockey player Igor Musatov. In March 2014, the couple had a son, Vladimir.

Famous young Russian gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva born in the northern Russian city of Omsk. Evgenia Kanaeva’s date of birth is April 2, 1990. Evgenia Kanaeva is the 2008 Olympic champion (Beijing, China) in rhythmic gymnastics. Evgenia Kanaeva is a three-time world all-around champion. Evgenia Kanaeva is an Honored Master of Sports of Russia (in 2009 she received a certificate from the hands of Irina Chashchina).

Evgenia Kanaeva is half Tatar by origin. Zhenya’s mother Svetlana is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. Evgenia Kanaeva started playing sports at the age of six. Elena Arais, who became Kanaeva’s first coach, immediately saw sports talent in the girl. Zhenya was not afraid to perform complex gymnastic elements; on the contrary, she strived to study them. Her craving for sports was so strong that she often stayed in the gym after classes ended. The grandmother waited patiently for her granddaughter. When Evgenia Kanaeva was twelve years old, she was invited to a sports training camp in Moscow. Coach Amina Zaripova liked the young talent. She trained juniors. Zhenya was invited to study at the Olympic Reserve School. Coach Vera Shtelbaums also helped her. In 2003, at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships among clubs in Japan, Evgenia Kanaeva competed for the Gazprom team. They also performed with her. Evgenia Kanaeva took first place among juniors in rhythmic gymnastics. Famous trainer Irina Viner invited Kanaeva to train at the base of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team in the city of Novogorsk. For Evgenia Kanaeva, this became an important stage in her sports career.

As you know, Russia is famous for its world-class gymnasts, and it was difficult for Evgenia Kanaeva to climb to the sports Olympus. Zhenya Kanaeva joined the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team in 2007, when Alina Kabaeva was injured. This is how she got to the European rhythmic gymnastics championship, which was held in the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan - the city of Baku. To begin with, Irina Viner entrusted Evgenia Kanaeva with performing the ribbon, and the young athlete did not disappoint - she won a gold medal in this exercise. In the team competition, Zhenya Kanaeva also took first place. At the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which took place a few months later in Greece, Evgenia also earned gold in the team.
All of Evgenia Kanaeva’s exercises at the 2008 Olympic Games in the capital of the Republic of China, Beijing, were very complex and thought out. All of them emphasized the individuality of Evgenia Kanaeva. For example, an exercise with a ribbon took place to the piano accompaniment of “Moscow Evenings.” At the beginning of the year, Kanaeva was overshadowed by more eminent athletes, but already in the spring of 2008 Evgenia Kanaeva became the absolute champion of Russia in rhythmic gymnastics, managed to win all stages of the Grand Prix and World Cups. In Turin (Italy), Evgenia Kanaeva became the European champion in rhythmic gymnastics. Russia nominated Kapranova and Kanaeva for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Zhenya Kanaeva was the youngest finalist in rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics. And at the same time, she was very collected and responsible. Zhenya won the Olympic gold medal with a score of 75-50 points. It was a brilliant result that will be difficult to beat.

In 2009, new rules for rhythmic gymnastics were introduced. Zhenya Kanaeva's style has changed. Despite being very tired at the beginning of the season, Evgenia Kanaeva won almost all rhythmic gymnastics competitions in which she participated. In the summer of 2009, in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, where the Universiade was held, and in Taiwan at the World Games, Evgenia Kanaeva won all nine gold medals in rhythmic gymnastics. I personally thanked her for the victory. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. In Belgrade she was called the “Heroine of the Games.” In the fall, at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, Evgenia Kanaeva won four gold medals. And Zhenya won another gold medal as part of the team. Thus, she repeated the 1992 record for the number of medals, which was set by Oksana Kostina. And her performance with the ball brought Kanaeva her sixth gold medal at the World Championships and became a real triumph! Evgenia could not hold back her tears of joy.

Last year, in 2011, at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Montpellier, Evgenia Kanaeva repeated her fantastic success. She again won all six gold medals at the World Championships! Thus, Evgenia Kanaveva became the world champion in rhythmic gymnastics seventeen times!
Now Evgenia Kanaveva is studying at the Siberian State University of Physical Education and Sports.

Kanaeva Evgenia Olegovna was born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk. Two-time Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics. Height is 168 centimeters, at the end of her sports career the athlete grew up a little, her height was 172 centimeters, her weight was 42 kilograms.

Start

Evgenia’s mother Svetlana Kanaeva was a rhythmic gymnast and master of sports. Maybe that’s why she didn’t send the girl to sports, knowing what difficulties awaited her and her parents. But her grandmother insisted that Zhenya do rhythmic gymnastics, who sent her granddaughter to a sports school at the age of six, and this is where Evgenia Kanaeva’s sports biography begins.

The first coach was Arais Elena. As a child, Evgenia was considered plump and clubfooted - but you don’t need to pay attention to such comparisons, because these are the usual cliches that envious people give to successful gymnasts. Elena Arais supported the girl in her quest for sports results and together they filled the performance program with complex elements. Training continued late into the night, often in an almost empty school. The grandmother, who was worried that her granddaughter would have to get home at night, therefore patiently waited for the young athlete near the gym for many hours. After training, the gymnast showed her grandmother everything that she managed to learn during training.

But Zhenya also managed to do her homework, which once again proves that sports are not a hindrance to studying. She sat late at night studying textbooks, trying to be successful in school, although she was very tired after many hours of training.

In Moscow

At the age of 12, Evgenia Kanaeva went to Moscow for a training camp that was specially organized for gymnasts from Omsk. Thanks to the coach responsible for junior training, Amina Zaripova, who liked Zhenya’s preparation, she soon entered the Moscow Olympic Reserve School.

The athlete’s coach was Vera Shtelbaums, whose students included Russian champion, Olympic silver medalist Irina Chashchina, world champion Natalia Puusel, European champion Tatyana Reshetnikova. The teacher had a lot of experience - Vera Shtelbaums had worked as a coach since 1961, she knew the methodology of sports very well and calculated well what exercises and tricks could lead to victory.

In 2003, Evgenia won the Japanese championship between gymnastics clubs, where she went with Ira Chashchina and Alina Kabaeva. Thanks to this victory, at the invitation of Irina Viner (head coach of the Russian national team), she began training in Novogorsk, where other athletes of the Russian team trained. Novogorsk provided maximum conditions, maximum opportunities for revealing Evgenia’s sporting talent.

In the national team

Competition in rhythmic gymnastics is very strong. This is such a popular sport in the Russian Federation that there are sports schools in almost every big city. Zhenya trained among real champions - in 2004, the winners of the Olympics were Chashchina and Kabaeva. Vera Sesina and Olga Kapranova rose to the top of the sport. Bets were placed on these four in all competitions. Despite Kanaeva’s talent, she was not accepted into the national team.

But in 2007, at the European Championships in Baku, Evgenia was taken to the team instead of Alina Kabaeva, who was forced to undergo treatment after an injury. Zhenya had to perform with a ribbon. It was a small chance that the athlete used to express her talent. In a team with Kapranova and Sesina, the girl won, receiving a gold medal. After some time, another team victory, but this time at a higher level - the world championship in Patras, Greece.

On the way to the Olympics

After the victories at the world championship, the next high bar was set in his sports career - performance at the Olympics. At this world tournament, competition should not just be a spectator sport. If everyone had this approach, all performances on the gymnastics mat would be quite the same. Competitions of this level must be based on details - music, tricks, costumes, training to the smallest detail, attention to new products in the sports world can bring a prize, and even victory. This is exactly how Kanaeva’s performances to the music of “Moscow Nights” were structured. It was psychologically difficult for Evgenia, because the judges’ attention was focused on the leaders of the Russian team - Sesina, Kapranova, as well as on the competitor from Ukraine Anna Bessonova.

On the way to the Olympics, Evgenia took the most difficult path - her performances were built on complexity and at the same time thoughtfulness in terms of the harmony of movements and music. She and her program win in all disciplines at various stages of the World Cup and Grand Prix, as well as at the Russian Championship, becoming the absolute champion of her homeland.

In 2008, at the Turin European Championships, she took first place in the individual all-around.

Thanks to such confident success, the gymnast was transferred from the reserve to the main team of the Russian team. At the European Championships, Kanaeva became the champion, defeating the Russian Kapranova and the Ukrainian Bessonova and became the main contender for participation in the Olympic team. The athlete went to the Beijing Olympics with Kapranova.

Records

Rhythmic gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva biography of records. Evgenia Olegovna Kanaeva set her first record in the Grand Prix final in Czech Brno, scoring 30 points out of 30 possible.

In Beijing in 2008, Evgenia became the youngest among the Olympic finalists, and Kanaeva had fewer recorded errors than her older competitors. Having successfully performed in the final, she confidently won the gold medal.

In 2009, Zhenya started the season very tired, she was tormented by injuries, but she continued to compete. The victories continued - gold medals in all disciplines at the Baku European Championships, nine gold medals at the Taiwan World Games and the Belgrade Universiade. At the Berlin Grand Prix final she received five gold medals. In 2009, Zhenya received the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. Also among the state awards are two orders - the Order of Friendship and For Merit to the Fatherland.

At the World Championships in the Japanese city of Mye in 2009, she became the first, winning four golds in the individual competition and one in the team competition, thus repeating Oksana Kostina’s record, which had stood since 1992. The result of his performance at the World Championships was six gold medals, thus breaking the record for the number of medals at one world championship.

At the 2010 Moscow World Championships, Kanaeva received four gold medals in the all-around, team, and hoop and ball. In the same year, at the Bremen European Championship, she received first place in the all-around.

Kanaeva Evgenia at the world championship in 2011 in Montpellier, France, won all six medals out of a possible six in the individual competition. For the third year in a row, she single-handedly took first place at the world championships, this is another record. The athlete climbed to the first step of the podium 17 times only at the world championships in rhythmic gymnastics.

In 2011, she took first place at the Universiade in Shenzhen, China, and also received three gold medals at the Minsk European Championship for hoop, ribbon and in the team competition.

In 2012, Evgenia Kanaeva confirmed that her previous Olympic triumph was not a coincidence - at the London Olympics she received two gold medals, becoming the only two-time Olympic world champion in the individual all-around.

Success and personal life

Zhenya’s success has the following components:

• daily work, victories not for the feeling of euphoria, but for motivation;
• high-level sport involves risk, those who take risks can lose or achieve high results, although the risk in gymnastics is associated with injury;
• lesions are needed to analyze errors, not frustrations;
• cooperation with a coach should take into account your capabilities, you need to embody your ideas, take a creative approach to training and performances.

After the 2012 Olympic Games, Evgenia was emaciated, tired, and plagued by injuries. The first coach, Vera Shtelbaums, said that the gymnast could continue her triumphal march, but Zhenya understood that the tough world of sports would interfere with her personal life, she wanted to start a family and continue her sports career, but this time as a coach. In 2012, Evgenia became vice-president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

After the athlete stopped going to training, she felt some emptiness - a common psychological state when she has lived for many years according to a clear schedule and is given freedom of action. But new activities appeared in her independent life - Evgenia graduated from the Siberian State University of Physical Education and Sports, loves to draw, and dreamed of learning to play the piano and learning English.

After the Beijing Olympics, the athlete signed advertising contracts and starred in several commercials; since 2009, she has been an official spokesperson for Longines watches for some time.

In 2013, she married Continental Hockey League hockey player Igor Musatov, whom she began dating before the London Olympics. They met by chance - in the emergency room, Igor Musatov was injured after falling on the ice, Zhenya arrived with a leg injury. After the Olympics, Igor Musatov proposed to Evgenia.

Soon there was a wedding for 160 people, Igor’s witness was his hockey colleague Alexey Morozov. Also at the wedding was the entire Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, led by Irina Viner. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Anton Komolov and Olga Shelest. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon on a yacht cruise in Croatia. In 2014, Zhenya gave birth to a son, Vladimir.

Now working as a coach, she has been coaching the Russian national team since 2015. The first student was an athlete from St. Petersburg, Ekaterina Ayupova. Among her students is Eleanor Romanova, one of the best Ukrainian gymnasts who in 2016 changed her Ukrainian citizenship to Russian. Eleanor’s tragedy was that Krasnodon is located on the territory of the Lugansk region, not under the control of the Ukrainian authorities; a change of citizenship was necessary to continue the career of a promising athlete. As a coach, Evgeniya tries to understand the situation and never kicks athletes out of the gym for disciplinary reasons. She has extensive and difficult sports experience, she understands her little sports colleagues very well.

Although the “artist” does not perform, she remains in the sport, being a true symbol of perseverance and hard work. She is often invited to sporting events, for example, in 2015 she lit the flame of the Russian-Chinese youth games in Irkutsk.

The gymnast is lucky that in modern Russia, rhythmic gymnastics is one of the leading sports. Of course, there are many who want to get on the podium in this sport, but those who are hardworking and ready to work tirelessly can count on success. After all, many girls want to perform in colorful, beautiful tights, but not everyone is ready to go through the real horrors of this wonderful sport - tears, pain, injuries, disappointments of defeat.

Parents, coaches, and the athletes themselves can’t stand it and leave the sport, or decide to “stand in line” for a master’s crust. But those who practice with a warm heart and find understanding in the hearts of their parents and coaches can count on success, including dizzying success, like Evgenia Kanaeva’s.

Evgenia Kanaeva-Musatova is an outstanding Russian athlete, the most titled “artist” on the planet. Born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk.

My wife is only 27 years old, and she is a true legend of world sports with a huge number of records.

She won two consecutive Olympics (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) in the individual all-around, which has never been achieved in this sport, and is unlikely to happen in the future. In Beijing, Zhenya was the youngest finalist, and in London she became the oldest Olympic champion in the history of this sport.

She became the absolute world champion three times in a row, and in total she has 17 gold medals at the world championships. During her career, Evgenia won 59 different tournaments without losing a single (!!!) start. She came second several times, but this was in individual apparatus events; she never lost the all-around event.

The official website of the Olympic Games writes about her simply: the greatest athlete in the history of rhythmic gymnastics. Dot.

At one time, no less outstanding gymnasts competed with her: Anna Bessonova (Ukraine), Inna Zhukova (Belarus), Daria Kondakova (Russia), Olga Kapranova (Russia), Daria Dmitrieva (Russia), Aliya Garayeva (Azerbaijan) and many others. But it was she who, for the 8 years that her adult career lasted, was the absolute prima of rhythmic gymnastics.

Zhenya amazed with her refined technique and was unusually musical and expressive. In one and a half minutes she created an entire mini-performance. She was not afraid to take music that was difficult to interpret on the carpet: Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Glinka, Shchedrin. And most importantly, she did the most difficult things with incredible ease.

The former president of the International Gymnastics Federation, Italian Bruno Grandi, once called her exercises “cosmic” and compared them with the creations of Michelangelo.

Incendiary Carmen with clubs, a crystal ballerina with a ribbon to “Moscow Evenings,” a frantic pagan from Stravinsky’s “Dances of the Goldfinch,” a Russian beauty in “Merry Quadrille.” Evgenia could master any image, she could do anything!

The secret of her success was her incredible work ethic, amazing modesty, constant desire to improve and great love and dedication to the sport. Perhaps genes also played a role: her father was a famous Omsk wrestler, Master of Sports of the USSR in classical wrestling, and her mother was a Master of Sports in rhythmic gymnastics.

My wife is also very lucky. She avoided serious injuries, excellent specialists worked with her - personal trainer Vera Efremovna Shtelbaums, and then Irina Viner herself, the outstanding choreographer Irina Zenovka, then you can list half of Novogorsk (the sports base where the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team trains), because almost everyone who works there is in one way or another involved in Zhenya’s great victories.

As a person who has been following rhythmic gymnastics for a long time, I think that simply performing at the Olympics is already a great achievement for a gymnast. The competition in Russia in this event is enormous; out of hundreds of thousands of aspiring gymnasts, only dozens will make it to the national team. Injuries can end your career at any time. It is also important to be noticed by the Russian national team coaches. And Zhenya was very lucky that everything worked out in her favor. But it seems to me that one must be prepared for such gifts of fate. And she was ready, thanks to her phenomenal hard work and dedication to the sport.

“There are no ideal gymnasts. Some are given beauty, some are given a gorgeous body, others are given excellent technique. It rarely happens to have everything at once.”

"...in general, I'm a shy person. I feel uncomfortable when I'm being filmed and even photographed. I'm very self-critical and strange. For example, I always loved to train. Even when it was hard. Maybe I'm a masochist (laughs)."

“Kanaeva is a symbol of overcoming. A girl with average abilities came into sports and made history.” Irina Viner

“I was a rather chubby child and had a club foot. I was actually sent to the gymnastics section at the age of six just so that I would lose weight and my legs would become straight and slender. No one would have thought that everything would turn out like this.”

"I dreamed of going to the Olympics [Beijing 2008], but I didn't expect it to happen. It seemed to me that everyone was much better than me. It was a shock for me."

"What is the most important thing for gymnastics? To be easy. First, this is the advantage of youth, then it is working on yourself and is synonymous with professionalism."

“We have a cruel sport. You can’t lose a single start: if you don’t exist, there will be someone else.”

“When I started, they said so many things about me, they called me an ugly duckling. But maybe thanks to this criticism I became stronger. I didn’t finish the element, you say? Okay, I’ll make sure there’s nothing to complain about.”

“She is a very modest and reserved girl and never talks about her life, especially since she had no personal life. She had no life outside of rhythmic gymnastics. Only before the Olympics in London did she meet her love, as it has now become known. She met She loved her in the clinic where she was being treated, and he was also being treated there." Irina Viner

“If we continue the theme of appearance, then my ideal is the actress Audrey Hepburn. Plus, when I was a child, I collected stickers with Princess Diana. I was sure that she was an angel!”

“I was invited to television. But I believe that to engage in this activity you need to receive a special education and be a competent person in this environment. Going on television simply because you have the name and title of Olympic champion is wrong.”

“I can sacrifice a lot for the sake of the cause. Many were surprised that I won the Olympics right away, but Vera Efremovna and I trained a lot. At half past six in the morning we were already in the hall, so as not to wait later for the carpet to be free. Then the choreography , light breakfast, rest, second training, lunch, rest, third training..."

“I have a lot of shortcomings. For example, it would be nice to improve the jump, make it higher. The stretching is far from ideal. I definitely wouldn’t be accepted into ballet with such a foot.”

“Very talented girls trained next to me. Much more capable than me. They had better data, better figures, and more expressive faces. Together, they were gorgeous gymnasts.”

“I have my own trick [at competitions, when the fear of making a mistake appears]. I begin to think that my mother will not love me any less.”

"Advice to young gymnasts? We live once and we should enjoy it. Don’t be constrained, don’t be afraid of mistakes. They will happen in any case. Everyone goes through this. There are no victories without losses, so you shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes. We should probably , be afraid of something else - repeated mistakes."

"In London, I already had a goal - to go through the entire cycle and reach the end. It was very difficult. You know, everything really coincided there. And it coincides once in a million."

“Thank God that sport opens up some opportunities. You know... thanks to sport, I saw the sea for the first time when I went to Sochi for a training camp. Thanks to sport, I got an apartment.”

“Irina Aleksandrovna “strives” to find Tatar roots in every gymnast. I don’t know, it’s quite possible that I have them, but I want to say that I have a lot of blood mixed together.”

“To perform at the Olympics is a great happiness and success.”

“I promised myself never to show my fatigue on the carpet, not to show it to the audience. We are actresses on the carpet, and everything we do should look easy and simple.”

“I clearly remember that the coaches called me “goosebumps”. At one time, some of them said about me: no, Zhenya will remain small, unnoticed. And she will not grow up. I was very worried about this. But, Thank God I grew up."

“I don’t have the most ideal parameters for doing rhythmic gymnastics and I don’t have the longest legs. I just madly love what I do, and I don’t know what rest is. In my case, if you don’t work out for a month, the ligaments become ossified.”

“I will repeat for the hundredth time that the “Kanaeva phenomenon” is hard work. And talent. Not a single medal has fallen from the sky into her hands.” Elena Arais, first coach.

“The hardest thing in our sport is nerves. Sometimes learning the most difficult element is easier than controlling yourself. And I still have to work and work on this task.”

“I am sure of one thing: if you want to be better than others, work harder than everyone else. I can’t stand still, I need to progress and show something new. This is the only way to stay at the top."

“Chashchina and Kabaeva became a huge example for me. Alina turned the world of gymnastics upside down, opened it up from a different side. She was so emotional, artistic and sincere in her performances that it was impossible to tear herself away. For this, the entire sports world loves and respects her. And Ira captivated everyone with her plasticity. And no one owned and does not own the object like she does. In general, creatures from another planet."

As a child, Zhenya made a wish and wrote in her diary that she wanted to become an Olympic champion. She doesn’t remember this; her mother, Svetlana Kanaeva, showed her the recording years later.

She became the first gymnast in the history of rhythmic gymnastics who managed to get the highest score under the 30-point judging system.

On June 8, 2013, she married hockey player Igor Musatov. Marina Gogua, the one who has been dressing her in gymnastic leotards for the last 4-5 years, sewed Zhenya’s wedding dress.

In 2013 she graduated from NSU. them. P.F. Lesgaft in St. Petersburg.

Now Evgenia Kanaeva-Musatova works as a coach and educates young gymnasts.

About the second, historic victory in London:

“I would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who helped me, who put part of their soul into this victory and not only this, but all previous ones. I am very grateful to my mentor Vera Efremovna Shtelbaums, the head coach of the national team Irina Alexandrovna Viner, her husband Alisher Burkhanovich for the enormous support of rhythmic gymnastics, my director Irina Borisovna Zenovka, the team’s choreographers, doctors, massage therapists and everyone, everyone who contributed part of their soul to this victory. I also want to thank my first coach Elena Arais for everything. , Amin Zaripova and Natalya Kukushkina, who trained me at the Olympic training center in Moscow. Thank you very much to all of them, I would not have been able to achieve what I have achieved. his support and for his love. Being loved is a great happiness.

And thank you, the fans, very much. Special thanks to Zoya, as we call her, who flew to London from Taiwan to support me and cheer for our Russian team. I have always felt the support of loved ones and even those I don’t know... But this year it was especially strong. This was our common victory."