Where does Evgenia Kanaeva train? Two-time Olympic champion Evgenia Kanaeva

Kanaeva Evgenia Olegovna was born in April 1990 in the city of Omsk. Kanaeva was able to become a two-time Olympic champion, as well as a seventeen-time world champion. Evgenia Kanaeva's height is 168 centimeters. The girl's weight is only 42 kilograms (at the time she performed). Kanaeva’s success after the end of her career has not yet been repeated by any of the gymnasts of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. Evgenia also remains a favorite of the famous coach of many champions - Irina Viner.

The childhood of an Olympic champion

Evgenia’s mother is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. At the age of six, Evgeniy Kanaev was sent to the sports section by his grandmother. The first coach of the talented little girl was Elena Arais. Elena was amazed at Zhenya’s great effort in learning new elements and training with all her might. The little girl often stayed in the gym after class and continued to train hard. Grandmother Evgenia often had to wait for her in the corridor.

When Zhenya turned 12 years old, she was first invited to a training camp in Moscow. The girl’s performance was seen by the coach, who herself is a champion. It was Zaripova who was responsible for training juniors, and she invited Evgenia Kanaeva to train at the Olympic reserve school. Evgenia achieved better and better results in her training. Evgenia Kanaeva's coach was Vera Shtelbaums.

Crucial moment

In 2003, when the girl was only 13 years old, she went to defend the honor of Gazprom at the club championship in the junior category in Japan. The championship ended with Evgenia winning. By the way, A. Kabaeva and I. Chashchina performed with her. It was then that she was noticed by Irina Viner, who to this day is the head coach of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. The girl was invited to train in Novogorsk.

Start of a sports career

In her career, Evgenia Kanaeva faced not only the difficulty of winning medals, but also the difficulty of simply getting into the Russian national team, since among the contenders Russian gymnasts a lot of. At that time, Alina Kabaeva and Irina Chashchina shone, who in 2004 won gold medals at Olympic Games. After them, Vera Sesina and In 2007, Kabaeva was unable to go to the European Championship due to injury, this was Kanaeva’s real chance to get into the national team. And the girl completely lived up to expectations. In exercises with ribbon, Evgeniya Kanaeva won gold medal. She also won the team competition. Just a few months later, the World Championships began, where Evgenia again received a gold medal in the team performance.

Olympic Games

In 2008, Evgenia Kanaeva goes to the Olympic Games, Kapranova and Sesina are going with her. Evgenia had four routines planned: with a ribbon, with clubs, with a hoop and with a skipping rope. All four numbers were characterized by increased complexity and were also thought out from a musical point of view. For example, a program with a tape was accompanied by musical accompaniment in the form of a piano version of “ Moscow evenings».

In the spring of 2008, Kanaeva won all stages of the Grand Prix and also took 1st place in the World Cup. The gymnast becomes the absolute champion of Russia. At the 2008 European Championships, Evgenia beat all her competitors and climbed to the top step of the podium. She joined the main roster of the Russian national team, and Olympic medals were predicted for the gymnast. In fact, Kanaeva and Kapranova went to the Olympics in Beijing as part of the main team of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. Evgenia Kanaeva became the youngest gymnast among the finalists in artistic competition. gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics. Kanaeva won the Olympic Games in Beijing, becoming an Olympic champion.

Evgenia repeated her success at the 2012 Olympic Games, again winning gold and Kanaeva becoming a two-time champion.

In 2009, at the European Championships, held in the capital of Azerbaijan, Evgenia won gold medals in all types of the program. The rivals of the mistress of the ribbon and hoop never dreamed of such a result. Kanaeva’s next achievement was 9 gold medals received at the World Games and the Universiade. The next goal was the 2009 World Championship, but even there Kanaeva showed an excellent result, winning four medals of the highest standard, as well as a gold medal as part of a team that also included Kondakova, Dmitrieva, and Kapranova. The total number of gold medals won at the championship reached 6. Kanaeva broke the record. At the 2011 World Championships, Kanaeva again achieved a mind-blowing result, winning 6 gold medals out of six. At the end of the World Championships, E. Kanaeva becomes the 17-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

Experts' opinions about the gymnast

Laysan Utyasheva, also famous gymnast in the past, stated that, in her opinion, Kanaeva is a combination of Alina Kabaeva and Irina Chashchina. Also, according to Utyasheva, Kanaeva will be able to become an excellent coach after finishing her career. In 2009, Evgenia received the title “Honored Master of Sports of the Russian Federation.”

Many experts in rhythmic gymnastics spoke positively about the athlete’s character and hard work. She always enjoyed learning new elements of the program, during the preparation of which she could express her opinion to the coach.

Personal life of Evgenia Kanaeva

The girl has always been modest and hid the details of her personal life from prying eyes. Fans and friends of Kanaeva were taken by surprise by the news of her marriage to the famous hockey player Igor Muskatov. The wedding of outstanding athletes took place in June 2013.

Evgenia and Igor met at the emergency room in 2011. At that moment, both athletes received minor injuries and arrived at the medical center to receive assistance. After the Olympics in London, Igor proposed to his beloved. And although before Igor’s marriage there was a trail of rumors about drunkenness and antics, after the wedding, according to relatives and friends, the young man settled down. In 2014, the couple had a son. The boy was named Vladimir.

Education

Several years ago, an outstanding gymnast completed her studies at the Sibirsk state university Physical culture and sports. In 2017, Evgenia, tired of injuries and worries, decides to leave big sport and take up a new activity for her - becoming a coach.

Records

For the first time in history, Evgenia Kanaeva became an athlete who won 6 gold medals out of 6 possible in rhythmic gymnastics during the World Championships. Moreover, a few years later the girl again repeated her own record, again winning 6 gold medals out of 6 possible.

In addition, Evgenia became the first gymnast in history to take 1st place at the World Championships for 3 years in a row. She became the only athlete in rhythmic gymnastics who won gold medals in all types of programs. Kanaeva is also the only winner of 17 gold medals at the World Championships in artistic expression. gymnastics

Sports achivments

• In 2007, he took 1st place at the European Championships.
• In 2008, he rose to the highest step of the podium - 1st place at the European Championships.
• In 2009 in certain types all-around wins gold medals at the European Championships, which took place in Baku.
• In 2009, she also became the absolute world champion in all-around, in addition, Kanaeva won a gold medal in the team and in individual all-around events. The tournament took place in Japan. Result: 6 gold medals out of 6 possible.
• In 2009, at the Universiade held in Belgrade, Evgenia won 5 gold medals.
• In 2010, at the European Championships held in Bremen, Kanaeva won 1st place in the all-around. In the same year, already at the World Championships in Moscow, Kanaeva won four gold medals: in the ball exercise, in the hoop exercise, in the all-around and in the team championship.
• In 2011, the European Championship was held in Minsk. Evgenia Kanaeva wins a gold medal in the team event, a gold medal in the ribbon exercise, and a gold medal in the hoop exercise. And at the Universiade that same year, held in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, Kanaeva performed and won first place in the all-around.
• In the same 2011, Evgenia became the absolute world champion in the all-around, winning a gold medal in the team exercise and a gold medal in individual all-around events. The World Championships took place in France. The result of the performance was 6 gold medals out of 6 possible.

• At the Summer Olympics in London (2012), Evgenia becomes the Olympic champion in the individual all-around.

Post-career activities

Today she is a patient mentor to young gymnasts. Evgenia Kanaeva trains young students of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. Evgenia's pupils are girls aged 12-14 years. According to the Olympic champion, today's gymnasts train much less than she did in her time. According to Kanaeva, this is due to the fact that now young gymnasts have more opportunities and more temptations. However, the girl also notes that at one time she also trained much less than another legendary champion, Irina Chashchina.

Occasionally, the famous sportswoman appears at social events; one of these appearances was the wedding of another equally famous Olympic champion in arts. gymnastics of Margarita Mamun.

Social media

Evgeniya, like many girls, loves to take pictures and share her pictures on social networks. The girl prefers to use social network"Instagram". Hundreds of fans “followed” the famous athlete; there were always many comments under the photo of Evgenia Kanaeva, the Olympic champion, most of which were compliments. But today the girl maintains a private page, closed from large quantity users. In general, catching the Olympic champion is difficult even for journalists; the girl does not like to give interviews.

The biography of Evgenia Kanaeva is quite interesting; in it you can trace how a very young girl was able, through training and a great desire, to “grow” into a two-time Olympic champion and 17-time world champion. Today, Kanaeva coaches the Russian youth team, which includes gymnasts aged 12-14 years. Evgenia’s main task is to provide the students with the “candidate master of sports” program. Also, sometimes news appears in the press about the family of a famous athlete.

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

The wife is only 27 years old, and she - a true legend world sport 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 history 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 beginning 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 shy person. I feel uncomfortable when I am filmed or even photographed. I'm very self-critical and weird. 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, ugly duckling called. But maybe thanks to this criticism I became stronger. 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 amazing 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 probably should , 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 won’t 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 most long legs. I just absolutely 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 a 30-point judging system.

On June 8, 2013, she married hockey player Igor Musatov. Wedding Dress Marina Gogua sewed for Zhenya, the one who dressed her in gymnastic leotards for the last 4-5 years.

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 to you, the fans, thanks a lot. 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."

Kanaeva Evgenia Olegovna

Honored Master of Sports in Rhythmic Gymnastics

Born in Omsk

Trainers: Elena Arais, Vera Shtelbaums, Irina Viner

First ever double Olympic champion in individual all-around

Winner of the Games of the XXX Olympiad 2012 in London

Winner of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad 2008 in Beijing

Three-time absolute World champion 2009, 2010, 2011.

Multiple European champion 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Two-time absolute champion of Russia 2008, 2009.

Two-time winner of the World Universiade 2009, 2011.

Winner of the 2009 World Games

Multiple winner of the World Cup and Grand Prix tournaments

Knight of the Order of Friendship

Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree

...And be happy just like that - from the sun

On snowy fir trees.

This is a craft.

And firmly know that living differently is heresy.

Love words. Live without words for years.

Be Mozart. Kill the Salieri in you.

And become yourself.

And this is a craft.

(Boris Smolensky)

Victory over oneself is the only triumph in which luck has no share. (R. Sheridan)

In the history of rhythmic gymnastics, only one athlete managed to become a two-time Olympic champion in the individual all-around. This unique achievement belongs to Omsk gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva.

It may seem that Evgenia is an iron lady with nerves of steel, who does not know fatigue or defeat. But that's not true. She is the same girl as millions of others, subject to experiences, weaknesses and feelings. What is the secret of the champions' success? Of course, behind every gold medal are years of life, woven from endless training, pain, tears, disappointments, overcoming and every day more and more perfect mastery in the most difficult art - subordinating our weaknesses, feelings and experiences to that inner spiritual force that makes us move forward to those peaks that seem unattainable, but are achievable. To those peaks for the sake of conquering which we come into this world.

Friends, today I want to dedicate my post to a beautiful, fragile, but strong girl, the current Olympic champion and legend of grace - Evgenia Kanaeva.

Certainly, sports achivments have great importance, but while working on this article, Kanaeva’s personality opened up for me in a new light. Reading numerous interviews, I understood that it was not so much Zhenya’s sports records that were a revelation, but her attitude to life, charming radiance and deep and clear wisdom beyond her years.

A girl capable of bringing light, creating an aura of joy and harmony around herself, and her path to the championship. What helped her climb Olympus twice and touch the rainbow above its top?..

Childhood

Evgenia Kanaeva was born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk. Her mother, Svetlana Kanaeva, is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. However, at the age of six, Evgenia was brought into sports by her grandmother, who loved rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating.

I was a rather chubby child and had a club foot as a child. To remedy the situation, my grandmother put me in sports when I was 6 years old. I remember how in the first year of training I came home and jumped around the room, repeating all the exercises especially for her.

Despite her young age, Zhenya showed great potential. Her first coach, Elena Arais (daughter of Evgenia Kanaeva’s future personal trainer, Vera Shtelbaums), was amazed by her desire to learn new complex elements. Shtelbaums, who worked in the same sports school, also remembers the times when Zhenya stayed in the gym after all the children had gone home, trained for long hours, and the grandmother waited for her granddaughter in the cold, dark corridor.

In addition to her love for rhythmic gymnastics, little Evgenia was distinguished by her kindness and care for the people around her. Coaches and parents of athletes nicknamed her Mother Teresa.

How to practice a sincere smile? - No way. You won't work. Live correctly, love people, appreciate them, do not judge or envy. Sincerity and purity should remain in people even after they become adults.

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. The young athlete improved her results, including thanks to the help of Vera Shtelbaums, who was present in Moscow, who at that time was the personal trainer of another Omsk gymnast, member of the Russian national team Irina Chashchina.

What qualities do you consider the most important in a coach? - Patience, understanding, humanity, love for your work and your students and, most importantly, FAITH.

In 2003, Evgenia competed for Gazprom at the Club World Championship in the junior category ( Aeon Cup), which took place in Japan, where she won one of her first victories.

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. Didn't finish the element, you say? Okay, I'll make sure there's nothing to complain about.

Not everything was easy and simple for Evgenia.

2003 Little Zhenya loses her mace, but not her smile and faith.)

year 2012. Corbeil-Essonne. An exercise with clubs, which a few months later will become one of those that will bring Kanaeva her second Olympic gold.

Around the same time, she was noticed by the head coach of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, Irina Viner.

She was a good girl, but she didn't really shine. But over time, this girl made herself, of course, with the help of a coach and all the conditions that were created for her. Her main quality is the ability to work on herself, very hard and persistently. From the moment she got to Moscow, she slowly and confidently walked towards that goal - the title of two-time Olympic champion in the individual program, which happened for the first time in rhythmic gymnastics history. (Irina Viner)

Evgenia was invited to train at the Novogorsk training center - the base of the Russian national team members. According to Irina Viner, this was a turning point in the athlete’s life.

I was not the only gymnast, but I had a huge advantage - I trained on the same mat with Ira Chashchina! She was a great example for me in sports.

Climbing

Kanaeva's climb to the senior podium was not easy due to the fact that Russia has a large number of talented gymnasts. Since the end of the 2004 Olympics, where Kabaeva and Chashchina won gold and silver, respectively, Vera Sesina and Olga Kapranova began their ascent and became the leaders of Russian rhythmic gymnastics. Since Kabaeva continued to perform, there was simply no room left for Kanaeva in the team. But she continued to work hard. In the summer of 2007, the composition of the Russian national team for the European Championship in Baku was already known - Kabaeva, Sesina, Kapranov. But, having received a serious injury, Alina Kabaeva left the team. To replace Kabaeva, Wiener chose Kanaeva and entrusted her with one item - a ribbon. Despite the fleeting appearance of her appearance on the mat, Kanaeva did not let her coaches and fans down. Evgeniya won gold in the ribbon final and in the team competition.

– And yet, why did you cry on the pedestal? - From happiness. I couldn't contain myself. Journalists came up for interviews, and I didn’t even cry, I sobbed. She sobbed into the microphone. All the girls congratulated and said: “You won, well done!” – but I still couldn’t calm down. At such moments, you experience thousands of training sessions as one, remembering all the pain and disappointments. There is no time for emotions on the carpet. You just do your program, don’t look at anyone, try not to let down the coach who has invested all his strength and skills in you.

A few months later, Eugenia won gold at the World Championships in Patras, Greece, in the team competition.

Olympic season 2008

All four programs at the 2008 Olympics (hoop, clubs, jump rope and ribbon) were designed to be highly challenging, musically thoughtful, and revealed her individuality. One of the programs - a tape - was composed for the original version of “Moscow Evenings”, performed on the piano. Kanaeva began the 2008 season in the shadow of Sesina, Kapranova and the current world champion Anna Bessonova. However, by mid-spring she managed to overcome all obstacles and win the absolute championship at all stages of the Grand Prix and World Cups and win the title of absolute Champion of Russia. At the European Championships in Turin, Italy, she was no longer listed in the reserves, but was a full-fledged member of the Russian team.

Kanaeva was the youngest among all the finalists in the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the Olympics. At the same time, she was the most collected and made the fewest mistakes. “The Olympics are not like other competitions. It requires complete concentration on yourself, the carpet and the object. You can't be distracted by anything else. I convinced myself that everything would be fine and that I had nothing to worry about,” following this mindset, Kanaeva won the Olympics with an excellent result of 75.50 points, ahead of her closest pursuer Inna Zhukova from Belarus by 3.50 points. What Kanaeva achieved in winning by a huge margin won't be easy for any gymnast to replicate in the near future, Wiener said.

A lot depends on expressiveness, on the soul, on what Lately began to place more emphasis. The sport is quite artistic. But, in my opinion, the main thing is not to cross the line. And this can be achieved only without straying from sincerity. In the world, by the way, there is not enough sincerity. As well as kindness. It's the same in sports.

Record holder

The main thing is to do your work with full dedication and love, to put your soul into it.

I couldn’t leave the gym without working out more, without pushing myself to the last. And I got a thrill from it. I liked to push my limits.

I promised myself never to show my fatigue on the carpet, never to show it to the audience. We are actresses on the carpet, and everything we do should look easy and simple.

When you step off the pedestal, you just have to forget that you won something. You need to pull yourself together again and train with redoubled strength. Demand the maximum from yourself again.

My main rival is, of course, myself.

I take victories calmly. It's nice to win, of course. But as soon as she left the pedestal, she had to start all over again. For me this is the law.

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. However, she continued to win every competition in absolute championship, and only some finals in certain types of programs 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 it won at the World Games allowed Russia to take the lead in the overall standings. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thanked Evgenia Kanaeva for her contribution to achieving victory, and Evgenia was awarded the title “Heroine of the Games” on the official website of the 2009 Universiade in Belgrade.

Although no one thought that the World Championships in the Japanese city of Mye would break records, Kanaeva's advantage was obvious. After three types of the program, she took the leading position, ahead of her teammate Daria Kondakova by 0.850 points.

You shouldn’t be afraid of your opponents, you need to learn from them.

After Kondakova masterfully completed her last event - the jump rope, receiving the highest score of 28.400 points, the atmosphere in the hall became tense to the limit. After the performance of all five other finalists, Kanaeva came out onto the mat with the ball in her hands. Her performance was final and triumphant. With a difference of 0.600 points, Kanaeva won her sixth medal, and thereby set a new record for the number of gold medals won by an athlete at one single world championship in rhythmic gymnastics. After the performance, Kanaeva gave vent to tears in the arms of the coaching staff.

At the 2011 World Championships, held in Montpellier, France, Evgenia Kanaeva managed to repeat her amazing achievement: she was again able to win all 6 out of 6 possible highest awards in personal disciplines. As a result of the championship, Evgenia became a 17-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics.

Olympic season 2012

Patience and pain are part of the path to achieving your goal.

I give myself completely to this sport, trying to make it enjoyable for both the audience and myself. Although I am rarely satisfied with myself. I can’t look at my performances: it always seems to me that everything is wrong. Therefore, I constantly work on myself, try to become better. And I hope I succeed at least a little.

In the summer of 2012 in London, Evgenia Kanaeva became a two-time Olympic champion.

In one of her interviews, Evgenia admitted that this success was much more difficult for her than four years ago in Beijing, noted that she had matured noticeably during this period and in her new programs tried to give as many bright emotions to the fans as possible.

London, like Beijing, still needed to be reached. Some said: “Come on, why are you worried? You go, you perform, everything will be fine.” It’s nice, of course, when they believe in you like that, but it was wildly difficult. There were injuries, illnesses, doubts. And the other gymnasts performed very well. For example, a very young girl, Sasha Merkulova, appeared - young and light. And I need to rebuild, urgently lose five kilograms in order to look just as ethereal against her background. I had to be in the hall until 12 at night and endure a lot. Our sport is brutal. You can’t lose a single start: if you don’t exist, there will be someone else.

- If we compare the gold in Beijing and the victory in London. Which success was more difficult?

The current gold was much more difficult, because it is always more difficult to confirm your level. Then four years ago I was much younger and did not fully imagine everything that awaited me. Now I initially set the goal to win at all costs, and the desire for this peak helped me throughout the entire preparatory four-year period. It was very difficult because I had to practice new elements, new images.

- Do you feel any changes in yourself during this period?

Of course, I have become much older, as all those who work with me and watch my success say. If before I worked more and more on technique, now I try to add as much artistry and beautiful movements to my program as possible. The fact is that we perform for the audience, and what is more important to them is not the grades, but the brightness and beauty of the performance.

When you have a team, a lot is possible. I was lucky to have her. I had wonderful first trainers, whom I want to thank constantly, then I got a personal trainer, the main one, I always have friends and relatives nearby, and also my favorite person. Life is often difficult, but with the team everything can be overcome, and for that I thank them very much!

Off the carpet

At the end of 2009, Evgenia Kanaeva became the new ambassador of elegance of the famous Swiss watch company Longines, being a partner of international sports federations.

On September 18, 2013, Zhenya received the title “Woman of the Year” according to GQ magazine. The Omsk gymnast managed to beat tennis player Maria Sharapova, model Sasha Luss, actress Olga Kurylenko and journalist Irada Zeynalova.

The Olympic champion of Beijing and London was named the best athlete of 2012 based on the results of the editorial and reader voting of Championship.com.

Success is satisfaction with what you have achieved. And not only professionally.

The brightest thing in my life is the words of people and their sincere support.

Zhenya’s success not only brought her recognition from fans around the world, but also continued the tradition of the Omsk school of training excellent athletes. According to Vera Shtelbaums, Evgenia has all the makings to become a good rhythmic gymnastics coach.

At the end of 2009, Kanaeva received the title of “Honored Master of Sports of Russia.” The certificate was presented to her by Irina Chashchina. And on December 4, 2012, Evgenia was elected vice-president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation. On the same day, the two-time Olympic champion announced that she was finishing sports career.

Like any girl...

After all, what is personal should remain personal, it should be kept deep in your heart. Although, like any girl, I also dream about own family, and about children. And about great love - and as a believer, I believe that the Lord sees everything and sends it to those who really want to find it. It rewards me for challenges, of which I have had many in my life.

Evgenia's dream came true. In June 2013, she married Igor Musatov, a hockey player for the Lokomotiv club. And in the spring of 2014, Zhenya and Igor became parents. On March 19, their son was born. Vladimir.

What would you like people to remember about Evgenia Kanaeva? - That everything I did, I did with love for people, that I loved them...

Materials: website of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics

Little Zhenya. Exercise with clubs (2003)

Corbeil-Essonne. Exercise with clubs (2012)

Olympics in Beijing. Exercise with the tape “Moscow Evenings” (2008)

World Championship. Mie. Exercises with hoop and ball. Final (2009)

Olympics in London. Exercises with a ball, clubs and tape. (2012)

Evgenia Kanaeva was born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk. She won the Olympics twice - in 2008 and 2012. For the first time in history, she became a two-time Olympic champion in the all-around. He holds the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia.

Start

Evgenia was lucky with her parents: her mother is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. Sports genes and the example of her mother largely determined the future success of the champion. Kanaeva came to sports at the age of 6. Despite such a young age, she immediately began to show great potential. The coaches were amazed and delighted by the young gymnast’s desire to learn new complex elements. All the children had already gone home, and Zhenya was still training.

At the age of 12, Evgenia Kanaeva, as part of gymnasts from Omsk, was invited to a training camp in Moscow. There she was noticed by Amina Zaripova, a junior training coach.

In 2003, Zhenya competed in the Gazprom team at the World Club Championship in the junior category. She became the winner of these competitions. Around the same time, the head coach of Russian artistic gymnasts, Irina Viner, drew attention to her. Kanaeva was invited to train at the Novogorsk center, the base of the Russian national team members. This completely changed the athlete’s life. Now she has real chances to achieve the greatest heights in gymnastics.

Way up

There are a lot of talented gymnasts in Russia, high competition, so it is very difficult for any athlete to get to the top. Evgenia Kanaeva was no exception. Her competition included such giants as Vera Sesina and Olga Kapranova. There was no place on the team for Zhenya.

Evgenia Kanaeva speaking

In 2007, luck finally smiled on the athlete. Alina Kabaeva was seriously injured, and Irina Viner chose Evgenia as a replacement. Kanaeva’s visit to the carpet was, one might say, fleeting. Head coach I only trusted her with exercises with the band. And Zhenya did not let down either the coaches or the sports fans. She won the ribbon final and the team competition.

A few months later, she took gold in the team competition at the world championship in the Greek city of Patras.

Olympics

Evgenia won her first Olympic gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Zhenya had a number of difficulties, but in the end she overcame everything and became the champion by a wide margin. All four programs (ribbon, jump rope, clubs and hoop) by Kanaeva at the Beijing Olympics were highly complex, were well thought out in terms of musical accompaniment and revealed the athlete’s individuality. The tape was composed to the original “Moscow Evenings”, performed on the piano.

Zhenya began the 2008 Olympic season in the shadow of Kapranova, Sesina and the current world champion, Ukrainian Anna Bessonova. But in mid-spring all obstacles were behind us. Kanaeva won all stages of the Grand Prix and World Cups and became the absolute champion of Russia.

At the European Championships in Turin, Italy, she was already a full-fledged member of the Russian team. Then she left Kapranova and Bessonova behind and became the European champion with high marks.

Head coach Irina Viner by that time already considered Evgenia the main contender for a place in the Olympic team. As a result, Wiener decided that Russia would be represented at the 2008 Olympics by Kanaeva and Kapranova. Zhenya became the youngest Olympic finalist in rhythmic gymnastics. However, she was the most collected and made the fewest mistakes.

According to Evgenia Kanaeva, the Olympics are not like other competitions, here you need to fully concentrate on yourself, the apparatus and the mat, you cannot be distracted by anything. She convinced herself that everything would be fine, that there was nothing to worry about. That’s what happened in the end - Zhenya won the Olympics, scoring an excellent 75.50 points. She was ahead of Inna Zhukova from Belarus by 3.50 points.

Irina Viner then said that it would not be very easy to repeat Kanaeva’s result in the near future.

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Zhenya became the champion for the second time. She was unattainable for her rivals with a score of 116.9 points in exercises with a ball, hoop, ribbon and clubs.



Evgenia Kanaeva and gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London

After London, Evgenia is the first ever two-time Olympic champion in the individual all-around.

Records

The only two-time Olympic champion in history in the individual all-around (London).

At the 29th World Championships she won all the gold (6 medals).

The 31st World Championship was the third won in a row. The second time she won 6 out of 6 gold medals. She became the only winner in history of 17 gold medals at world championships.

At the Grand Prix final in Brno (Czech Republic), she was the first in history to score 30 points out of a possible 30.

Personal

On June 8, 2013, she became the wife of KHL hockey player Igor Musatov. The couple dated for a year before the London Olympics. After the Olympics, Igor proposed to Evgenia.

Evgenia Kanaeva’s sports career began at the age of six, when, at the insistence of her grandmother, the girl was shown to rhythmic gymnastics coach Elena Arais. Despite her small age, the girl won the hearts of Omsk coaches with her amazing hard work and unusually high potential. Years later, memories of Zhenya’s irrepressible energy, who continued grueling training beyond the time allotted in the sports section, remained in the memory of the people who participated in the development of the young athlete.

The desire to achieve her goals, strong character and support from loved ones led the eighteen-year-old girl to the top step of the sports Olympus.

The formation of the career of Evgenia Kanaeva

For Evgenia, the first significant result of her work in rhythmic gymnastics was an invitation at the age of twelve to a team training camp in Moscow, which radically changed the life of the Omsk gymnast. The young athlete impressed Amina Zaripova, the coach of the youth team, with her talent, who invited Evgenia to continue her studies at the Olympic reserve school.

In 2003, the athlete brought her first gold medal to Russia, which marked her victory at the junior club championship in Japan. From this moment, at the personal invitation of Irina Winner, the athlete begins training at the training base of the Russian team.

Rising Star

Since 2007, Evgenia Kanaeva’s star has been shining brightly in the sky of the world’s professional rhythmic gymnast, and Evgenia Kanaeva’s performances at international competitions become an event every time. Despite the tough competition in this sport, the young gymnast brings gold medals from European and world championships, while the tournament in Europe brings Evgenia two first places at once, in the team and individual competitions.



The victorious performance in 2007 was facilitated by a tragic accident - literally on the eve of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, held in Baku, she left the national team due to a serious injury, and Kanaeva was taken as her replacement.

Participation of Evgenia Kanaeva in the Olympic Games

In 2008, the main event in Evgenia’s sports career was participation in the Olympic Games. There the gymnast presents her individual program, consisting of four stages (jump rope, hoops, mace, ribbon), characterized by high complexity of performance and unique musical accompaniment, which provides Kanaeva with well-deserved gold and deafening applause from the audience. The jury unanimously agreed that Evgenia, the youngest competing gymnast at the Olympics, made the fewest mistakes, significantly ahead of her more seasoned and professional rivals.

In 2012, at the Olympic Games in London, Evgenia Kanaeva was greeted by the stands with loud rejoicing, thereby emphasizing her chances of winning. The athlete does not disappoint the expectations of the fans and again occupies the top step of the Olympic podium.

Sports records and achievements of Evgenia Kanaeva

In addition to numerous awards, Kanaeva managed to set a number of unique records during her sports career. So, Evgenia became the first in the world:

Two-time Olympic Champion;

Winner of 17 gold medals at the World Championships;

Winner of 6 gold medals out of 6 possible at one World Championship;

Holder of the highest score in a 30-point judging system;

Winner in all types of artistic all-around.

The athlete also became the third in the history of rhythmic gymnastics to win the World Championships for three years in a row. The girl decided to end her professional career at the end of 2012, announcing this when it was decided to appoint Kanaeva as vice-president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

Six months later, Evgenia happily married sportsman Igor Musatov, who plays for the Avangard hockey club. And 9 months later, in March 2014, she gave her husband her first child, son Vladimir.