Future stars in ice dancing Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin

Today the couple Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin are one of the most beautiful professional couples in figure skating. How did the guys find each other, what are their current successes?

Figure skater Elena Ilinykh

A native of Kazakhstan, Elena was born in 1994. Her ice epic began at the age of four when her grandmother led a small Lena into a group of health. The coach of the group noticed in the girl an innate gift to figure skating and advised to do this kind of sport seriously. So Elena Ilinyh got in a special school of figure skating to the professional trainer Maleeva, then to Dubinskaya. She showed remarkable abilities in solo skating, dreaming about dancing on ice.

Duet of Ilin and Katsalapov

In 2005, Elena was picked up by partner Nikita Katsalapova. They worked together, honing sports skills, but a couple of years later Nikita found another partner, and Lena lost the opportunity to continue her career.

Moving the family to America opened up new opportunities for the skater. She passed an invaluable school of skating at the great duo Shpilband and Zueva.

Returning to Russia, Elena Ilinykh again stands in a pair with Katsalapov. The guys are getting dizzy success, step by step moving forward to participate in the Olympics. And finally, the most important victory is gold at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in free skating!

But after the Olympics, something happened. Not entirely successful performance of the pair at the championship in the Middle Kingdom was the beginning of the end of their teamwork. Elena accidentally found out that Ruslan secretly selects another partner for herself. Such a traitorous behavior partner can not be bothered, and the failure of the duo in the last speech is quite understandable.

The origin of the new duo

Nikita Katsalapov not only betrayed his partner, with whom he had been skating for more than seven years, but also smashed another pair - Zhiganshin and Sinitsinoy. He began riding with Victoria Sinicina. Again there was no partner Elena Ilinykh, Zhiganshin - without a partner. Then the guys tried to ride together. They say: "There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped." After several trainings, Elena and Ruslan realized that they fit together as best they could and could achieve decent results. Their coaches E. Kustarova and S. Alekseeva, of course, believed in the guys.

Successes and victories of "novodels"

A great work has begun. Skaters spent a lot of time on the ice and in the choreographic hall. A short program was put by the Spaniard Antonio Naharro, an arbitrary one - Ilya Averbukh. The result of many days of training was the entrance to the Russian championship, where the guys won a gold medal.

Ahead was the European and World Championship. It was necessary to refine the arbitrary dance, the performance of which left much to be desired. Thanks to diligence and persistent progress towards the goal, all the shortcomings were eliminated. The pair performed well at the championships, but did not reach the prizes. At the European Championships Elena Ilinnykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin took an offensive fourth place, and at the World Championships - only the seventh.

The season 2015-2016 was over for the guys unexpectedly fast. At the qualifying championship of Russia they took the 4th place, which did not allow them to participate in the European Championships. But Elena and Ruslan are not a pair that a mediocre result can arrange. To increase the level of skill, they decide to go on an internship in America to the famous coach Igor Shpilband. This man is subject to the miracle of the transformation of ordinary skaters into champions, although Elena and Ruslana can not be called ordinary.

Such internships are not free. There were sponsors ready to invest money in this pair. This means that people believe in a great future for athletes, and this, undoubtedly, gives confidence and strength to the Ilin and Zhiganshin. I would like to think that this three-month internship abroad will help to reveal to the pair its best aspects and achieve victory.