How the first Soviet figure skater to receive an Olympic medal lived and died
'04.06.2021'
Source: Home
For this Soviet figure skater, they were worried not only in the USSR, but also in Europe. Kira Ivanova is the first USSR Olympic medalist in figure skating. By the way, the actress Keira Knightley was named in her honor. But Ivanova's life was tragic and short. Her story is told Home.
After the murder, her body lay in the apartment for two days. Both the neighbors who found the athlete and the police were shocked: everyone remembered and knew Kira Ivanova. Her performances were watched on TV not only in the USSR, but also in Europe. But in Ivanova's apartment there were no awards or medals. They decided that a robbery had occurred. The neighbors said that Kira drank everything.
They said that the twice champion of the Soviet Union, the famous figure skater, had been drinking for a long time and constantly threw noisy parties at home with random people at a party. Apparently, one of them stabbed her. They searched for the killer to no avail. In the last years of her life, Ivanova communicated with a huge number of people, so the search turned into an attempt to find a needle in a haystack. No one was punished for her murder.
On the subject: Passion on ice: love, betrayal and parting stars of figure skating
Young Sparta
Kira's parents also drank and practically did not take care of the child. Her fate was not indifferent only to her grandmother, who brought the girl to figure skating - she tried to distract Kira from her home nightmare and interest in sports, instill discipline. At the age of six, Kira became a Sparta - a young athlete from the Spartak club. At fifteen, she began to study with coach Kudryavtsev - and for the first time to win. Ivanova became the first figure skater of the USSR with a medal at the World Junior Championships. The adult championship brought her a ticket to the USSR national team. She won high places in competitions. She was prepared for each appearance, including choreographers from the Bolshoi Theater. Investments in a talented athlete were maximized.
When Kira was 19, she fell in love with her colleague, Vladimir Kovalev, at that time a two-time world champion. They began to live together and Kira went to train with him. He was conflicted - Kira supported him in disputes with the leadership. She embodied his ideas in her performances. Then the problems began. After the first place at the Spartakiad, the athlete did not appear for a doping test and lost her place. Kira was removed from the national team. The reason for her failure to appear is still unknown.
The following year, she returned to the national team, took part in the Sarajevo Olympics and became the first USSR figure skater to receive an Olympic medal. Bronze. But before her there was none! The world learned about her. She participated in competitions, went abroad, she was recognized as a professional, money, things, acquaintances appeared. She became a star of Soviet and world sports. What went wrong?
On the subject: Wedding in the USA, treason and tragedy: the drama of the star couple Averbukh and Lobacheva
Personal tragedies
Ten years after the triumph of 15-year-old Kira at the World Championships, she left the big sport, as well as from Kovalev, who never married her. She tried herself in cinema and theater. She married a dancer of the Bolshoi Theater, and then the director of the Moscow Ballet. In her second marriage, she became pregnant and faced a choice: a contract or a child. She chose a contract, but was left without one, and without the other. No one knows why: perhaps alcoholism has already made itself felt, or there was a conflict with her husband. She again found herself alone and without work. And then other troubles began: her sister committed suicide, her beloved grandmother died, Kira got into a car accident. Ivanova fell into a binge, then tied it up and tried to regain her life.
It was arranged by an old friend, the first coach Kudryavtsev - the coach of the kids at Dynamo. Everything was fine, but over time, children and parents reported that the coach smelled of alcohol. It turned out that Kira fell out again. And she lost this job too.
When she was found dead, Kira Ivanova was only 38 years old. Some said that she herself was to blame. Others, that Kira was a victim of betrayal and the vicissitudes of fate. In any case, the life of this famous woman turned out to be a tragedy.
