Kulik, Ilya Alexandrovich (skater)

She was brought in figure skating by her mother at age 5. The first trainer - N.T. Ruzhitskaya, then S. Gromov. Then he trained with V.N. Kudryavtsev . The first significant victory was at the age of 13, in Norway , at the Piruetten Juniors competition in 1990 , where he represented the Soviet Union . In December 1992, the next major success came to him. He managed to win a bronze medal in Seoul at the debut world junior championship . He won gold at the Junior Championship two years later in November in Budapest .

In 1994 , before that, Ilya managed to win the Russian Junior Championship. At the Russian Championship in December 1994, he took 2nd place and got into the national team. He made a sensation at the European Championship 1995 , making his debut, he immediately became a champion. His main rival, Alexei Urmanov , made a mistake in the short program and took 6th place, which allowed Kulik to beat him in the end, despite the second place in the free .

Since the 1995/96 season, coach T. A. Tarasova has helped to deliver programs, greatly complicating the choreography, saturating it with connecting elements. Kulik lost the 1996 European Championship , unable to cope with the free program, but at the 1996 World Championship he completed it (including two triple ax jumps), becoming a silver medalist, losing with one referee's vote.

Since mid-May 1996 he moved from V.N. Kudryavtsev to T.A. Tarasova. The 1996/97 season was relatively unsuccessful, in the final of the champion series (analogous to the current Grand Prix finals), Ilya performed a purely four-piece toe loop. In 1998, T. A. Tarasova delivered the most balanced programs, concentrating Kulik to the main start - the Olympic Games ( the 1998 European Championship was missed), which allowed him to become an Olympic champion . In a short program in the avant-garde style to the music of J.-M. Zharra , Kulik performed a purely cascade of triple axel - triple sheepskin coat , seized the lead. In an exceptionally harmonious free program, with elegant choreography to the music of J. Gershwin , with well-written elements, Kulik, the only one of all participants to complete all jumps, including the only one of the leaders of the quadruple jump - sheepskin coat , two triple axels (one in cascade with a triple toe loop), as well as five triple jumps.

Since 1999, he began his professional career, preserving the complexity of the programs, was able to win the tournaments “Champions on Ice” and “Stars on Ice”. In 2000, he starred in one of the roles in the film "Center Stage".

In 1999 he graduated from the Russian State Academy of Physical Culture .

Personal life

On June 10, 2001, he married Ekaterina Gordeeva in San Francisco , and on June 15, 2002, the couple had a daughter, Lisa. From 2003 to 2007, they lived in the city of Avon ( Connecticut ). In the summer of 2007 moved to the city of Newport Beach ( California ).

• Cavalier of the Order of Honor (1998) for outstanding achievements in sports, courage and heroism shown at the 18th Winter Olympic Games in 1998 ^[1] .

• Figure Skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics - Singles (men)