Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva
OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual
rhythmic gymnast
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...
. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, winning at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, where she finished with 3.75 points ahead of silver medalist
Inna Zhukova
Inna Zhukova ( be, Іна Іванаўна Жукава; russian: Инна Ивановна Жукова: ''Inna Ivanovna Zhukova'', born on September 6, 1986 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 200 ...
, and at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, where she also became the oldest gymnast to win the Olympic gold. On 4 July 2013, Kanaeva received the International Fair Play Award for "Sport and Life".
Kanaeva holds the record for most
World titles with seventeen and thirteen
European titles. Kanaeva shares the record for most individual world all-around titles with
Maria Petrova (1995 tied with
Ekaterina Serebrianskaya),
Maria Gigova (1971 tied with
Galima Shugurova
Galima Akhmetkareevna Shugurova (russian: Галима Ахметкареевна Шугурова; Tatar: Галима Әхмәтгәрәй кызы Шөгурова; born 8 November 1953 in Omsk) is a retired rhythmic gymnast who competed for ...
) and fellow Russian gymnasts
Yana Kudryavtseva
Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva (russian: Я́на Алексе́евна Кудря́вцева; born 30 September 1997) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic All-around silver medalist, three-time World Champi ...
and Dina Averina, and Kanaeva is the one of only three gymnasts to have won all three titles without being tied, impossible due to the tie breaking system even though she never was tied for a title.
At the 2009 World Championship in Mie, Japan, Kanaeva became the first rhythmic gymnast to win all six titles. She repeated the feat at the 2011 World Championship in
Montpellier, France
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people li ...
, equaling her own record.
In 2009, Kanaeva was awarded the title Merited Master of Sports in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. After the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, on 15 August at the
Grand Kremlin Palace, Kanaeva, along with fellow Olympic gold medalists, was awarded the
Merit for the Fatherland IV Degree. Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
presented the honors.
Kanaeva is the only gymnast to receive a perfect score under the 30-point judging system, having done so twice: in the
2011 Grand Prix Final in
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
and in the 2012 Grand Prix in
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...
.
Career
Childhood
Kanaeva was born in
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Her grandmother, a devoted fan of
rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...
and
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
, introduced 6-year-old Kanaeva to rhythmic gymnastics. Her first trainer, Yelena Arais (daughter of Kanaeva's later trainer,
Vera Shtelbaums
Vera Shtelbaums (russian: Вера Штельбаумс; born April 24, 1937 in Omsk, Russia) is a Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach.
Coaching career
Following her graduation from the Omsk Institute of Physical Education in 1959, Shtelbaums w ...
), was impressed by her enthusiasm for learning difficult elements. Shtelbaums, who worked in the same gymnastics school, recalled Kanaeva spending long hours practicing even though all other students were gone, while her grandmother stood in the corridor waiting to take her home.
['Steps to Success', TV documentary by Russian channel REN in April 2009, hosted by Alina Kabayeva] Besides her passion for rhythmic gymnastics, the young Kanaeva was nicknamed '
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
' by the training staff and the parents of her childhood friends for her kindness and concern for others.
Kanaeva was selected to join a group of young rhythmic gymnasts from Omsk for try-outs in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
at the age of 12. Her performance caught the eye of
Amina Zaripova, who was in charge of the youth program. Kanaeva was then invited to train at the School of the Olympic Reserve. Kanaeva improved quickly under the supervision of Shtelbaums who was in Moscow as fellow Omsk native
Irina Tchachina's coach. In 2003, at 13 years of age, Kanaeva debuted in international competitions and began winning the junior events, Kanaeva represented ‘
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
’ as a junior
rhythmic gymnast
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...
to take part in the World Club Championship (also known as 'Aeon Cup') in Japan alongside Irina Tchachina and
Alina Kabayeva
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...
. She won the junior title and was presently noticed by the head coach of the Russian national team,
Irina Viner
Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova (russian: Ирина Александровна Винер-Усманова; born July 30, 1948) is an Uzbek-born Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, president of the ...
. She was accepted into the Novogorsk training centre for national team members.
Rise
Kanaeva's rise through the senior ranks was not without difficulty due to Russia's repository of rhythmic gymnasts. After the
Olympic Games 2004, at which
Kabaeva and Tchachina won the gold and silver medals respectively, Kabayeva remained competitive while
Vera Sessina
Vera Valeryevna Sessina (russian: Вера Валерьевна Сесина, born 23 February 1986) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2007 World All-around silver medalist, the 2006 European All-around Champion, two time (2 ...
and
Olga Kapranova
Olga Sergeyevna Kapranova (russian: Ольга Серге́евна Капра́нова; born 6 December 1987) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-around champion, the 2007 World All-around bronze medal ...
rose to become Russia's new leading rhythmic gymnasts, leaving little room for Kanaeva in the competitive sphere. Kanaeva made her senior international debut in 2006 at the International Tournament Schmiden where she won gold in all-around and event finals. She competed at the World Cup stage in Mie competing in clubs and ribbon where she finished 5th.
In summer 2007, Kanaeva competed in World Cup in Corbeil-Essonnes winning the all-around gold medal, she also won gold in hoop, rope and ribbon final defeating
Anna Bessonova. She then competed at the
World Cup series in Ljubljana where she won bronze in all-around, rope and silver in clubs. At the
2007 European Championships in Baku,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
; Kabaeva, Sessina, and Kapranova were chosen to represent Russia. However, on the eve of the competition, Kabaeva withdrew because of an injury. Viner selected Kanaeva from the reserve team as the replacement. Despite the short notice, Kanaeva impressed by winning gold medals in both the individual ribbon and team competition. A few months later, she won another gold medal in the team competition at the World Championship in
Patras
)
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, ...
, Greece.
2008 Olympics season
![Kanaeva1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Kanaeva1.jpg)
With the opportunity to take part in the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
growing, all of Kanaeva 's routines (hoop, clubs, rope and ribbon) were designed with high difficulties and her music was selected to bring out her uniqueness, one of which was her ribbon routine performed with the special edited piano version of ‘
Moscow Nights (Подмосковные вечера)’.
In the beginning of 2008 season, Kanaeva still faced tough competition from veteran teammates
Sessina,
Kapranova and
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
rhythmic gymnast, the then-World Champion,
Anna Bessonova. However, by mid-spring, Kanaeva began to establish herself by winning all the individual all-around titles in the Grand Prix and World Cup series, as well as the Russian National Championship. At the European Championship in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy, she established herself as the number one senior rhythmic gymnast of the Russian national team. She defeated Bessonova and Kapranova with high scores in all her routines ( 18.875 in rope, 18.925 in hoop, 18.875 in ribbon and scored a 19.050 in clubs).
At the
2008 European Championships she became the All-around champion. Viner selected Kanaeva and Kapranova as Russia's entries for the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics competition.
Kanaeva was the youngest among all the finalists in the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics competition. However, she remained calm and made only a few mistakes. In her words, the Olympic Games were "different from all other competitions. You just have to concentrate on yourself, the apparatus and the carpet. You should not pay attention on anything else. I persuaded myself that everything would be alright, that I should not worry."
With this mentality and her high level of Technical Difficulty, Kanaeva won the Olympic title with a score of 75.50, ahead of second place
Inna Zhukova
Inna Zhukova ( be, Іна Іванаўна Жукава; russian: Инна Ивановна Жукова: ''Inna Ivanovna Zhukova'', born on September 6, 1986 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 200 ...
of
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
by a margin of 3.50 points.
2009 season
![Bedii Gimnastika 171](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Bedii_Gimnastika_171.jpg)
Because of the implementation of the new Code of Points, Kanaeva's style changed drastically in 2009, causing her to struggle with injury and exhaustion early in the season. Nevertheless, Kanaeva won gold medals in all four apparatuses at the 2009 European Championships in May. Then, in July, she collected all nine gold medals at the
Universiade and the
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
. Her five gold medals in the
Universiade enabled Russia to come first in the overall team ranking. Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
openly complimented Kanaeva's contribution. She was also hailed as the "Heroine of the Games" by the official website of Universiade Belgrade 2009.
In September, Kanaeva competed at the World Championships in
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
, Japan. Kanaeva qualified for the individual all-around final by placing first in every single apparatus, each with a gold medal. Her results in individual apparatuses (along with those of her teammates
Olga Kapranova
Olga Sergeyevna Kapranova (russian: Ольга Серге́евна Капра́нова; born 6 December 1987) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-around champion, the 2007 World All-around bronze medal ...
,
Daria Kondakova
Daria Vladimirovna Kondakova (russian: Дарья Владимировна Кондакова; born 30 July 1991) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a three-time ( 2011, 2010, 2009) World all-around silver medalist, the ...
, and
Daria Dmitrieva
Darya Andreyevna Dmitriyeva ( rus, Дарья Андреевна Дмитриева, , ˈdarʲɪ̯ə ˈdmʲitrʲɪ(ɪ̯)ɪvə; born 22 June 1993) is a Russian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around silver medalist, the 2010 Worl ...
) helped win the team gold for Russia. In the individual all-around final, Kanaeva won her sixth gold medal by a margin of 0.600, beating by one the record set by Russian gymnast
Oxana Kostina
Oksana Alexandrovna Kostina (russian: Оксана Александровна Костина; 15 April 1972 – 11 February 1993) was a Soviet and Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She was the 1992 World All-around champion and 1992 Europ ...
in 1992 of most gold medals won in a single rhythmic gymnastics World Championship. President Medvedev again acknowledged Kanaeva's new record by sending her a telegram of congratulations.
2010 & 2011 seasons
![Son Yeon-Jae at LG WHISEN Rhythmic All Stars 2011 (48)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Son_Yeon-Jae_at_LG_WHISEN_Rhythmic_All_Stars_2011_%2848%29.jpg)
In 2010 Kanaeva had an undefeated all-around season winning the gold medals in all-around and event finals at the
Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies' ...
, she repeated as the
2010 European all-around champion ahead of teammate Daria Kondakova. At the
2010 World Championships, she won gold in the all-around, ball, hoop and silver in rope behind teammate Daria Kondakova.
Kanaeva started her 2011 season competing at the
2011 Moscow Grand Prix where she won gold in all-around and all event finals, she won silver in all-around at the Pesaro World Cup behind teammate Daria Kondakova nevertheless, she won all her other World Cup and Grand Prix series all-around competitions. She competed at the
2011 European Championships where she won gold in hoop, ball and a silver medal in ribbon behind Belarusian
Liubov Charkashyna
Liubov Viktorovna Charkashyna ( be, Любоў Віктараўна Чаркашына; russian: Любовь Викторовна Черкашина, born December 23, 1987) is a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 O ...
. In the
2011 World Championships, Kanaeva broke her own record by again winning 6 gold medals in a single World Championship, the all-around, event finals ( hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon ) and team event. At the
2011 Grand Prix Final in Brno, Kanaeva won gold in all-around and all event finals where she scored a perfect 30 in ribbon under the 30-point judging system. She finished her season winning the all-around at the 2011 Aeon Cup in Japan. She ranked 5th in the world ranking 2011 season, dropped form the 1st in 2010 season due to she didn't take part in many competition in the 2011 season. However, she ranked the 1st again in the 2012 season.
2012 Olympics season
![Evgenia Kanaeva Grand Prix 2012 in Austria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Evgenia_Kanaeva_Grand_Prix_2012_in_Austria.JPG)
Kanaeva started her season with new hoop, clubs and ball routines at the Moscow Grand Prix. She finished 2nd in the all-around at the 2012 Moscow Grand Prix behind teammate Daria Kondakova, but won gold medals in the ribbon, clubs and hoop finals ahead of Daria Dmitrieva and Daria Kondakova. She followed her win at the Grand Prix by winning the all-around at the International Thiais Tournament. She went on to compete on her first World Cup of the season at Pesaro and won the all-around title as well the clubs, ball and hoop finals. She withdrew from Penza World Cup citing illness. She returned to competition at the Sofia World Cup where she beat the defending champion Daria Kondakova and won the event finals in ball and hoop. She did not qualify for the ribbon finals because of the two per country rule, with Kondakova and Dmitrieva ahead of her in the ribbon qualifications. She was also the champion in all-around at the 2012
Corbeil-Essonnes Cup ahead of compatriots Daria Dmitrieva and
Alexandra Merkulova
Alexandra Sergeyevna Merkulova (russian: Алекса́ндра Серге́евна Мерку́лова; born 25 November 1995) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2010 Youth Olympic Games champion and the 2012 Europ ...
.
![Evgenia Kanaeva RUS Olympiasiegerin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Evgenia_Kanaeva_RUS_Olympiasiegerin.JPG)
At the 2012 European Championships, Kanaeva won her
third consecutive European All-around title and posted a score of 29.700 in her ball routine. In an interview after the event, she said: "This victory didn't come easy. In the future I have to put effort on executing elements stronger and more precisely. My coaches are satisfied, and it's very important. I don't live by victory but by what I do." Kanaeva then competed at the Grand Prix Vorarlberg in Austria, where she won gold medals in the all-around and all the apparatus finals. At the World Cup series in Minsk, Kanaeva won the gold medal in All-around ahead of teammate Daria Dmitrieva (silver) and Belarusian
Liubov Charkashyna
Liubov Viktorovna Charkashyna ( be, Любоў Віктараўна Чаркашына; russian: Любовь Викторовна Черкашина, born December 23, 1987) is a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 O ...
(bronze). Kanaeva also won all the gold medals (Ball, Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon) at the event finals.
In the qualifications at the
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Kanaeva ranked 2nd on the first day, behind teammate Daria Dmitrieva, after an unusual errant of fumbling her hoop routine. On the second day, she moved ahead of Dmitrieva with a total score of 116.000 points.
During the finals, Kanayeva completed all four apparatus without any major mistakes. She was the only gymnast to score more than 29 points in the ball, hoop and clubs, falling short of that mark only with the ribbon that scored 28.900. Kanaeva finished with a total of 116.900 points, ahead of teammate Daria Dmitrieva who scored a total of 114.500 points.
Post-Olympics
Kanaeva did not continue training after the Olympics. In November 2012, Irina Viner commented about the possibility of Kanaeva's return to the national team, saying "We never discuss the timing of return with such great gymnasts...Any time when she recovers and decides to come back, it will be a great joy for us."
At a conference of the
Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation
The Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (russian: Всероссийская федерация художественной гимнастики, lit=All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics) is the governing body of rhythmic gymnastics i ...
(RRGF) on 4 December 2012 in Novogorsk, Kanaeva announced the end of her competitive career, saying "Most probably, I have finished my career. There was a choice between labor in training and switching to another activity."
At the same conference, it was announced that Kanaeva had been elected a vice-president of the RRGF, along with 2004 Olympic silver medalist Irina Tchachina. Kanaeva had expressed a desire to remain in rhythmic gymnastics indefinitely as a coach or in an administrative position. In June 2009, Shtelbaums stated that Kanaeva had the quality to become a good coach because of her attentiveness in instructing young rhythmic gymnasts.
Kanaeva was ranked 1st as the most Successful Female Athlete of Russia in 2012 beating
Aliya Mustafina
Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (russian: Алия Фархатовна Мустафина) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 45 Olympic, World and European Championship medals, she is considered one of the most success ...
(2nd) and
Maria Sharapova (3rd) for the top ranking. The overall rating was formed in the basis of the greatest number of votes of experts. Also, the maximum figures for the number of references in the paper and press the number of requests in the Russian segment of the Internet for a year.
In September 2013, Kanaeva was named "Woman of the year" by
GQ Russia magazine. The award ceremony was held in
Mayakovsky Theatre
Mayakovsky Theater (russian: Театр Маяковского; Московский академический театр имени Вл. Маяковского) is a theater in Moscow, Russia, founded in 1920, first as ''Terevsat'' (Theater of R ...
in Moscow.
On 15 February 2015, a star-studded gala was held in Russia for the 80th founding anniversary of
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...
. The venue was held in the historical
Mariinsky Theatre in
St. Petersburg. Among those who performed at the gala were Russian former Olympic champions, Olympic medalists and World champions including: Kanaeva,
Yulia Barsukova, Irina Tchachina, Daria Dmitrieva, and
Yana Batyrshina
Yanina "Yana" Farkhadovna Batyrshina (russian: Янина "Яна" Фархадовна Батыршина; born 7 October 1979) is a former individual rhythmic gymnast who competed for Russia. She is the 1996 Olympics All-around silver medalis ...
.
Early and personal life
Evgeniya Kanaeva was born on 2 April 1990 in the Russian city of
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
(which is also the hometown of former World Champion and the first European Champion
Galina Shugurova
Galima Akhmetkareevna Shugurova (russian: Галима Ахметкареевна Шугурова; Tatar: Галима Әхмәтгәрәй кызы Шөгурова; born 8 November 1953 in Omsk) is a retired rhythmic gymnast who competed for ...
and 2004 Olympic Silver medalist Irina Tchachina). Her mother, Svetlana, was also a
rhythmic gymnast
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...
and was granted the title of Master of Sports. Her father, Oleg Kanaev, was a coach and a former
Greco-Roman wrestler
Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...
. She has an elder brother named Egor who is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.
Kanaeva is enrolled at the Siberian State University of Physical Training and Sports. Kanaeva has expressed an interest in learning to draw and play piano after her sporting career.
She is also keen on studying foreign languages and computer-related subjects. According to her mother, Kanaeva saves her prize money for future education.
Kanaeva has stated that if she were not a gymnast, she would take up dance professionally.
On 8 June 2013, Kanaeva married ice hockey player
Igor Musatov who plays for the
HC Slovan Bratislava
Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava ( sk, Hokejový klub Slovan Bratislava) is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, i ...
of the
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In August, Irina Viner announced Kanaeva was pregnant. However, the pair have since divorced in 2018 due to Igor’s alcoholic behavior.
On 8 October 2013, Kanaeva's father Oleg died of a heart attack on a plane during a flight from Turkey to Moscow while returning from the World Cup Championships of Greco-Roman wrestling.
On 19 March 2014, Kanaeva gave birth to the couple's first child, a baby boy named Vladimir.
As of February 2020, Kanaeva has been working as a coach for Junior Russian Gymnasts. She now coaches Sofya Agafonova, a junior member of the Russian National Team, and also, together with
Vera Shtelbaums
Vera Shtelbaums (russian: Вера Штельбаумс; born April 24, 1937 in Omsk, Russia) is a Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach.
Coaching career
Following her graduation from the Omsk Institute of Physical Education in 1959, Shtelbaums w ...
to
Anastasia Simakova
Anastasia Gennadyevna Simakova (russian: Анастасия Геннадьевна Симакова, born 9 September 2004 in Omsk, Russia) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2019 world junior rope and team all-around champion. ...
, 2019 junior world champion in rope and team
.
Skills and influence on rhythmic gymnastics
Pivot:
Kanaeva is famous for performing the triple ring pirouette and ring pivot spiral (also known as "The Kanaeva Pivot") which she also popularized and frequently used. Rhythmic gymnasts nowadays incorporate ring pivots as an element executed in routines. She has executed the quadruple ring turn in competitions and has completed the quadruple queen pivot, which is two turns in ring position connected to two turns in back split leg position that she performed from 2006 to 2009 season.
Flexibility:
Another signature move by Kanaeva is the switch turn, with the ball on her back while rotating 360 degrees on the floor. She has used her legs to carry the apparatus while performing Switch Turn in Hoop and Clubs, which requires a lot of back flexibility.
Leap and balances:
In balance, she has executed the penchee 720-degree turn connecting to a ring knot position in a 360-degree turn. In leaps, she has performed a switch leap with changing legs (almost similar to a Butterfly twist leap) in her 2012 Hoop routine, but the first rhythmic gymnast to perform this was another Russian, Irina Tchachina, who was her coach's previous gymnast. She also performed the triple Kostina (a series of three leaps with exchange of leg) in her rope routine in 2010, but she took it off after changing to her 2nd rope routine, which she performed at the 2010 World Championships.
Mastery:
Kanaeva has performed skills like the backscale pivot starting on the floor; then catching the apparatus thrown in the air, as well as a chaine turn while in the last rotation, catching the ball on her back.
Kanaeva is one of the few gymnasts who possesses equal mastery, coordination, and control in pivots, flexibility elements, leaps, and balances. A gymnast known for her consistency, elegant routines and high level of technical difficulty and artistry, she had no weak events in any of the apparatus (hoop, ball, rope, clubs and ribbon).
Endorsements
Kanaeva became the ambassador for luxury watches house
Longines in 2009–2012. She was one of the chosen recipient of the
Visa Sponsorship for the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Kanaeva was also one of the nine elite athletes chosen to be the ambassador for
Pantene for the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. She has appeared in a commercial video for Pantene Pro-V.
Kanaeva was one of the 50 elite athletes of Russia chosen as an honorary ambassador for the
2013 Summer Universiade
The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (russian: XXVII Летняя Универсиада), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 un ...
in
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
.
Records
![Yevgeniya Kanayeva 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Yevgeniya_Kanayeva_2012.jpg)
Grand-Slam
# Kanaeva is only one of the three rhythmic gymnasts to win all Grand-Slam titles after
Alina Kabaeva and Ekaterina Serebrianskaya (
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
,
World Championships,
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
,
World Cup Final and
Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies' ...
).
24th RG European Championships Torino, Italy 2008
# Kanaeva became the first RG to score above 19 points ( 19.050 in Clubs ) under the 20-point judging system.
29th RG World Championships Mie, Japan 2009
# Kanaeva set a record in the 29th RG World Championships 2009 in Mie by winning 6 gold medals. She is the first gymnast in RG history to achieve such results in one single World Championship.
31st World Championship Montpellier, France 2011
# She is the only gymnast in the entire rhythmic gymnastics history who has won the most World Championships titles; 17 gold medals.
# She equals the record of
Maria Petrova, who won 3 world titles for three consecutive years (1993/1994/1995 tied with
Ekaterina Serebrianskaya),
Maria Gigova (1969/1971 tied with
Galina Shugurova
Galima Akhmetkareevna Shugurova (russian: Галима Ахметкареевна Шугурова; Tatar: Галима Әхмәтгәрәй кызы Шөгурова; born 8 November 1953 in Omsk) is a retired rhythmic gymnast who competed for ...
/1973) and Yana Kudryavtseva (2013/2014/2015).
# She is the first gymnast to have won 3 consecutive world titles without sharing the triumph with other gymnasts. Petrova shared the 1995 All-around world title with Ekaterina Serebrianskaya and Gigova shared the 1971 All-around world title with
Galina Shugurova
Galima Akhmetkareevna Shugurova (russian: Галима Ахметкареевна Шугурова; Tatar: Галима Әхмәтгәрәй кызы Шөгурова; born 8 November 1953 in Omsk) is a retired rhythmic gymnast who competed for ...
. In 2015, this record was then equaled by Yana Kudryavtseva of the Russian Federation which she achieved at the
2015 World Championships.
# It is the second time when Kanaeva won 6 gold medals out of 6. She equals her own record.
# She has won gold medals in all of the apparatus ( 5 apparatus: rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon), a record only tied by
Bianka Panova and Ekaterina Serebrianskaya.
# She levels with Maria Petrova in hoop: both have won 3 gold medals in the World Championships.
# She levels with Ekaterina Serebrianskaya and
Lilia Ignatova
Lilia Ignatova ( bg, Лилия Павлова Игнатова; born 17 May 1965) is a Bulgarian modern rhythmic gymnast. She was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria who dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the 1980s.
Personal life
Ignatova was ...
in ball: all of them have won 3 gold medals in the World Championships.
Grand Prix Final Brno, Czech 2011
# On 16 October 2011 Evgeniya Kanaeva scored 30, she got perfect 10 in difficulty, artistry and execution at the ribbon final, Grand Prix Final Brno 2011, Czech. She is the first gymnast in the history of rhythmic gymnastic to achieve full mark under 30 points judging system.
Grand Prix Vorarlberg, Austria 2012
# On 30 June 2012, Evgeniya Kanaeva again scored a perfect 30 under the 30-point judging system at the hoop final, making history again as the only gymnast to achieve full mark in a scoring system twice.
Olympic Games
# Kanaeva is the only rhythmic gymnast to win 2 gold medals (also consecutively) in an individual all around (
2008 Beijing
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
and
2012 London).
# On her second Olympics, she became the oldest Rhythmic Gymnast to win a gold medal at 22 years, 4 months and 7 days (Record previously held by Yulia Barsukova of the Russian Federation).
Routine music information
Competitive highlights
''(Team competitions in seniors are held only at the World Championships, Europeans and other Continental Games.)''
Detailed Olympic results
References
External links
*
Evgenia Kanaeva Profile
Zhenya Kanaeva Gymnasium (Evgenia Kanaeva unofficial fans website)*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanayeva, Yevgeniya
1990 births
Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Living people
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Russia
Olympic gymnasts of Russia
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Russian rhythmic gymnasts
Russian gymnastics coaches
Sportspeople from Omsk
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
World Games gold medalists
Universiade medalists in gymnastics
Competitors at the 2009 World Games
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class
Universiade gold medalists for Russia
Universiade silver medalists for Russia
Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade
21st-century Russian women