Yulia Vladimirovna Barsukova (russian: Ю́лия Влади́мировна Барсуко́ва, born 31 December 1978) is a Russian retired 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 coord ...
. She is the
2000 Olympic champion in the All-Around, the
2000 Grand Prix Final All-around champion, the
1999 World All-around bronze medalist,
2000 European All-around bronze medalist and
1999 Grand Prix Final All-around bronze medalist.
Early life
Barsukova began
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 ...
at age five in the
Izmaylovo District of Moscow where she lived. When she was eight years old, she passed a sports club and saw girls practicing
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 ...
through the window. Her father soon enrolled her in the sport. After three years, she moved to
Tagansky District
Tagansky District (russian: Тага́нский райо́н) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia, located between the Moskva and Yauza Rivers near the mouth of the latter. Population:
The di ...
high school's rhythmic gymnastics department.
Competitive career
Barsukova was coached by Vera Silaeva until she was sixteen, when Silaeva took her student to Russia's head coach,
Irina Viner. Viner was unimpressed initially but accepted her at the urging of Russia's national team choreographer, Veronica Shatkova.
Barsukova began competing at international competitions following the coaching change. For six years she competed under the shadow of other Russian gymnasts,
Yanina Batyrchina
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 ...
,
Amina Zaripova
Amina Vasilovna Zaripova (russian: Амина Василовна Зарипова; tt-Cyrl, Әминә Васил кызы Зарипова, born 10 August 1976) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast who now works as an elite rhythmi ...
,
Natalia Lipkovskaya
Natalia Lipkovskaya (russian: Наталья Викторовна Липковская, born 26 April 1979) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 1997 World All-around silver medalist and the 1997 Grand Prix Final All-ar ...
and then
Alina Kabaeva
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 ...
. Barsukova considered quitting rhythmic gymnastics until Viner persuaded her to stay and be patient. She had her breakthrough in 1998. During an event dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Ballet Magazine, Barsukova performed along with the stars of the theater. She performed her "Dying Swan" ball routine and received the unofficial title of ''Miss Bolshoi Theater''.
2000 Olympics
Barsukova won many rhythmic gymnastics titles after her emergence in major competitions as a second member of the Russian team. She won gold in hoop at the 2000 World Cup Final in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
and then gold at the
2000 Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
after a hoop fumble by then-World champion,
Alina Kabaeva
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 was the 2000 European All-around bronze medalist and won the rope final at the 2000 European Championships (9.983). She was the oldest Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics—21 years, 8 months and 27 days—until fellow Russian
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold meda ...
won her second gold medal at
London 2012
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, th ...
being aged 22 years, 4 months and 7 days.
After the Olympics, Barsukova won the all-around title at the Grand Prix Final in Deventer where she also won gold in ball, rope and ribbon final. She retired from competition following the 2000 Aeon Cup. She has participated in
Russia's Channel One project "Stars on Ice".
On 15 February 2015, a star-studded gala was held in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
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
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
in
St. Petersburg. Among those who performed at the gala were Russian former Olympic champions, Olympic medalists and World champions including: Barsukova,
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold meda ...
,
Irina Tchachina
Irina Viktorovna Tchachina (also Chashchina or Tchashchina, russian: Ирина Викторовна Чащина; born 24 April 1982) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in all-around, a ...
,
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 ...
, and
Yana Batyrshina.
Personal life
Barsukova was married to Denis Samokhin, a Russian former
ice dancer
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...
, in 2008 they had a son, Nikita, but they eventually divorced. Barsukova has a son, Daniil, born in 2017.
Routine music information
Olympics Detail
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsukova, Yulia
1978 births
Living people
Russian rhythmic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic gymnasts of Russia
Olympic gold medalists for Russia
Gymnasts from Moscow
Russian women
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships