What was the reason for the early departure of the queen of ice dancing: The short and bright path of Lyudmila Pakhomova

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

33 years ago, on May 17, 1986, the legendary Soviet figure skater, coach, the first Olympic champion in ice dancing Lyudmila Pakhomova passed away. She was given only 39 years old, but during this time she managed to achieve a lot. They said that together with her partner, Alexander Gorshkov, they changed the style of ice dancing, and their tango "Kumparsita" made the whole world applaud. Why the athlete full of strength and energy did not live up to her 40th birthday - further in the review.

Her father, Hero of the Soviet Union, Aviation Colonel Alexei Pakhomov, dreamed that Lyudmila would become a parachutist, but as a child she chose a different path. At the age of 7, the girl began to practice figure skating at the skating rink at the Palace of Pioneers. At first, no one bet on the young figure skater - the coaches considered her hopeless. Her friend Tatiana Tarasova said: "".

Pakhomova tried herself in pair and single skating, but real success came to her when she took up ice dancing, paired with CSKA coach Viktor Ryzhkin, although their tandem was called disharmonious. Nevertheless, Pakhomova managed to become the champion of the Union and a participant in the European and World Championships. When she first met Alexander Gorshkov, he worked in tandem with another partner. But Pakhomova herself suggested that he create a new tandem. The prospect of skating with the champion was tempting, and Gorshkov agreed. Despite the fact that at that time the athlete was not listed in any of the clubs and was left without a coach, it was after this that she, by her own admission, "grew wings."

Many believed that Lyudmila Pakhomova was always the leader in their pair. Gorshkov himself did not deny this: "". Pakhomova objected: "".

Soon, Pakhomova and Gorshkov became not only a sports, but also a family tandem. True, Lyudmila's mother had to deal with household chores - the spouses constantly disappeared in training and tournaments. The athlete once admitted that she first cooked lunch on her own only at the age of 30, and even then only after she persuaded her mother to go to the dacha to rest - she was worried that the young would die of hunger without her and left her daughter detailed instructions on how to cook dinner.

In those days, foreign dance duets were confidently leading on the "big ice", but in 1969 Pakhomova and Gorshkov won silver at the World Championships, and a year later they became the first Soviet figure skaters to win world and European championships. In 1976, they received the first gold medal in the history of the Olympic Games in ice dancing - then they said that it was largely thanks to Soviet figure skaters that this sport was included in the Olympic program.

After that, everyone abroad was forced to admit that Soviet athletes had become the trendsetters in sports dancing. They were called the founders of a new style - in contrast to strict academic dances to classical music, the skaters offered a light, lively, emotional dance. In the year of the Olympics, foreign media wrote: "".

At the end of her sports career, Lyudmila Pakhomova was going to finally devote herself to her family, but her plans were not destined to come true. She confessed: "".

In 1977 g.the skater had a daughter, Julia, but all the worries about her upbringing fell on the shoulders of her grandmother, and Pakhomova devoted all her time to coaching. Among her pupils were winners of various tournaments Elena Batanova, Alexey Soloviev, Natalya Annenko, Genrikh Sretensky, Tatyana Gladkova, Igor Shpilband. Since 1978, the athlete has worked as a coach of the USSR national team.

In 1979, Pakhomova shocked her relatives by admitting that during a medical examination she was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system. If not for her obsession with coaching and a more attentive attitude to her own health, perhaps Pakhomova would have had chances to overcome the disease. But she was always incredibly demanding of herself in her work and did not give herself indulgences even during an illness that she stubbornly refused to admit. This went on for 7 years. In the intervals between courses of treatment, Lyudmila escaped from the hospital ward and again went out on the ice. Until the very last days, the athlete continued to work. Even in the last 6 months of her life, when she was under an IV and could not walk, she gave out assignments in writing to students. In addition, she managed to write an autobiographical book "Monologue after the applause."

May 17, 1986 one of the most outstanding athletes of the twentieth century. was gone. Farewell to her took place in CSKA, and the line of those wishing to say goodbye to her lined up from the metro station "Airport". After the death of Pakhomova, daughter Julia lived with her grandmother, who did not allow her to see her father, since she could not forgive him for his second marriage with a translator. Only in 1993, when her grandmother passed away, Julia moved to her father. Now she bears a double surname - Pakhomova-Gorshkova, she lived in France for 12 years, and then returned to Russia.

They said that there were two prima figures in figure skating in the USSR: Pakhomova was called the queen of ice dancing, and her colleague was called the queen of pair skating: Moving to the USA and the return of Irina Rodnina.