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Yulia Lipnitskaya stunned her fans with the news of her retirement at the tender age of 19. Apparently, she had been struggling with injuries and anorexia. The Russian professional figure skater won an Olympic gold at 15, thus becoming the youngest Russian gold medalist in history.
Russian powerlifter Nataliya Kuznetsova was introduced to bodybuilding at 14, when she had started visiting the gym on the persistence of her father, who wished to boost her self-confidence. The world bench press, armlifting, and deadlift title holder is openly bisexual but also flaunts her love for her husband
Alina Zagitova is a Russian figure skater who has won one gold medal each in Olympic Games, World Figure Skating Championships, European Figure Skating Championships, and Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final; she is the only female figure skater from Russia to have achieved this feat. At the 2019 Glamour Russia Awards, Alina Zagitova was named Sportswoman of the Year.
Russian tennis star Svetlana Kuznetsova is known for her two Grand Slam wins in both the singles and the doubles categories. She created history by becoming the first Russian to earn a US Open title. She has a star cyclist mother, Galina Tsareva, and an Olympic medalist brother, Nikolay Kuznetsov.
Evgenia Medvedeva is a Russian figure skater who has won two silver Olympic medals, two World Championship gold medals, and two European Championship gold medals. At the 2017 World Championships, Medvedeva became the first 16-year-old female skater after Michelle Kwan to win back-to-back world titles. Evgenia Medvedeva is also the first skater to achieve two Grand Slams in a row.
Alexandra Kosteniuk earned the grandmaster title at 20, thus becoming the 10th woman to achieve the feat. She has won several contests, such as the Russian and European women’s championship. She has also appeared in a film and promotes chess through streams and as a chess ambassador.
Daria Kasatkina is a Russian professional tennis player who has won four WTA Tour titles in singles and one title in doubles. The daughter of athletes, she started playing tennis when she was six. She pursued the sport professionally and excelled, making her top-ten debut in the WTA rankings in the 2018 season. She is openly bisexual.
Introduced to tennis at the tender age of 6, Ekaterina Makarova later became world no. 1 in doubles and no. 8 in singles. The four-time Grand Slam winner has also earned a gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Elena Vesnina. She is known for her signature left-handed slice serve.
Born into a well-known Russian tennis family, with a coach mother and a tennis-club director father, Dinara Safina was destined to take up the sport as a career option. She and her brother, former world no. 1 Marat Safin, made history by becoming the first brother-sister duo to top world tennis rankings.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Elena Vesnina has also earned two Olympic medals, which were, unfortunately lost in a theft in 2021. She has consistently been one of the top-ranked doubles players and went back to the tennis court at age 34 after a hiatus following her pregnancy.
Maria Kirilenko is a Russian former professional tennis player who won six WTA singles titles and 12 doubles titles. She was a semifinalist at the 2012 London Olympics, where she lost to Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka. She reached her career-high ranking of world No. 10 in June 2013. She is married to Alexei Stepanov and has two children.
Anastasia Potapova is a Russian tennis player. She started playing as a child and is a former junior No. 1. She emerged as the 2016 Wimbledon Championships girls' singles champion after defeating Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine in the final. She made her debut in a Grand Slam tournament in 2017. She played in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open.
Anastasiya Kuzmina is a Russian-born Slovak retired biathlete best known for winning three Olympic gold and three silver medals, representing Slovakia. She also won a gold medal at the 2019 World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. Anastasiya Kuzmina also represented Russia and won a gold medal each at the 2003 Youth World Championships and 2005 Junior World Championships.
Galina Chistyakova is a former athlete best known for representing the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games, European Championships, World Indoor Championships, and European Indoor Championships, winning a bronze medal, one silver medal, one gold medal, and six medals, respectively. In 1988, Chistyakova reached 7.52 metres in the long jump, creating a new world record which she continues to hold.
Elena Dementieva is a Russian former tennis player who won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She has 16 WTA singles titles to her name and was also part of the Russian team that won the 2005 Fed Cup. She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 in April 2009.
Anna Kalinskaya is a Russian professional tennis player who won the girls' doubles event at the 2016 Australian Open, partnering with Slovak tennis player Tereza Mihalíková. She has won seven singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She played her first Grand Slam event as a professional player at the Australian Open in 2017.
Best known for her performances with partner Evgeni Platov, competitive ice dancer Oksana Grishuk began figure skating at age 4. She and Platov are three-time European champions and four-time world champions. The duo also has also won two Olympic golds. She is now a coach and has appeared on several TV shows.
