Start of career and first successes
The outstanding Russian figure skater was born in 1976 in St. Petersburg. Anton started skating at the age of four! He noticed them from his friend and asked his parents to buy him the same ones. Of course, the parents could not refuse and gave their son his first skates: the blade was attached to felt boots using leather straps. When Anton was skating in a flooded stadium, coach Kositsyna noticed him and immediately realized that the boy had real talent. This is how the boy Anton Sikharulidze got into big sport.
The biography of a figure skater is a path of success and victories. However, this is the merit of not only the athlete himself, but also his parents. They had to make a lot of efforts to force Anton to go to the end and not leave the sport.
At the age of fifteen, the skater was already making noticeable progress, and the coach decided that it was time to transfer him to pair skating. Anton Sikharulidze was paired with Marina Petrova. Since 1993, this couple has been part of the Russian national team. And the victories began. In 1994, Anton and Marina won their first gold at the World Junior Championships. Then in 1995 they repeated their success.
Figure skating
When Anton turned 15, the coach decided that it was time for him to move from singles to pairs skating. Sikharulidze’s first partner on the ice was Maria Petrova, with whom she took first place at the World Junior Championships for 2 years in a row (in 1994 and 1995).
Anton Sikharulidze and Maria Petrova
Anton Sikharulidze met another figure skater and future ice partner Elena Berezhnaya at the Russian Cup stage. Their collaboration was preceded by tragedy. In Latvia, where in the winter of 1995 the athlete, together with her partner Oleg Shlyakhov, began preparing for the European Championships, an accident occurred: Shlyakhov, while performing a spin, terribly injured the skater, driving the blade of his skate into her head.
Having learned about the incident, Sikharulidze took Berezhnaya to St. Petersburg, where she was treated by the best doctors. Anton supported the girl throughout the postoperative period. Hard training, excellent physical data, and temperament allowed this couple to achieve high results.
Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya
Already in the 1996/1997 season, the Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze couple took 3rd place at the Trophee Lalique competition, and then won a bronze medal at the European Championships. In 1998, the couple performed at the Olympics in Nagano. The athletes skated their program flawlessly, but were let down by a mistake at the end of the performance. They took only 2nd place, losing gold to their colleagues from Russia - Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev.
The “Charlie Chaplin” program entered into the history of figure skating, which Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya skated in the 2000/2001 season as a free program, and then as an exhibition number. In 2002, this bright couple represented Russia at the Olympic Games, winning the highest award.
Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya in the Charlie Chaplin program
At the Olympics in Salt Lake City, the situation remained tense until the very end. Before the performance, during a rehearsal on the ice, an athlete from a Canadian pair crashed into Anton Sikharulidze. The Russian barely avoided falling. He only managed to push his partner away and protect Elena from danger. A new injury after a difficult recovery could be fatal for Berezhnaya. This incident confused the public, but the skaters themselves remained composed.
Anton Sikharulidze on the pedestal in Salt Lake City
After a brilliant performance, a scandal occurred involving the Sikharulidze-Berezhnaya couple. The Russian couple seemed destined to win and receive maximum marks. However, the judges were in no hurry to make the Russians clear champions, and in the end everything was decided in their favor by one judge's vote.
The Canadian couple Sale-Pelletier challenged the silver, filed a protest and achieved the removal of the French referee, whose decision turned out to be decisive. Typically, judges' decisions are not changed after the fact, but in this case, Olympic officials decided to award gold medals to both couples. Anton and Elena had to go to the award ceremony for the second time.
Anton Sikharulidze and Evgeni Plushenko
Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya left professional sports immediately after the end of the Olympic Games and from 2002 to 2006 toured the USA with the show “Stars on Ice”. At the end of the contract they returned to St. Petersburg.
Elena the beautiful
The couple of Anton Sikharulidze and Marina Petrova was predicted to have a brilliant future.
Coach Tamara Moskvina has already seen them become Olympic champions. But fate decreed otherwise.
During one of the stages of the Russian Cup in St. Petersburg, figure skater Anton Sikharulidze met with another successful athlete Elena Berezhnaya. And fell in love. But Elena skated together with Oleg Shlyakhov. And Oleg did not like the friendship of his partner with Sikharulidze. Shlyakhov was generally a hot-tempered and irritable person, jealous of all the acquaintances of the modest and reserved Lena. Anton himself called Shlyakhov a monster, as he often shouted at Berezhnaya and even raised his hand to her if something didn’t work out on the ice.
Anton and Elena became friends, and the girl told Sikharulidze everything, especially about her problems with her partner. The skater persuaded Elena to leave Oleg and skate with him. Sikharulidze even told his coach that he would only pair up with Elena Berezhnaya and no one else. But Berezhnaya still succumbed to Shlyakhov’s persuasion and threats and went with him to Latvia, where she began to prepare for the European Championship.
The tragedy that changed everything
After Elena Berezhnaya left for Latvia, Anton Sikharulidze again began training with Marina Petrova.
The couple has already graduated from juniors. Now they were preparing for national championships and the European Championships. And everything was calm. But in 1996, a tragedy occurred in Latvia. During training, while performing a spin, Oleg Shlyakhov hit Elena Berezhnaya on the head with a skate blade. He pierced the figure skater's temporal bone. The membrane of the brain was injured and the speech nerve was affected. Berezhnaya was operated on twice, after which she had to learn again not only to walk, but also to speak. Doctors said that the girl would remain disabled for life. There was no talk of returning to the ice...
Having learned about what happened, Anton immediately rushed to Elena. He visited her every day, unlike Oleg Shlyakhov, the culprit of everything that happened. Anton left his partner Marina, left the sport and stayed with Elena. Even attempts by coach Moskvina to bring him back were unsuccessful. Sikharulidze said that he would return only with Berezhnaya.
The hard way to victory
To return Elena to a normal life, Anton Sikharulidze took her to St. Petersburg. There Berezhnaya was admitted to the best clinic and good doctors were found. Anton's parents accepted Elena as their own daughter and did not deny her anything. For eight months, Berezhnaya lived with Sikharulidze. And Elena began to return to life: she began to walk, talk and smile. And Anton dreamed of how they would win their Olympic medal. And he infected Berezhnaya with this idea. So, despite the doctors' predictions, they got on the ice.
At first they just skated like everyone else. Then we started trying the simplest elements. Inspired by their success, they moved on to support. And here Anton got scared: if Lena hit her head, it could cost her her life. But Berezhnaya was not afraid of anything and was serious.
And a miracle happened! A couple of months later they went to France for their first competition and won bronze. I wonder what the doctors thought at that moment when they said that Berezhnaya would never be able to ride again!
Hard training and unshakable faith in victory allowed the skaters to achieve the highest results. In 1998, the couple became the silver medalist of the Nagano Olympics. Anton and Elena were twice recognized as world champions - in 1998 - 99. In 2001 they came second. They also have two gold medals at the European Championships.
But the main victory was the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The entire American continent was rooting for the Canadian couple, but our Berezhnaya Elena and Anton Sikharulidze were the best. The photo of this couple on the podium, their gold medal and Olympic victory became a sensation and the pride of the entire country and will forever go down in history.
Anton Sikharulidze
- Anton, first of all, tell us who chose whom as a partner: you - Glucose or she - you?
“Everything worked out naturally in our project.”
For example, one girl appeared - an actress or singer, and a partner was selected for her. Then a boy actor appeared, and a partner was selected for him. There was no drawing of lots, no whims like “I’ll ride with this one, and I’ll ride with that one.” Everything worked out amicably. And we, professionals, to be honest, didn’t attach much importance to this. I think it’s not that important, because the main goal of the project is a holiday. - But only?
- Certainly.
Now that we all train so much and put in so much effort, everyone wants to go as far as possible in this TV project. At first I thought that Natasha (Glukoza’s real name - “NI”) and I would never succeed at all, because, unlike many participants in the project, she had never skated. And then there was such progress that I even wanted to win. But you have to not lose your head and realize that you are not fighting here for medals, but so that the viewer at the TV has a pleasant evening. -Aren’t you and Lena tired of figure skating at all, so you still have to bother with beginners?
- Yes, we seem to be tired already.
But when will you have the opportunity to ride with another partner! (Laughs.) Every year I tell myself that this season is the last. Sometimes you skate so hard that it makes you sick to look at your skates. In fact, my attitude towards figure skating now is very complicated. Sports as such have long been gone, there is show business, but it’s still not possible to escape from it. Now, if Lenka, say, comes and says: that’s it, I’m getting married, I’m done performing, I definitely won’t go on the ice with another partner. I’ll also start organizing my personal life. And now, with these endless traveling and traveling, trying to change something in this regard will only cause injury to yourself and your loved ones. – Is your own restaurant in St. Petersburg one of your attempts to end your old life?
- You can say so.
Although it would probably be more correct to call it simply an investment of money. The premises turned up, my partner and I bought it and at that time we couldn’t think of anything better than a restaurant. I took part in its design and worked with the menu, but now I pay less attention to the restaurant - there’s no time. Because of the performances, of course. And I want more. I can’t say that we are grabbing stars from the sky, it has only been open for a year, and this is not enough for a restaurant, but everything is fine with us there. – Why is it such a fashion among you, figure skaters, to either open restaurants or do your own show?
– Because to learn something else, it takes years, but time passes.
Today we stepped off the Olympic podium, and tomorrow we are not thinking about where to go on vacation, but what contract to sign, where to make money. Olympic gold medals should be much better financially rewarded. So that there is reliable support for starting a new life. But she's not there. This is where the restaurant show comes from. In the show, everything is familiar to you: you spin yourself, you know everyone, although this does not promise success and mountains of gold. It’s easier with a restaurant, because some of the responsibilities can be transferred to other people. But Lesha Yagudin is trying himself in a completely different business (according to rumors, he is trying to create a transport company). And by the way, I’m not sure that the restaurant is mine forever. When the opportunity arises, I’ll go study. I've been thinking about this more and more lately. – Have you ever thought about returning to amateur sports, where earnings are now much higher?
Look, Alina Kabaeva and Dima Sautin took a risk and have not made a mistake so far; they are again standing on the pedestal, receiving scholarships. And Tanya Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin said goodbye to us in Turin after their victory, and now they seem to be thinking about continuing their careers. – I believe that when an athlete who has achieved everything possible returns, this is wrong.
I feel sorry for such people. They simply don’t see or don’t want to see where they can develop further. We need to think about how our own children will be able to express themselves, and go into the future, and not into the past and present. And even with the rules that are in force now, Lenka and I definitely wouldn’t be able to ride. For example, I think that the new rules for figure skating are simply killing. No one is allowed to fully open up. Nobody makes story programs to make the viewer cry, laugh, be touched... A set of elements, that’s all. And it’s useless to blame figure skaters for this, because in order to comply with all the instructions, I don’t know what needs to be done. Can you explain to me how grades are given now? I myself don’t fully understand how they are displayed. Moreover, I am sure that the judges do not fully understand how this is done. Because many of them are far from figure skating at all. They have failed in their responsibilities before, and even more so now. – Thanks to the new system, at least in pair skating, the era of the Chinese is coming.
Do you agree? “These rules are perfect for them.”
No interesting programs, no deep images... But they can perform the most complex elements mechanically. – Even if you have to hit your head on the ice.
- Well, these are the costs of the profession.
Although such a fall during a free program, as the Chinese woman had in Turin after a four-revolution throw, is rarely seen. Even during training they don’t fall like that. But I just like the fact that the guys are trying to create such an element. Such things move pairs figure skating forward. And when I criticize the new rules, I mean those rotations, those lifts where there are so many position changes that no one really has time to do them. It turns out dirty and ugly, but according to the rules. But the Chinese woman was simply unlucky. If such a release is performed, it is beautiful, it will take your breath away! – Lena, we remember, had a terrible injury, after which she underwent craniotomy and had a long recovery... Now aren’t she worried about the consequences?
– In my opinion, everything passed without a trace for her, and, in my opinion, she does not remember this trauma.
As professionals, we both somehow calmed down a little, we stopped arguing during training, the nervous tension went away, all the sores began to be forgotten. I am a Samoyed by nature, I am never satisfied with myself, but I think that our career in professional sports (pah-pah-pah!) has turned out very well. – Why then, having good contracts in America, have you been performing so much in Russia lately?
– Because when you go there for six months, life here is completely destroyed.
I would be happy not to leave anywhere at all. The audience here is more interesting, I always say that in Russia you skate in front of your relatives, no matter what city you perform in. People perceive you this way. You are their relative. You glorified their flag, and they are proud of you and love you as before. But in America, the emotions in the hall are still not the same, even though you are selling out. Well, I performed, well, I made money. Then they robbed you of taxes, you got on a plane and flew away. And you were forgotten. We are lucky that now in Russia the earnings in exhibition tours are so decent that it makes no sense to leave anywhere. – By the way, about popular love and the flag.
Did that American Olympics remain a bitter memory for you? (At the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, as a result of a refereeing scandal, for the first time in history, two sets of gold medals were awarded - to Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya and to Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. - “NI.”) - No.
I'm even glad that it all worked out this way. This whole story added so much popularity to us and gave us such an impetus in later life that it is a sin to be offended. My opinion is that such things do not happen to ordinary people. Probably, Lena and I are extraordinary individuals, and our whole life with her on amateur ice was also extraordinary - it ended as unusually as it began. And what's wrong with that? Now I definitely don’t have any negative emotions, especially since so many wonderful things happened later. We don’t look back at that Olympics, it did its job, it taught us a lot, it helped us. – But who do you consider to be the real Olympic champions – yourself or the Canadians too?
– I never asked myself this question.
But if you remember how it all happened, the last years before the Games, I have the right to consider us Olympic champions. I don’t even want to touch Canadians, because each of us has our own views, our own ambitions. I just judge by the effort we put into preparing for Salt Lake City, by the skating we demonstrated. I have the right to think so. Moreover, we were also the first to receive a medal, and the fact that there was a second award, a second set of awards, was a coincidence of circumstances, fate. But, I repeat, I am not offended by fate. – A new season begins in figure skating.
Very difficult for us. Should we expect medals from pair skating? – The situation in Russian pair skating today is very deplorable. I personally don’t see any development in it yet. I don’t remember anyone touching a nerve at the junior level. And after Totmyanina and Marinin, I don’t see anyone playing as an adult either. Now our adult pairs look even worse than the junior pairs of the generation in which we skated. The worst thing is that there are no individuals. One big mess of riders.
After the Olympics
In 2002, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze moved from amateurs to professionals, where they performed until 2006. And on this positive note, the couple decided to leave the sport.
Then Anton Sikharulidze decided to start a political career and joined the United Russia party. And a year later he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the city of St. Petersburg.
However, the famous figure skater did not leave the ice even after completing his professional career. He appeared on Channel One in the project “Stars on Ice,” where singer Natalya Ionova (Gluck’OZA) became his partner. And in “Ice Age” he skated with ballerina Anastasia Volochkova.
Political Views
Anton took part in a television program with famous politicians. And he really liked it. At that moment, Sikharulidze realized what interested him most. In 2006, Anton Sikharulidze became a member of the United Russia party, and in 2007 he became a deputy of the State Duma and head of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.
Sikharulidze was always interested in public life, followed events in the country and the world, and constantly communicated with people who made politics their profession. As a result, it got to the point that he stopped reading fiction and switched to popular science literature on government, political science, psychology, and history.
Personal life
To the disappointment of fans, Lena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze did not become a couple. After leaving the sport, Elena married figure skater Stephen Cousins from England, with whom she gave birth to a son and a daughter. But they remained best friends with their ex-partner. The figure skater is always aware of what Anton Sikharulidze is doing, who he is dating, and he, accordingly, knows everything about her. Anton was the guest of honor at the wedding of Berezhnaya and Cousins. He is also the godfather of her first-born Tristan.
Anton married the daughter of a Russian billionaire, Yana Lebedeva, in the fall of 2011. But the couple lived together for only two years.
And in the spring of this year, Sikharulidze became a father. He had a son, George. True, nothing is known about the boy’s mother, except that she is not from show business and her name is Victoria.
Personal life of an athlete
Despite many rumors, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were connected by a tender friendship and professional sports. Once he had a romantic relationship with today’s popular singer Zara, young gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva. However, he first got married only in 2011. His chosen one at that time was the daughter of billionaire Leonid Lebedev, Yana. The young people did not live long: in 2013 the couple broke up. A year later, the skater became a father for the first time.
The boutique manager Victoria Shamanskaya became the mother of his son.
This year the couple had another son. Whether Anton and Vika’s relationship has been legalized is still unknown to the press.
