Great Rhythmic Gymnasts: Life after Sport

Have you ever thought about the life of famous and successful sportsmen after they finish their career?

Sport path of any human is not so long. And it ends anyway in spite of the awards quantity and fans love. As a rule rhythmic gymnasts’ career ends at the age of 22. Just one third of all the gymnasts usually train till this age, as the main part flunk out at the age of 16-17. Let’s look at the life of famous Russian rhythmic gymnasts after they retired the elite sport.

Yanina Batyrchina

Multiple World and Europe champion, silver Olympic medalist, owner of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland (II grade). Yanina left Russian Team in 1998, however, she didn’t say farewell to rhythmic gymnastics: at the age of 20 she was invited to be the head coach of Team Brazilia.

Since 2000 Yanina has been working on TV: she was the conductor of the youth programme, sport announcer. Now she works at the leading Russian TV channel. Thanks to Yanina’s extraordinary appearance, she often leads different award ceremonies.

Nowadays, besides the TV career, Yanina fulfills herself as a legate of anti-dote project “Legates of honest sport”.

Irina Chaschina

Multiple World and Europe champion, silver Olympic medalist. Irina retired in 2004 after Athens Olympiad.

Some time after the Olympiad, there was nothing heard about Irina Chaschina. Perhaps, she wanted to live far from the press and fans, just for herself and for family.

Having enjoyed the family hearth to the full she became a model for various magazines and appeared on some TV-shows. Irina took part in the project “Circus with the Stars”, where she won, and “Ice Dancing”.

In 2008 Irina was an official Russian representative at Beijing Olympiad, the same year she became a governmental employee, holding the office of sport and tourism in the Northern Moscow Area.

Since 2006 Irina works in sport clubs “MaxiSport”, here she’s an instructor of sport and dancing programs.

In 2009 Irina Chaschina played the leading role in the film “Path”.

Besides, the former rhythmic gymnast had a chance to write the book “Become yourself”, which became a good guide for everybody who wants their dreams come true in spite of the obstacles on the way to success.

Laysan Utiasheva

Multiple world champion, Europe champion 6 times, owner of the World Cup, winner of the youth games in the Baltics and CIS. Laysan had a complicated sport destiny. After she flew in 2001 (she really deserved all the highest results in all the disciplines then), the terrible ordeal waited for her – injury, dreadful diagnosis and no more sport. Who could tell about any sport prospects then, when the doctors said Laysan would hardly walk at all. However, she could not only walk again, but she returned to sport and deserved great respect among the sport colleagues.

In 2006 Laysan retired rhythmic gymnastics and became a TV conductor at one of the most famous Russian Channels.

In 2007 the former gymnast debuted with the ballet “Bolero” (“New Opera Theater”)

In 2008 Laysan published the book “Unbroken”, which she wrote by herself.

In 2009 she created her own dancing show “Infinity sign” and she heads it today.

Alina Kabaeva

Athens Olympic champion, bronze medalist at Sydney Olympiad, double absolute world champion, Europe absolute champion 5 times, Russia champion 6 times. Alina is the most highly awarded rhythmic gymnast nowadays. She retired in 2007 at the age of 24, which is an age record for a rhythmic gymnast.

After she end the career, she didn’t lost in the general people flow. She is still in the center of attention. Only now she has not only one important deal – sport – but several of them.

Since 2001, when Alina had to stop in sport, she began her political career: member of the famous party, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. Since 2007 Alina’s been a Russian Federation Duma deputy.

Alina Kabaeva opened her own charity fund, which works in several directions: sport development; provision of the necessary books for the libraries in the remote Russian areas; youth care; provision of the necessary equipment and computers for orphanages and youth centers.

Since 2009 she holds the rhythmic gymnastics children festival “Alina”, created with the goal to give little gymnasts the opportunity to demonstrate their talent in public. Besides, this festival is one of the ways to find some new talents.

Alina also had a chance to play in episode in famous Russian soap opera.

In 2010 she opened her own sport complex in Tatar Republic, Russia.

So gymnast’s life doesn’t stops after the retirement! Just continue to love gymnastics!

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