At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the whole world admired the girl with pigtails. That was the name of the young gymnast Olga Korbut, who impressed everyone with the performance of the most difficult elements. Four years later, a girl with ponytails came out on the ice. That was the name of 12-year-old Elena Vodorezova.
The leaders of the USSR Figure Skating Federation took the risk of sending a young student of Stanislav Zhuk to the European Championship in Geneva, which brought her 8th place. At that time, women's figure skating in the Soviet national team was considered a weak link, and this result was considered a success. Vodorezova was sent to the Olympics in Innsbruck. She took 12th place, and in the free program she became fifth, performing the most difficult cascades at that time. . The Japanese TV company even sent a film crew to Moscow. The plot about the future figure skating star was filmed not only at the rink, but also in a communal apartment. Upon learning of this, the Moscow authorities immediately allocated a separate family to the Vodorezovs.The fact that this is not a bike, but a real story, was told in the late 80s by German Vodorezov. We were sitting in the coaching room at the MEPhI sports complex, discussing the just finished match of the student basketball team he coached. The author of these notes refereeed that match. I was then on a business trip in Moscow and asked to be assigned to the most important game. I was immediately warned: «Do not try to make a mistake! Vodorezov will immediately remind you what kind of athlete he brought up.»German Vodorezov confirmed another fact from his daughter's biography, which many perceive as a bike. They didn’t want to take Elena to CSKA school. She was lucky that the boss who was responsible for the training of figure skaters studied at the same university with German Vodorezov. After the first successes, Elena was taken into his group by Stanislav Zhuk. Vodorezova herself did not want to go into it. At that time, Zhuk was training only greenhouses, and Elena suspected that a partner would be slipped on her too. .jpg» />
Although, having already completed her career and became a coach, she recalled Stanislav Alekseevich's training as the happiest time in her life. Many great Soviet figure skaters passed through the hands of Zhuk. He parted with someone, someone left him. Sometimes amicably, most often with a scandal. And only Vodorezova spent her entire career with Zhuk. And she did not betray him when she herself worked as a CSKA coach.
She was offered to sign a letter accusing the coach of harassing students. They promised a good position in the army club, they assured me that it was normal to sign a letter. Especially in the era of perestroika and glasnost. Especially when it already had the signatures of well-known athletes at that time, and now respected coaches in the world of figure skating. For Elena, betraying her mentor was unthinkable. And she still became the head of the CSKA figure skating school.Vodorezova's sports career is a story of struggle and overcoming. She was the first Soviet figure skater to win the World Championships, winning bronze in Helsinki in 1983. Three times climbed the podium of the European Championships. But at the age of 15, Elena was diagnosed with an incurable disease — polyarthritis. She had to take a break from competition for two years. Intensive treatment helped to stop the disease, but, alas, not to cure.
The swan song of Vodorezova was the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. Then the singles competed in triathlon, which began with compulsory figures. Elena performed two of the three best of all, but she was frankly condemned. All referees Vodorezova was in first or second place, and only the Belgian judge put her in 12th. He was then suspended for life from judging competitions, but the deed was done.
At 21, Vodorezova ended her career. As she herself admitted, she left because terrible fatigue had accumulated. It was she, and not incurable polyarthritis, who pushed me to switch to coaching. By this time, Elena had graduated from the institute, married the skater Sergei Buyanov and changed her last name. jpg» /The path of coach Buyanova was also not strewn with roses. In her native CSKA, where she came to work, she was first given an initial training group. Like any coach, she dreamed of finding a figure skater who could be brought to the Olympic podium. And such a girl was found. Her name was Adelina Sotnikova. For the first time becoming the champion of Russia (surprisingly, also at the age of 12), she admitted that she considers Elena Germanovna a second mother.In the Olympic Sochi, when everyone admired the girl in red Yulia Lipnitskaya, who made the most significant contribution to the team victory of the Russian team, Sotnikova, who did not get into the «golden» team, did what few believed in — she beat the invincible Yu-Na Kim. It was the rental of life. And in the zone of tears and kisses, seeing Adelina's grades, Coach Buyanova could not restrain her emotions. .jpg»/
She had many students who left a noticeable mark on the history of figure skating. It was in Buyanova's group that Elene Gedevanishvili and Denis Ten rose to the international level. Olga Markova and Elena Radionova, Maria Sotskova and Polina Tsurskaya, Maxim Kovtun and Artur Danielyan trained with her at different times. The «silver» of the European Championship 2020, won by Danielyan, has become Buyanova's last coaching achievement to date. Like any professional, her students have their ups and downs. Like the Zhuk, it happens that athletes leave her.
Only in the history of figure skating Elena Buyanova, or, as she is habitually called, Elena Vodorezova, will remain a girl with ponytails, the coach of an Olympic champion, a person incapable of betrayal.
On May 21, Elena Buyanova turns 60.