recalls the dramatic stories of figure skaters faced with serious illnesses. Surgeries, amputations, cancer threats and a happy recovery are in this material.
Maya Shibutani is an American figure skater, bronze medalist of the 2018 Olympics in ice dancing. She performed in pairs with her brother Alex. Almost a year after the Games, Maya became seriously ill. Doctors initially diagnosed her with a stomach infection. The ex-skater was rapidly losing strength and weight. Repeated examination showed a tumor in one of the kidneys. An operation to remove it was inevitable.
Histology confirmed that the tumor was renal cell carcinoma, a form of cancer. Maya was lucky that the problem was detected at an early stage and eliminated before it caused irreparable harm to her health.
Now Shibutani leads a normal life and feels well. At the same time, Maya decided not to return to the sport. The illness has nothing to do with the decision. Shibutani and his brother decided that they had achieved almost everything they could have dreamed of at the beginning of their careers.
Mikhail Kolyada's friend, figure skater Ivan Samodelkin, was not a very successful singles skater and even tried his hand at pairs a little. But at some point he left the sport for the St. Petersburg ice ballet. Ivan performed successfully for several years until an accident occurred in 2018.
Ivan used a cultivator to plow the land at his dacha during the May holidays. Native area, commonplace, familiar technique. At one point something went wrong. The walk-behind tractor jammed and did not stop in time. Samodelkin did not have time to dodge and got his foot right into the blades. Two arteries were broken and two liters of blood were lost. Gangrene developed rapidly and forced amputation. To save his life, the skater had to sacrifice his leg.
At the age of 23, Ivan started all over again. Along with his leg, he lost his usual income and his favorite business. Even the most ordinary things — heating soup in the microwave, walking from the car to the store, walking the dog — were very difficult for him.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that a week before the tragedy, Samodelkin married his beloved girl, Ksenia. They were and dreamed about what their tomorrow would be like, planned tours with the ice ballet, wanted to spend every free minute with each other.
After the amputation, Ksenia also left ballet. She was unable to perform, knowing that her husband would never be able to go on the ice again.
Ivan did not give up playing sports — he tried himself in para-cheerleading, para-rowing, and wheelchair basketball. Now Samodelkin works as a fitness trainer. A few years ago, Ivan and Ksenia had a daughter.
Last season, Canadian figure skater Piper Gilles, who has been competing in ice dancing with Paul Poirier for many years, claimed gold at the World Championships. After a meteoric start in the fall of 2022, the pair suddenly withdrew from the Canadian Championships. Gilles, shortly before the tournament, underwent surgery to remove an ovary due to the risk of cancer.
Even before the start of the season, Piper was bothered by abdominal pain, fatigue and dizziness. She endured, like all athletes — she intended to see the season through to the end in order to rise to a new level for herself.
Plans had to be changed due to deterioration in health and the inability to tolerate pain. The figure skater was diagnosed with a tumor in her abdomen. Only surgery could reveal the presence or absence of cancer. Gilles had to accept the outcome. Her mother died earlier from the same disease. The hereditary factor made the skater worry even more.
On her birthday, Piper learned that the excised tumor was malignant. Now she faces long-term monitoring by doctors and constant examinations. And yet the main problems seem to be behind us. Gilles is feeling well now. In addition, she managed to recover and compete at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, where the Canadians took third place. Given the circumstances, such bronze is more valuable to Piper than gold.
By an evil irony of fate, that season Gilles/Poirier performed with the Evita program. It is based on a musical about the Argentine actress, ex-first lady and activist, who died of cancer in the mid-20th century.
Tatyana Totmyanina is a steadfast tin soldier. Over the course of her career, in addition to the usual sprains and bruises for a figure skater, she suffered several concussions and a severe head injury after a terrible fall from a support in 2004. Having recovered morally and physically in less than a year, Tatyana returned to the ice and soon became an Olympic champion paired with Maxim Marinin.
In 2017, during a routine examination of Totmyanina, doctors noticed tumors in the gall bladder. She was asked to monitor the dynamics to prevent a dangerous outcome. Two years later, there were more tumors. Totmyanina was getting worse and worse. The probability of cancer was estimated as 50/50, but an accurate diagnosis could only be made after removal of the gallbladder. The operation was inevitable.
In 2019, Tatyana was operated on in Moscow. Specialists conducted a follow-up study of the affected tissue. The study confirmed that the tumor was benign.
The story of Olympic champion Roman Kostomarov became an example of a unique will to live. Such a drama with a happy ending is worthy of film adaptation. Kostomarov miraculously survived pneumonia and sepsis with dire consequences. He also suffered several amputations. The world watches his struggle with death and restoration. Now Roman wants to return to normal life. In the “Secret to a Million” program, the Olympic champion spoke for the first time about how his illness began.
“I go to the bathhouse 100 times a year, this is the norm for an athlete. I took a steam bath, climbed into an ice hole, took a steam bath, climbed into an ice hole. I called a taxi and went home. Probably, my last dive had already somehow weakened my immunity. When I got into a taxi and went home, I started coughing non-stop. The cough was already coming out of a pipe, probably it really was some kind of pneumonia,» Kostomarov said.
In addition, the Olympic champion said important words explaining his inner strength and why and for whom he wants to return to normal life.
“»I have lost everything you need for life. It completely changes your head. The hospital, comas, completely unsettle you. Bedsores appear. You lose a lot of weight. You cannot lift your head from the pillow, raise your arm. chopped off leg… But you know that children are waiting for you at home. And I don’t want to come there in a wheelchair. I immediately said that I was going home only with prosthetics. I don’t want the children to see me weak. Yes, I’m disabled. But I want to come home on my feet,” said Kostomarov.