| Maria Butyrskaya |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT MARIA BUTYRSKAYA | |
| 1972 births | |
| figure skaters at the 1998 winter olympics | |
| figure skaters at the 2002 winter olympics | |
| living people | |
| olympic competitors for russia | |
| russian figure skaters | |
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Maria Viktorovna Butirskaya () is a Russian figure skater. She was born in Moscow , Russia , on June 28 , 1972 . FIGURE SKATING She won the women's singles title at the 1999 World Figure Skating Championships , in the process becoming the first Russian-born woman and the oldest woman to win the world title. She won Bronze Medal s at both the 1998 and 2000 World Figure Skating Championships. She finished in fourth place at the 1998 Winter Olympics and placed sixth at the 2002 Winter Olympics . Maria is a 6-time Russian national figure skating champion and a 3-time European figure skating champion. When she won the women's singles title at the 2002 European Championships, she became, at 29, the oldest woman to ever win a European title. Maria was known for her strong jumping ability and expressive choreography, but she often skated better in practice sessions than in competitive events, as she frequently succumbed to nervous tension when competing. She had been replaced from the Soviet Figure Skating Federation while a teen, and then proceeded to lose coach after coach while struggling to finance her skating during the tumultous years following the breakup of the Soviet Union . Her persistence paid off when she defeated the defending world champion Michelle Kwan at the 1999 World Figure Skating Championships. This made her the first Russian woman to ever win a world figure skating title. She was never able to win a second world title, however, nor an Olympic medal of any color. She ended her amateur career at the 2002 World Figure Skating Championships, withdrawing from the competition after skating poorly in the qualifying round. Maria's outstanding moves on the ice (when she was not overcome by nervous tension) included a textbook-perfect triple loop jump, a true triple lutz jump (not a 'flutz' jump), and a combination spin that involved locking her arms behind her back while rotating at a high speed. She often participated in choreographing her programs and in designing her figure skating costumes. LIFE Maria's car was blown up by the Russian mafia, in December of 1999. This event caused her emotional distress and likely caused her to lose the 1999 Russian championships. Maria has posed for the Russian Playboy Magazine in 1998. NAVIGATION EXTERNAL LINKS |
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