“Man of Iron Will” Vorobyova, world champion in figure skating, died

The press service of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) reported that the famous Soviet skater Irina Vorobyeva died on April 12 at the age of 63. At the moment there is no reliable information about the causes of death of the athlete, but his daughter Alice suggested that an accident occurred.

“He lived and died in the USA, he was 63 years old. The issue with the funeral is not resolved yet, I’ll have to get there.

Only this morning I found out what happened, according to preliminary data, the situation occurred due to an accident – my mother fell at home.

We are waiting for my mother to be buried here in Russia, next to her parents, ”says Alisa Vorobyeva. TASS.

Irina Vorobieva is a native of Leningrad, her parents were also fond of sports, although not professionally: her father was engaged in athletics, her mother was in basketball. But Irina began to engage in figure skating at the age of seven, and at the age of 13 she began to study under the guidance of the then novice trainer Tamara Moskvina. In 1971, Vorobyeva paired with Alexander Vlasov – it turned out that Vlasov became his second partner after Elena Komarova, with whom he did not work.

Together with Aries, the couple experimented, which later seemed hopeless, mastering complex elements and developing their own unique style. Thus, Vorobyeva and Vlasov were the first in the world to show a triple salchow twist at the competition. Their first international competition took place in 1974 – it was the World Championship in Munich. And although the duet went without a medal, there was an episode that showed that Vorobyeva is an athlete with an iron character.

Before the rental, he fell on the ice and performed with a bruise on his face, but that didn’t stop him from running the show. As it turned out later, almost his entire career consisted of overcoming, and only thanks to incredible willpower he achieved many feats.

In Vorobyova’s career there were only Olympic Games in Innsbruck-1976. There, the couple took fourth place – the Olympic podium remained unconquered for Irina. However, then it seemed that the victory was not far off: in 1977, Vorobyeva and Vlasov became silver medalists of the USSR, world and European championships. But the athlete’s injury prevented him from developing this feat, as he missed almost the entire season.

As a result, Vlasov went to work for coach Alexei Mishin, and a year later he ended his career. Having recovered, Vorobyeva returned to the ice paired with former single skater Igor Lisovsky. However, the injuries did not go away: the athletes were preparing to compete at the 1979 World Championships, but Irina received a concussion during training. Despite this, their skating took place, the Soviet duo finished fourth and failed to qualify for the Lake Placid Olympics.

The successes of Vorobyeva and Lisovsky in the 1980/81 season, when they won both the World Championship and the European Championship, may seem even more surprising.

These medals turned out to be the pinnacle of Irina’s career. The following season, she and Lisovsky became bronze medalists of the Soviet and European championships, after which she left big figure skating and for the next few years performed in the All Stars ice ensemble of Tatyana Tarasova and Yuri Ovchinnikov.

In the early 90s, Irina, no longer a partner, moved to the United States with her husband, Igor, and for a long time coached in Colorado. There they had a daughter, Alice, who followed in her parents’ footsteps and started synchronized skating.

But even then, old injuries – and only Vorobyova suffered 11 concussions in her career – continued to haunt her.

He had several operations, one of which was carried out in Russia in 2010, which proved particularly difficult. An old knee injury got so bad that even after surgery, doctors feared he wouldn’t be able to walk. She was banned from training, and Irina returned to the United States even without funds for rehabilitation. Details of the last years of Vorobyova’s life are unknown, she did not lead a public life. But if the daughter’s words about the accident are true, it can be assumed that the injuries still fatally affected the fate of the talented athlete.

“Throughout her sports career, paired with her partners, Irina showed crazy results! He was madly dedicated, hardworking…

A man of iron will and strong character. He never succumbed to difficulties and knew how to come together at the right time and overcome everything! bright personality”,

– Tamara Moskvina remembers Vorobyova, whose words were quoted by the official website FFKKR.

Tatyana Tarasova also spoke about the death of Vorobyeva. The famous trainer stated that despite the injuries, the skater achieved an extraordinary success.

“It was one of the first couples of Tamara Moskvina. She was a very talented person, very talented. She’s had a lot of injuries, but she’s accomplished a lot in her career. Our condolences to his entire family, mother and daughter. He left too early, ”said Tarasova.