Irina Privalova - Soviet and Russian athlete, athlete. The 2000 Olympic champion became the champion of Russia, the USSR, Europe and the world many times. Honored Master of Sports of Russia was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Order of Honor.
The number of outstanding athletes in track and field is constantly growing. New champions appear every year. However, Irina Anatolyevna Privalova firmly occupies her place in the galaxy of outstanding masters.
The road to big sport
The biography of the future athlete began in 1968 in the village of Malakhovka near Moscow. The girl was born on November 22. Parents from childhood instilled in their child a love of sports. After getting acquainted with the method of sports education of the Nikitin family, father built a home corner for Irina, which became a favorite place for a novice athlete.
From the age of eight, the girl was taken to the skating rink. On skates, she behaved well, performed elements that were not easy for her age. At first she was taken to the theater on ice. However, due to the far from ideal shows, Ira's coach advised the student's parents to transfer their daughter to the speed skating section. As a result, the profile of Privalova's studies has completely changed.
Irina found herself in athletics by chance. In 1979, a running complex was built near the house of the athletes. One day she decided to take a closer look at him. The coach took the girl for one of the students. He instructed her to change clothes and start training. At the very first lesson, Privalova realized that she had found a calling. Throughout the year, she did not leave the skating section, continuing the track and field athletics. However, the preference was given to running.
In the shortest possible time, the standards of the master of sports at a distance of 100 meters, long jump were passed. The management noticed the gifted athlete.
Confession
In 1985 she was given a chance by being invited to the junior national team of the country. Four years later, Irina joined the adult team. In 1986 Privalova decided to get an education at the Moscow State University. She became a student at the prestigious journalism department. During her studies, the athlete regularly played for the national team of the university, reaching the level of an international master of sports.
Three years later, the student led most of the country's championships. She became the only light-skinned runner to outrun her dark-skinned rivals. Irina has had many tournaments in her career. In 1989 she became the third at the European Championship. In 1991, her piggy bank was "gold" for the sixty-meter and "silver" for the two-hundred-meter race at the world championship held in Spain. At the same time, Privalova became the second in the relay in Tokyo and received three top awards at the Eurocup.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics was a successful runner. She received "silver" for the relay, "bronze" for the 100-meter race. In the new season, the successes have become more impressive. The athlete has received eight awards at tournaments in Canada, Germany and Sweden.
In 1994, she completed the list of victories with three medals of the European Championship, the same number of awards from the world cup. Privalova was recognized as the best representative of athletics in Europe. In 1995 she won 4 medals, and in 1998 she received a full set of awards at the European Championship. Irina Anatolyevna has repeatedly become the record holder of Russia, Europe and the world.
New achievements
A sports career was not only made up of takeoffs. In 1997, during a competition in Paris, the athlete was seriously injured. After her, the athlete had to stop competing. She was on the verge of leaving the big sport. Then the star Marion Jones had already entered, and it was impossible to compete with her in an imperfect state.
For a long time, Irina left the sport. The situation was saved by the coach, who decided that it was too early to end his career. During the discussions, it was decided to change the distance. Due to age characteristics and health conditions, the performances were moved to 400 meters with obstacles.
The decision was taken with a grain of salt. The technique of the 31-year-old athlete was formed, the transition could harm her. There have never been such precedents in athletics. The correctness of the decision soon confirmed the reality. In Sydney, at the Olympic Games, Privalova was the best chosen discipline. The triumph was achieved by hard, long work.
The coach chose the distance based on simple conclusions. Irina's advantage was speed in running without hurdles. At the competition, there were no Australians who were direct competitors. As a result, the main task was to improve the technique of overcoming obstacles. Within one winter, it was perfected.
Such impressive success was ensured by excellent coordination of movements, understanding of the essence of the task, the solution of which required maximum efficiency. First of all, the athlete concentrated on new barriers for her exercises. She took part in the 400-meter hurdle sprint races, but such tournaments were not useful. The transition was not easy.
Family and sports
Privalova forever entered the history of world sports. The Russian took gold in Sydney at almost 32 years old. Together with her husband, she arrived in Australia a few months before the start of the competition to take part in two championships.
The time reserve ensured an excellent adaptation to the conditions. The treadmills turned out to be special. Artificial turf had unusual reactive properties during the movement of athletes. The athlete was able to fully adapt to them.
Despite the fact that the athlete ran such a distance for only the seventh time, she bypassed all competitors. After the triumph, Irina decided to increase the distance to 800 m, but the mentor dissuaded her. As a result, a new injury was received. After her, the runner finally moved to 800 m.
The athlete took place in her personal life. Her first choice was Evgeny Sergeev, a journalist, athlete-athlete. The family has a child, son Alexei. The marriage broke up.
Soon Privalova became the wife of her mentor Vladimir Parashchuk. The couple had two daughters, Maria and Catherine. Masha is involved in track and field athletics, took bronze in the triple jump at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Katya is studying at a choreographic school.
Privalova herself heads the Department of Physical Education at Moscow State University. The athlete loves simple recreation, fishing, reading books on astronomy.
