Irina Chashchina is often called the "Snow Queen" of rhythmic gymnastics because she never smiles in the frame. Nevertheless, the serious and focused girl has a lot of fans and many sports awards.
Childhood, education and the formation of a gymnast
Irina Chashchina was born in 1982 in Omsk. Her mother worked at a music school, her mother's grandparents helped to raise the girl. Nothing is known about the father.
Irina's relatives wanted her to grow up athletic, so they gave her to swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Irina herself did not think about any sports career, she was a chubby girl and loved literature. By the way, Irina Chashchina graduated from secondary school with honors.
But the grandfather was adamant. He decided at all costs to make a champion out of his granddaughter, and she obeyed. First, Irina became the best in her group of thirty people, then she moved on to another coach and began to lead there, and gradually reached the sports peaks.
Career
Journalists sometimes reproached Irina for not wanting to become the first, often being content with the second position. In part, these accusations are justified, but on the other hand, Irina had to compete with Alina Kabaeva herself, and this is a difficult opponent. Although Irina herself admits that she is not very ambitious, and the main thing for her is to do her job well.
Be that as it may, the athlete's list of awards is impressive. But the career of a gymnast was not always cloudless. A doping scandal intervened in her life, as a result of which the athlete lost some of the awards and was disqualified for two years.
Personal life
Many men liked the "Snow Queen" of rhythmic gymnastics, but she herself was in no hurry to start a serious relationship. But the imperious man decided everything for her again.
At one of the sports competitions, Irina met Yevgeny Arkhipov, a businessman and head of the Kayaking and Canoeing Federation. The man was very persistent in his courtship, but Irina rejected his marriage proposal three times. This did not stop the businessman in love, and in the end the gymnast gave up.
It should be noted that Irina Chashchina's husband is seventeen years older than her and is a close friend of Dmitry Medvedev, who was then President of Russia.
According to official data, the couple has no children.
Creation
After the end of her sports career, Irina took up creativity. She wrote a book and developed her own fitness program. The athlete also participated in many television shows and even starred in films.
Irina Chashchina opened her rhythmic gymnastics school in Barnaul. She is also vice-president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.
