Tall, stately, bright, outstanding athlete, Olympic champion, queen of speed skating, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Vice President of the Russian Speed Skating Federation and mother of two children. Cheerful, kind, sympathetic and positive person.
Biography
Svetlana Sergeevna was born on January 7, 1972 in the urban-type settlement Pavlovo (railway station Pavlovo-on-Neve) of the Kirovsky district of the Leningrad region. As Zhurova talked about her childhood in an interview with Kira Proshutinskaya (TV Center): until two years old, together with her parents, sister, grandparents, they lived in Pavlovo. At this time, her parents worked in the city of Kirovsk, Leningrad Region: her mother, after graduating from a specialized institute in the trade system, and her father, as a foreman at the Kirov plant "Ladoga" (now PJSC "Plant" Ladoga "). Soon the Zhurov family received an apartment in Kirovsk and moved there, but since two places in the kindergarten, according to Svetlana Sergeevna: “it was a shame to ask her father,” the parents moved only with their youngest daughter, and Svetlana stayed with her grandparents in Pavlov … A private house and a subsidiary farm provided Svetlana with the experience of handling pets, in addition, she looked after the vegetable garden.
In 1979, already living in Kirovsk, Svetlana goes to school. Around the same time, her acquaintance with sports took place - the first was the rhythmic gymnastics section, but there was no success, the reason was the coach's harsh treatment of the athletes, who, as Zhurova later recalled, “just beat them”. Then there was admission to a music school, where the violin teacher did not see the gracefulness in Svetlana's handling of a musical instrument and in one of the classes she snapped: "Are you moving cabinets with these hands at home?" Only after that, Svetlana Sergeevna found herself in speed skating. As a teenager, Svetlana was angular and not pretty, like Lena Bessoltseva from the movie "Scarecrow", therefore, in the speed skating section, jokes and jokes constantly poured in her address, while at school, on the contrary, Zhurova had the authority and respect of her classmates, where she was the leader. According to Svetlana Sergeevna, in sports she could not stand up for herself because her teammates were much older than her, and Zhurova's victories on the ice track only exacerbated the situation.
In 1986, Zhurova was already at the Leningrad Olympic Reserve School No. 2.
Highlights of a sports career
1996 Hamar (Norway) - World Championship in sprint all-around. Svetlana Zhurova is on the highest step of the podium, she did the impossible, defeated her main rival, the world champion Japanese Kyoko Shimazaki, and finally, an athlete from Russia was recognized as the fastest speed skater in the world. This year was the year of Svetlana Zhurova, she did not lose a single world-class competition, she is the winner of ten World Cup stages and the owner of the World Cup in the overall standings. It seems that Svetlana Zhurov can no longer be stopped!
1998, Calgary (Canada) - all-around sprint world championship. Svetlana Zhurova is the favorite of the championship. Two most successful years in her sports career are behind. Svetlana goes to the start of a 500-meter distance, which must be flown in 38 seconds, Zhurova's acceleration has been considered the fastest in the world for several years. Start and after ten seconds Svetlana is flying at a speed of 40 km / h, but even before that, having made 5-6 steps on acceleration, Zhurova, as it seemed to her, slightly touched the other leg with the blade of the ridge. Svetlana has no time to think about what happened, she needs to finish the distance, she does not slow down, she does not feel pain until the very finish. Zhurova is urgently examined by a sports doctor, the cut turned out to be so deep that a few more millimeters and Svetlana would have cut Achilles for herself. Canadian doctors insisted on urgent hospitalization - the wound is serious, but Svetlana Sergeevna does not hear the doctors, in an hour she will go out on the ice, which means you need to forget about the pain and the sewn leg. The next day, a new race, but Svetlana can no longer walk, every step causes Zhurova inhuman pain, but you don't need to walk on the ice - you need to run. Contrary to the persuasion of the Canadian doctors, Svetlana again participates in the race and goes all the distances to the end. Svetlana Sergeevna finished this world championship with the fifth result.
Two weeks later, a new championship in Holland. In the hotel room, before the start, Svetlana herself removes the stitches from her leg. Zhurova runs the first distance with a good result. But in the next race, Svetlana cuts the other leg with a skate, she falls on the ice, rises and runs the distance to the end. Then in Holland Svetlana Sergeevna became the second. But at the 1998 Olympic Games, at her crown distance, Svetlana Sergeevna became only ninth due to injury.
February 2002 - Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City (USA). The atmosphere at the Olympiad is tense and nervous. In the second race, Zhurova's rival world champion American Chris Whitty. Before the start, an event occurs, at first glance, insignificant, but it becomes fatal. Suddenly one of the fans shouted to Zhurova: “tear her up,” this phrase angered Svetlana and threw her out of balance. The start is given, and here Zhurova realizes with horror that her inner mood is knocked down, she is not running in her style and cannot reach maximum speed. Svetlana is only sixth at 500 meters and eleventh at 1000 meters. Failure at this Olympics turns out to be a peak for Zhurova, she decides to leave the sport and devote herself to her family, to give birth to a child. But from the very beginning, Svetlana is sure that she leaves for a while, then to return and return in triumph.
After the birth of her son, Svetlana Sergeevna does not train for almost a year, she constantly spends time with her family. While Zhurova is raising a child, she is practically thrown out of sports, deprived of the presidential grant. No one was waiting for her anymore, therefore, the athlete's arrogance aroused only ridicule and pity among colleagues, because after giving birth, when you were already over thirty, no one returned to big speed skating, and even less won.
In September 2004, one year and seven months after the break, Zhurova resumes training, but few people believe in her. After giving birth, Svetlana gained thirteen kilograms, she begins to train for seven hours a day, she is on a strict diet. Zhurova trains not with venerable skaters, but with juniors, she just cannot catch up with international class masters. At thirty-two, Zhurova, a former world champion, runs on the ice with eighteen-year-old novices. Two months later, Zhurova begins to overtake not only juniors, but also active athletes, and after three months Svetlana Sergeevna won the Russian Championship. They begin to take her seriously and Zhurova is returned the presidential grant.
Three weeks remain until the Olympic Games, and Svetlana Sergeevna goes to Heerenveen (Holland) for the World Championship. Exactly ten years have passed since Zhurova's finest hour, when she first became a world champion, and now, in the homeland of speed skating, she must regain her success. Svetlana goes to the start and soon everyone understands that she cannot be stopped! At 34, she is at her best.
2006 Turin (Italy) - 20th Winter Olympic Games. Svetlana Sergeevna is convinced: “you shouldn't go,” both her husband and the officials of the Speed Skating Federation say to her face that they don’t believe in victory, but they still take the national team out of favor. Zhurova does not listen to anyone, her only goal is the Olympic gold medal. Remembering the experience of previous games, Svetlana asks to go through the ranks and warn the Russian fans: "Silence at the start", Zhurova wants to exclude any accidents during the race. Svetlana Sergeevna goes to the start, her main rival is the Chinese woman Van Manli, who has won the World Championships for two years in a row. A start is given, two skaters are accelerating, suddenly Zhurova kicks in the heel, but this does not stop Svetlana, and she continues to outrun her rival, the gap is just a fraction of a second. The intensity of the struggle is such that at the last turn of the distance it almost comes to a collision of athletes. Svetlana finishes first, Zhurova looks at the scoreboard, but she is in second place. Already with the flag, she continues to ride and ask the fans: "Who won?" and after a pause, Svetlana was shouted that she was a champion.
Zhurova managed to do the impossible - to recover in record time, win the title of world champion and become an Olympic champion!
Education, work, political career
Svetlana Sergeevna began her career in 1994 in pre-trial detention center No. 4 in St. Petersburg. She was engaged in physical training of the prison staff and continued to participate in sports competitions, including defending the honor of the isolation ward at intra-departmental events. In 2007 Zhurova was awarded the rank of "lieutenant colonel of the internal service".
In 1999 she graduated with honors from the Academy of Physical Education with the award of the qualification “Master of Physical Education, teacher of higher education”, and in 2006 - the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Service.
On March 11, 2007, Svetlana Sergeevna was given the mandate of the Legislative Assembly of the Leningrad Region - she headed the permanent commission on culture, sports, physical culture and youth policy. In December of the same year, she was elected to the State Duma of the 5th convocation, and from the United Russia faction was appointed Deputy Chairman of the State Duma.
On March 16, 2012, she was appointed representative of the Government of the Kirov Region in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
In 2012 she worked as a presenter of the "Sports Channel" on the radio "Echo of Moscow".
From 2013 to 2016, Svetlana Sergeevna was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 6th convocation. First she was a member of the Committee on Nationalities Affairs, and then the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs.
On September 18, 2016 Zhurova was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 7th convocation.
He is the first vice-president of the Russian Skating Union.
Love, family
First love overtook Svetlana at the age of 18, when Zhurova was in the national team of the Soviet Union, her teammate was her chosen one, but these relations did not develop. They parted due to the fact that her chosen one was against the idea that "his wife would be an Olympic champion," besides, he was injured and soon left the team. Zhurova was very worried about parting. Remarkable is the fact that during Svetlana's triumph in Turin, when she won the Olympics, her former lover was on the podium and saw this victory.
In 2000, Svetlana Sergeevna met her future husband, Artyom Chernenko, who at that time was seriously involved in tennis. They met at a general physical training class, which tennis players passed together with speed skaters. At the time of their acquaintance, Zhurova was 29 years old, and Chernenko was 23 years old. Before meeting with Chernenko, Svetlana Sergeevna had met with a fellow speed skating teammate for five years. According to Zhurova, her lover, unlike Chernenko, was never able to propose marriage to her. After the break, he was very worried about this, and, as they joked in the national team, it was on this basis that he won the bronze medal of the European Championship, although not before, not after, again, according to Zhurova, he did not show any significant results.
Svetlana broke up with Artyom in 2013 after thirteen years of marriage, as Svetlana Sergeevna herself assessed the reason for the divorce, due to the fact that they perceived love differently, Artyom is more romantic, and Svetlana, from a practical point of view, is family, hearth, home and etc. In parting with Artyom, Svetlana Sergeevna blames herself that she is not ready for the sake of a man to give up everything that she likes to do, that which is interesting to her. Svetlana and Artyom had two sons in marriage: Yaroslav - born in 2003. and Ivan - 2009 year of birth.
Interesting Facts
From 13 to 19 years old, Svetlana Sergeevna wrote poetry. One of the first sounded like this:
In 1998, at the opening of the Olympic Games, Svetlana Sergeevna met Prince Albert of Monaco, she was the only one from her entourage who could somehow explain in English, and her teammates asked to talk to the prince first about joint photography, and then about an autograph in these photos. This meeting was not the last, so in 1998, due to the crisis, when the Russian national team did not have the funds to send their athletes to the World Cup in advance, Svetlana Sergeevna was forced to turn to Alberto for help and he paid Zhurova for plane tickets. According to Svetlana Sergeevna, she borrowed this money and was going to return it from the prize, but Prince Albert categorically refused to take this money back.
On the eve of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, the sports drama Champion was successfully screened in Russian cinemas. The plot of the film is based on the real legendary victories of Russian athletes. The prototype of one of the heroines of the film was Svetlana Sergeevna Zhurova, played by Svetlana Khodchenkova in the film.
