Andrey Kirillov is a skiing star, winner of the World Junior Championships and medalist of the World Cup stages as part of the relay. His career flourished in the 80s and 90s. Kirillov also took part in the Olympic Games in Albertville (1992) and Lillehammer (1994).
First successes
Andrei Alexandrovich Kirillov was born on January 13, 1967 in the village of Kalinovo, which is located in the Nevyansk district of the Sverdlovsk region. Skiing entered his life from elementary school. The schoolboy studied at the local branch of the sports school in the city of Sysert under the coach M. G. Chumichev.
At first, Kirillov was not much different from his peers. He has not shown outstanding athletic performance or consistent victories. The first resounding success came to him at the age of 13, when a young skier won the 3 km race in the championship of the Nevyansk region. Alas, it was not possible to gain a foothold in the status of a leader. At the next regional competitions, Kirillov showed only the twelfth result.
But every year the skill of the young athlete grew, and participation in various competitions gave him experience and confidence. More and more often, victories and prizes began to appear in the piggy bank of his achievements. Kirillov won a bronze medal at a tournament hosted by the Council of Trade Unions of the USSR. In 1985, he completed the master of sports standard for the first time. This happened at the All-Union Youth Games in Murmansk, where a young skier came first at a distance of 15 km. By that time, Kirillov held a permanent place in the national team of the Sverdlovsk region, trained with Nikolai Kozhevnikov.
Outside of sports, he had a completely ordinary life. Having received a high school diploma, he continued his education at the Sverdlovsk Pedagogical Institute. However, just a year later he left to serve in the army. The talented recruit was assigned to the SKA sports company in Sverdlovsk. After completing his military service, Kirillov remained in this unit on contract terms.
Sports career
The victory at the All-Union Youth Games provided the young skier with a place in the USSR youth team under the leadership of Valentin Samokhin. In 1986-1987 he played in the junior team, where the post of head coach was occupied by Yuri Charkovsky. A new milestone in Kirillov's career was the victory at the 1986 World Cup in the American Lake Placid. The men's junior team with his participation won the 4x10 km relay. Other awards and achievements from this period:
- victory in the 4x10 km relay at the junior world championship in Italian Asiago (1987);
- third place at a distance of 15 km at the junior championship in Asiago (1987);
- awarded the title "Master of Sports of the USSR" (1987).
In 1988, Andrei Kirillov did not qualify for the national team to participate in the Olympic Games in Calgary. The main reason for the failure was the high competition for a place in the national team. However, he was accepted into the USSR national team, led by Vladimir Filimonov. In 1989, the athlete received the title of "Master of Sports of the USSR of International Class".
Later, due to the political situation in the country, Kirillov became a member of the Russian national team, where he trained under Nikolai Petrovich Lopukhov. In the early 90s, the men's ski team showed consistently high results at the World Cup stages:
- gold medal in the 4x10 km relay in Finnish Lahti (1991);
- gold medal in the 4x10 km relay in Val di Fiemme, Italy (1992);
- a bronze medal in the 4x10 km relay in the Russian Kavgolovo (1992);
- silver medal in the 4x10 km relay in Davos, Switzerland (1993).
In 1992 Kirillov took part in the Winter Olympics in Albertville for the first time. In individual races, he was far beyond the top ten, and in the men's 4x10 km relay, domestic skiers closed the top five. The team took a kind of revenge for the offensive loss at the Olympics at the 1993 World Championship, held in Sweden. The men's team, which played for Russia after the collapse of the USSR, won a bronze medal for the first time in history. This award opened the account for the prize-winning places in men's skiing in Russia.
In the professional career of Andrei Kirillov, there was another Olympics - in the Norwegian Lillehammer in 1994. Alas, from these competitions he returned again without awards. In the individual race for 10 km he showed 13th result, and at a distance of 15 km he took 16th place. The Russian men's team in the 4x10 km relay came fifth again. Shortly after the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Kirillov retired from his sports career.
Personal life and change of activity
The personal life of the famous athlete has long been arranged and stable. His wife, Tatyana Kirillova (Bondareva), is also a well-known skier in the past, a three-time world champion among juniors, she played in the national teams of the USSR and Russia. The couple have been together for many years, they are raising three sons.
The middle son - Ivan Kirillov (1996) - followed in the footsteps of his parents and has already achieved serious success in skiing. He is a member of the Russian national team, has the title of "Master of Sports of International Class". At the World Cup in Slovenian Planica, held in January 2018, he took fifth place in the 15 km race. So far, this is the best result in the career of a young skier. By the way, Ivan Kirillov's personal trainer is his mother, and his father always helps with advice. According to Ivan, parents never insisted that children connect their lives with sports. Before opting for skiing, the Kirillovs' middle son went in for swimming, dancing, and attended music and art schools.
After completing his sports career, Andrei Kirillov opened his own company, which is engaged in the design and sewing of clothing for sports and leisure. The official website of the company, which bears the name of its owner, presents tracksuits, thermal underwear, insulated jackets and other goods that are suitable for both professionals and ordinary sports fans.
Andrei Kirillov and his wife Tatyana often attend amateur skiing competitions as guest stars. For example, in 2012 they came to the "Doctor's Race" in Obninsk, which is held annually among medical workers. In 2017, Tatyana Kirillova took part in the Konzhak mountain marathon, one of the most extreme and massive marathons in Russia. After many years in sports, the Kirillov spouses remain faithful to their beloved work, even on a well-deserved rest.
