There are a lot of talented skaters in the world, but to become the champion of the country thirteen times, like Albena Denkova, you have to work hard. Albena probably has a reason to be proud of her achievements, because she still pleases the audience with her skill.
Russian figure skating fans have seen her more than once in the Ice Age project.
Biography
Albena Denkova was born in 1974 in Sofia, and all her childhood was spent in the capital of Bulgaria. She was barely six years old when her parents enrolled her daughter in the gymnastics section. And two years later, a figure skating coach looked into their section and invited everyone who wanted to try skating. It was an interesting time: this sport has just begun to develop in the country.
Albena liked the idea of skating and asked her parents to accompany her to training, not yet understanding what awaited her there. And complex and interesting classes began with a completely new business for children.
In addition to figure skating, Denkova had another love: mathematics. These two hobbies occupied all her time. When Albena was finishing school, the question arose: what to do seriously? And she chose ice, but managed to get a managerial education.
Figure skating
Albena's first partner, figure skater Hristo Nikolov, left the sport early, and Albena needed to find a mate. The coach Elena Tchaikovskaya helped - she drew attention to Maxim Stavinsky and realized that she and the Bulgarian athlete could achieve great success.
After the approval of the international arbiter Evgeniya Karnolskaya, the skaters began to train together. It was not easy for Albena, because the level of Maxim was much higher. But she was able to bridge the skill gap and become a worthy partner for Stavinsky.
Moreover, they were trained by the famous Oleg Epstein. It was he who "blessed" the talented couple to move to Moscow. This happened when his student Oleg Gorshkov came to Bulgaria. Together, the masters watched how Albena and Maxim were skating, and decided that it would be better for them to train in the capital of Russia.
Since 2000, for five years, their coach was Gorshkov, and then the guys were offered to go to America to continue training there under the leadership of Natalia Lynchuk and Gennady Karponosov. They performed well, and in 2007 they became the winners of the World Championship. However, a tragedy soon struck: due to the fault of Maxim, two young people were injured in the accident, one died.
During the trial, Maxim and Albena interrupted their sports careers. Maxim was sentenced on probation, after which they returned to Bulgaria.
The Denkov-Stavinsky pair have many victories, including at three Olympics and European Championships. In 2007 Denkova became the President of the Bulgarian Figure Skating Federation.
Russian figure skating fans know Denkova well from the Ice Age show. For several years, Russian celebrities have become her partners on the ice: Igor Vernik, Timur Rodriguez, Petr Kislov, Viktor Vasiliev, Igor Butman. Moreover, they always take not the last places. However, the main thing here is the joy of what you love and the gratitude of a partner who felt the beauty and charm of figure skating.
There is also a director's page in Albena's biography: in 2009, together with Maxim, they were engaged in the program of the French figure skater Briand Joubert, with which he performed very successfully.
Present and future
In an interview, Albena has repeatedly said that she wants to do coaching and teach children to figure skating. However, this is all in the plans, but for now she became one of the active participants in the show of Ilya Averbukh.
Albena and Maxim take an active part in the work of the Averbukh production center and perform in its performances. The center arranges tours in Russia and abroad, and the artists have already visited many cities with their partners. Basically, Denkova performs with the comedian Viktor Vasiliev, and Stavinsky with the actress Natalya Medvedeva.
In 2017, Averbukh organized a grand show "Romeo and Juliet" at the Sochi ice complex "Iceberg", and later with this show the skaters toured the cities of Russia and Europe. Albena and Maxim in this performance created the images of the Montague spouses. It was not an easy job, because in addition to technical skills, artistry and cooperation with other participants in the show were required from the skaters. The premiere took place in Sochi, and even then it became clear that the ice performance would be a resounding success.
In 2018 - another show called "Together and Forever". First, the tour took place in the cities of Russia, then the artists were met by Prague and other European cities.
Personal life
Albena's husband was Maxim Stavinsky, although at first the partners did not understand that they were connected not only by figure skating. Even when Albena, after her arrival from Bulgaria, lived with Maxim's family, they perceived each other only as a colleague and colleague.
Only the 1998 tournament in Lausanne brought them closer together and made it clear that their relationship is much closer and closer than that of a partner. They did not hide their feelings, and coach Gorshkov did not obstruct them, although such things are not welcome in sports.
Later, the couple had a dream - the birth of a child. They had been preparing for this event for a long time, and it happened in 2011 - the couple had a son, Daniel.
While mom and dad are performing in the show, the boy lives with Maxim's parents. Albena says that after the birth of Daniel, their family has become even stronger, and now they have many different plans for the future.
