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Oksana Baiul, Olympic champion in figure skating.Author Stamp of Ukraine.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Oksana Baiul

Oksana Baiul was born on 16 November 1977 in Dnipro, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. She is a Ukrainian retired competitive figure skater.

She was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents after her parents divorced. In addition to having Ukraine ancestry, she is of Russian descent through her maternal grandfather.

However, her grandparents and mother died. She lived with the wife of her coach, Stanislav Koritek, who had moved to Canada, and then with friends.

After moving to Odesa in Mid-1992 she lived in a dormitory. Her expenses were covered by the state because she promised to skate.

Oksana Baiul is the 1993 world champion and the 1994 Olympic champion in ladies’ singles. She is the first skater representing Ukraine to win gold at the Winter Olympics. The first Olympic champion of independent Ukraine in any sport.

She changed her profession to tour in the United States. This after winning a medal in 1994. She also became involved in a variety of TV appearances, and benefit skates. She has lived in the United States since 1994. In 1997 she published two books, a memoir about her life and one on skating.

Let’s learn the top 10 Fascinating Facts about Oksana Baiul

1. Her Early Life was Filled with Tragedy and Heartbreak

At the age of two, her parents divorced and her father disappeared shortly after. She was raised by her mother, Marina and maternal grandparents. Her mother was a French teacher.

In 1987, her grandfather died. He was followed by her grandmother who died on 1988. In 1991, her mother died suddenly of Ovarian cancer when Baiul was 13.

However, she lived with the wife of her coach, Stanislav Koritek. Koritek had moved to Canada.

She moved to Odesa in Mid – 1992. She lived in a dormitory and her expenses were covered by the state because of her promise in skating.

2. She was Interested in Ballet at an Early Age but was Told her Body was too Chubby

Baiul was interested in Ballet as a child. However, she could not pursue it Since she did not have the right body type. She was too chubby.

However, her grandmother took her to skate lessons convincing her it was ballet on skates. Her grandfather was also supportive of her skating. Baiul received her first pair of ice skates when she was 3 from him.

 As she trained, her mother paid for her training expenses, including lessons, costumes, and equipment. By the age of five, she was coached by Stanislav Koritek, a prominent Ukrainian coach.

3. Her Expenses were Covered by the State because of her Promise to Skating

The skaters. Author  Dr.frog

 After the death of her mother, her basic financial needs were met by the government as she concentrated on her skating. The government also provided supplied accommodation in dorms. Additionally, she was also helped by her coaches in her career.

She was coached by Koritek until he moved to Canada after securing a job, march 1992. In August 1992, his father, Alfred Koritek, vice-president of the Ukrainian skating federation, called coach Galina Zmievskaya on Baiul’s behalf. She took her on as a student.

 Zmievskaya welcomed her into her circle of elite skaters. She provided her with shelter in her family’s cramped three-room apartment in the city.

She made rapid progress Under Zmievskaya’s training. Her other coach in Odesa was Valentyn Nikolayev.

4. She became World Champion at Age 15

Baiul began competing and took the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships in Helsinki. Before World Championships, she crashed into the boards and displaced disks in her back and neck.

She stopped practising and consulted a Czech doctor. However, She competed in skates with crooked blades because it was too late to try a new pair. She ranked second in the short program and first in the free skate, she finished ahead of others and became world champion at age 15.

5. Displayed a Mesmerizing Artistry to Win a Gold Medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics

The skaters. Author Dr.frog.

During a practice session for the 1994 winter Olympics, she collided with Germany’s Tanja Szewczenko. She sustained a wrenched lower back and a small cut on her right shin, which required three stitches.

However, she received two Olympic-approved pain-killing injections of anaesthetics in her lower back and shoulder. This enabled her to complete the free skate.

She was the winner of the free skate over Kerrigan by the slimmest of margins. Thus she bagged the gold medal.

Her win became controversial. It was defended by the referee. The referee said that Baiul skated in an artistic and engaging style. While Kerrigan skates cautiously.

 She won the Olympic gold medal at the age of 16 years. She became one of the youngest figure skating Olympic champions. In addition to her Olympic title, Ukraine named her 1994 a Merited Master of Sports.

6. She Moved to the United States and began a Professional Career

After changing her career, she relocated to Connecticut in the United States after the 1994 Winter Olympics. She was signed to the William Morris Talent Agency.

 She has toured extensively including a trip to the UK with the Nutcracker On Ice Tour.  Furthermore, She has appeared frequently on television and in benefit skating concerts as well as more than 900 live performances worldwide.

7. She got Arrested only Three Years after Winning the Gold Medal

After three years she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. She crashed her car into a tree in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

The charges were dropped. This after she met the terms of probation and completed an alcohol education.

Her drinking habit worsened. In May 1997 she entered an alcohol rehabilitation program for two and a half months.

8. Oksana Baiul was Involved in Bitter Legal Battles

Her manager and future husband discovered accounting and collection discrepancies at William Morris Endeavo in November 2011. After collecting $9.5 million from the company, Baiul filed a lawsuit for an additional $1 million in compensatory damages and more in punitive damages. She filed the case in Los Angeles in November 2012

Additionally, she publicly accused her former Coach Galina Zmievskaya, Viktor Petrenko and their manager Joseph Lemire of fraud. She said that they ‘have been stealing money’ from her for more than a decade.

She also accused Lemire of fraudulent attempts to represent her in multiple court proceedings in Ukraine against the state, concerning various assets.

9. She always Find Opportunities to make Others Smile

She skated a figure skating exhibition for One Step Closer HIV AIDS, on 27 March 2010. The benefit was for the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children.

Furthermore, she supports the Tikva Children’s, Home Charity. It aids the Jewish Children of Odesa. She is also a member of the International Museum of Women. This celebrates the lives of women around the world. Baiul also created a program to donate sledge dogs to underprivileged Inuit children.

10. She Published a Memoir about her Life and Skating

Oksana Baiul has published two books about her life Secrets of Skating: Oksana Baiul and Oksana, My Own Story. Her life story was featured in the Emmy-nominated film A Promise Kept, The Oksana Baiul Story. In 1996 she launched a jewellery line and in 2002, a clothing line, the Oksana Baiul Collection.