Lyudmila Pakhomova is a famous ice dancing figure skater who went down in sports history with her partner and husband Alexander Gorshkov. They are six-time European and world champions. In 1976, having shown a magnificent performance of the Kumparsita tango, they deservedly received gold medals and became champions of the Olympic Games. Their duet was bright and interesting.
And although she lived only 39 years, Lyudmila Pakhomova was very famous. Biography, cause of death, personal life of this unique woman has always aroused interest among journalists and fans. The most interesting thing is that in the young Pakhomova, none of the coaches, except for Ryzhkin, saw the champion. She was called unpromising and the most ordinary skater. Yes, those who did not believe in her success and sports career were mistaken.
Lyuda Pakhomova's first steps on the ice
In the military family of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel of Aviation Alexei Konstantinovich Pakhomov, a daughter was born on New Year's Eve 1946. The father, being a colonel, dreamed that his daughter would become a paratrooper officer. But Lyudmila took a different path.
At 7 years old schoolgirl Ludabrought to the stadium and signed up with a figure skating coach. The girl was engaged without much pressure, did not stand out in anything. Attending training, she tried, but did not show much hope. Coaches have not yet seen her as a good figure skater and champion. After graduating from school, the father (and he had already become a general) firmly decided to take his daughter to aviation so that she would go in for parachuting. A chance meeting of her mother with V. Ryzhkin played a big role in the future career of the future champion. Victor at that time, coaching the Union team, decided to return to big sport in order to take up a new kind - ice dancing. He, remembering Mila, her grace, plasticity and incredible artistry, offered to become a coach and partner for the girl. For a long time Lyudmila Pakhomova could not make a decision. Her biography could have been completely different if not for cooperation with Victor.
Working with V. Ryzhkin
The athlete decided just before the European championship (1965), deciding to compete with Ryzhkin. However, the competition took place without the participation of the couple. The management considered that they were not yet experienced enough skaters. They got to Bratislava for the European Championship and the World Championship in Davos a year later - in 1966, where they won their gold medals.
Their duet was disharmonious, it was clear that the couple could not work together. Although Viktor Ryzhkin is recognized as an experienced coach and a strong partner, Luda needed someone else with a slightly different temperament to perform. As a result, the duet breaks up. But famousremains Lyudmila Pakhomova. Her photo often adorns the front pages of Soviet newspapers and sports magazines.
She offers to train together with Gorshkov. By this time, the athlete had already been twice the champion of the USSR.
How the duet Pakhomov-Gorshkov appeared
A. Gorshkov, before meeting with Pakhomova, was not a famous person. And I didn’t dream about a sports career. Mom brought little Sasha to the figure skating school. A year later, the coach, not seeing in him a special talent for this sport, transferred the boy to a group of weak students. Gorshkov, after several years of training, performed on the ice alone and in pairs, but no one saw talent in him, and even more so did not suspect that the middle peasant would become the champion and partner of the already famous Pakhomova.
Lyudmila's proposal to work on the ice in pairs turned his whole life upside down. She was already world famous, and also received the champion title of the union in ice dancing in singles. Gorshkov, realizing that his partner was much stronger than him in choreography and more experienced, trained with all his might not only to justify Mila's trust, but also not to let her down.
First victories and championship
Everyone wondered why she took a completely unknown and unpromising figure skater with the first category as a partner. But after a few years, the couple became a step above the British - the legislators of ice dancing. Gorshkov and Pakhomova were coached by E. Tchaikovskaya.
On the big ice, Soviet athletes were very inferior in professionalism to foreign ones. hard workouts andperseverance led the couple to victory at the World Championships in 1969. They deservedly received silver. And a year later they won the championship and the title of world and European champions. Their performances are not like the work of other duets. Lively and cheerful productions with elements of folk art were filled with the most difficult sports tricks. Their dances on ice were beautiful and bright.
In 1970, Lyudmila Pakhomova graduated from GITIS and at the same time received a second diploma confirming her world championship. Champion figure skaters do not stop there, they continue to train hard, inventing new productions with hard sports tricks.
The winter of 1975 brought another victory. The couple, having arrived at the competition in Copenhagen, win it. Not having time to enjoy the success, Gorshkov falls ill after filming in a cold room. On the way to Moscow, he becomes very ill. Sasha was saved from death by an experienced pulmonologist and surgeon M. Perelman. Three weeks - and Gorshkov was already ready to go to America, where the World Cup was held. As a result, he refused the competition, showing up with Luda only in a demonstration performance, performing the song "Romance".
Despite his recent surgery, Gorshkov continued to train. Pakhomova Lyudmila Alekseevna was a strong woman with an imperious nature. From the outside, it seemed that she was forcing her partner to work hard. However, Gorshkov himself recalled that thanks to Luda's perseverance, he quickly got into shape, as if there had been no operation.
Incident inCalgary
In Calgary, at the World Championships, an unpleasant situation occurred with a couple that could seriously spoil the future of the skaters. There were rumors that the incident was deliberately set up by rivals in order to remove strong competitors. Before the performance, Lyudmila and Alexander were pumped out by doctors after severe poisoning. They went out on the ice in a terrible state. But, as always, they performed well.
In 1976, ice dancing was included in the list of competitions in the Olympic Games for the first time. Lyuda and Alexander get a gold medal here, participating in the performances of the White Olympiad. In the same year, the star duet becomes a family.
Strong spirit Lyudmila
Pakhomova Lyudmila Alekseevna was a very strong spirit and strong-willed woman. She devoted herself entirely to her favorite pastime. Working on the ice has become life for her. And nothing could stop her from showing herself worthy and a true professional. Once on the ice, at the Prague Skates competition, her partner’s skate accidentally cut her leg. No one noticed that Lyudmila Pakhomova was dancing in terrible pain. The wound was bleeding heavily, but the woman continued to show her party with complex tricks. She was taken to the hospital only after the scores of the performance became known.
Family and career
It so happened that the star couple, speaking, each time showed new heights of skill. They could not afford to perform worse next time or on a level with the last competition. And it wasthe basic rule of Lyuda and Sasha. But there came a moment when the victories ceased to please, and the conquest of new peaks did not seem so desirable. They were tired and wanted quiet family happiness and home comfort. One day, the skaters, having come to the coach Elena Chaikovskaya, announced that they were leaving the ice and finishing their performances.
At the farewell party, Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov danced their famous "Kumparsita" on ice in front of the guests.
Soon they have a daughter, Julia (1977). The mother of Lyudmila raised and cared for the child. The skater herself plunged into coaching.
Serious illness
In 1980, Luda became very ill. Relatives, relatives and doctors did not hide the seriousness of the situation. Yes, and the woman understood that chemotherapy was not prescribed to treat a cold. After another consultation, she was told that she urgently needed to undergo serious and very long treatment.
Operations and therapies were exhausting. But Lyudmila Pakhomova found the strength to continue her coaching activities, participated in competitions and sports camps, and detailed classes for her students. The figure skater did not want to admit that she was sick and weak, although her condition worsened every day. The cancer of the lymphatic system defied treatment and burned her body. The disease could have been stopped if Luda had taken the treatment more seriously and strictly followed the doctors' instructions. But she, constantly running away from the hospital, went to the gym to get onskates.
Pakhomova's last birthday
In 1985, she celebrated her last birthday. Viktor Ryzhkin, having come to congratulate Lyuda, did not pay attention to how exhausted her chemotherapy was. She beamed and smiled kindly. There was no sadness or pain in the eyes.
She fights cancer for another six months in the hospital. While in a hospital bed, he writes his last book, “And the Music Always Sounds,” on which he literally finishes work on his deathbed. The woman, experiencing terrible pain, struggled with the disease until the last hour. Helpless and tired, but not abandoned by her family and friends, Lyudmila Pakhomova dies. The cause of death was cancer of the lymphatic system.
In May (17) 1986, the great figure skater died. Many people came to say goodbye to her and honor her memory. People stood in line for several hours to bend over the body. The famous figure skater was buried in Moscow. The grave of Lyudmila Pakhomova is located at the Vagankovsky cemetery. Strangers often come here and leave fresh flowers.
Her husband Alexander was very upset by the death of his wife. For several years he spent his days crouching at her tombstone. In 2000, Alexander headed the L. Pakhomova Charitable Foundation.
