The emperor of ice, the recalcitrant Stanislav Zhuk, brought his country 139 international awards, but his name never made it into the Sports Stars directory. A figure skater and later a successful coach, he raised a generation of champions. The triple sheepskin coat, the partners' synchronization, the four-turn jump - these are just some of the curly elements invented and implemented on ice by the famous Soviet coach Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk. He had his own system, which allowed him to bring up technically trained skaters from outsiders.
Childhood and life's work
Zhuk Stanislav Alekseevich, the future guarantor of the quality of Soviet athletes, was born in Ulyanovsk in 1935. His aunt Claudia Andreeva described the child as a full toddler with crooked legs. The character of the child was kind, but already from childhood temperament and energy were manifested. The appearance served as a reason for ridicule among peers, so there were no prerequisites for a great sports future.
When the family moved from his native city to Leningrad, Stanislav entered the sports college and to improve his he althI started ice skating. At some point, figure competitions were supposed to take place, and one of the couples that they planned to send to the competition could not go because of a partner who fell ill in her. Then they asked to replace Comrade Stanislav. He performed brilliantly with an unfamiliar partner, and the couple won a prize. After that, figure skating became Stanislav Alekseevich's favorite thing.
History of figure skating
Winter sport in the Russian Empire appeared under Peter the Great, when he brought samples of skates to his state. The Emperor became the first Russian figure skater.
In 1886, an international tournament was organized in St. Petersburg among men - the first world championship in speed skating. According to the results of the competition, there were no Russians among the winners, but this became a kind of pause before the start of achievements.
1903 - the world championship was again organized in St. Petersburg. For the first time, a division into men's, women's and pair skating was proposed. There were no women at the competitions in 1903, but a participant from Russia was nominated among the men. It was Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin, who won second place. And in 1908, Nicholas won the Olympic Games.
This achievement marked the beginning of the countdown to the next award, which was received after 50 years.
The world's first complex curly element
In 1957, Nina and Stanislav Zhuk won silver at the European Championships. Later, their coach, Petr Petrovich Orlov, introduced the most difficult element into the performance. Stanislav over his head had to raise on outstretched armsNina. For the first time, the couple demonstrated a difficult, technically prepared move at the European Championships in 1958, but the arbitrators regarded it as life-threatening and did not count it - the skaters again got silver.
Later, the ability to lift a partner on outstretched arms became aerobatics among athletes, and each couple intended to repeat this lift.
Championships and unfair refereeing
Nina and Stanislav were Orlov's first star couple. Their competitors in sports, but friends in life, were emotional, harmonious Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova. From 1958 to 1960, the Beetles won silver medals in the European Championships. Why not gold? After all, the couple has always performed the most athletically difficult numbers.
“Figured elements are tigers that need to be tamed, forced to work for the trainer. In sports, victory belongs to those who work on the verge of the impossible,” wrote Zhuk Stanislav Alekseevich. European Championship 1958: a couple of Nina and Stanislav were criticized by the jury and accused of being overfilled with acrobatic sketches. The next year, the Zhuki simplified the performance, and the pair, which repeated last year's elements of Nina and Stanislav, took first place. 1960 - the judges again did not allow the Soviet athletes to climb to the highest step of the podium, this time they said that the skaters were not artistic enough.
Beginning of coaching career
Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk, biographywhich is permeated with unwillingness to obey anyone, in the early 60s he decided to independently educate future champions. The first ones he taught athletic numbers were his competitors - Protopopov and Belousova, whose main coach was I. B. Moskvin. The couple, who had not won prizes before, became the second in the European Championship for the first time.
At the same time, Stanislav Zhuk trained his sister Tatyana. With her first partner, Alexander Gavrilov, they won the title of champions of the USSR. When the duo broke up, Stanislav quickly found a replacement for Gavrilov. They became unpromising, according to other coaches, Alexander Gorelik. Athletes in such a successful tandem began to win prizes in the championships. But they did not take gold, but silver. The time has come for the glory of Protopopov and Belousova. The first places were given by the judges to this couple.
Kalinka as a victory anthem
Master of Sports Stanislav Zhuk knew how to bring up winners from students in whom other coaches did not see prospects. In this way he tested himself for professionalism. Irina Rodnina is one of those pupils in whom Stanislav saw the future champion.
By the way, the idea of pairing a tall skater and a small fragile partner belongs to Zhuk. The athlete whom Stanislav saw next to Irina was Alexey Ulanov.
In 1969, the skaters competed at the USSR Championship, but took only bronze. The victory again went to Protopopov and Belousova. ThereinIn the same year, a miracle happened: Rodnina and Ulanov took first place in European competitions in Germany. Sports officials, coaches were unpleasantly surprised by this outcome of the championship, because no one believed in a couple, except for Stanislav Alekseevich. The number of athletes was performed to the folk song "Kalinka". After this championship, it became the anthem of victory.
Stanislav Alekseevich Zhuk: sports achievements and personal life
When the famous couple Rodnina - Ulanov was already on the verge of breaking up (Aleksey decided to perform with another partner), Stanislav Alekseevich asked his partner to perform one more time at the World Championships in Canada. So, in 1972, the skaters skated the program, and Irina went on the ice with a concussion after an injury in training, and became the winners. After that, Rodnina was going to leave the sport, but Zhuk immediately found her a new partner (A. Zaitseva) and made another star duet.
In 1973 in Bratislava, the skaters performed excellently, and when the music stopped for technical reasons, the athletes skated the program in complete silence. This performance was the apogee of the World Cup.
Stanislav Zhuk made figure skating his hallmark in the country and won 67 gold, 34 silver and 35 bronze medals.
Nina Bakshueva, Stanislav's former partner, became his wife. The marriage lasted 20 years. They had a girl named Marina. Stanislav also dreamed of making her a champion, but the girl gravitated toward ballet and went to work in the theater.
Fishing was Stanislav Alekseevich's second favorite thing. When it was time to leave fortraining at a sports camp, Zhuk went fishing and then cooked delicious fish soup for his students.
The legendary coach died on November 1, 1998. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.
