Maria Butyrskaya was born on June 28, 1972 in the city of Moscow, Russia. When Maria was five years old her mother took her to the rink near their home. After a while she was invited to train at the famous club (ZSKA) and that's how is all began.
After being trained by her coach (Galina Titkow) for a year, she said that Maria did not have any perspectives. She wasn't allowed to continue training at the club.
At the age of fifteen Maria wanted to stop skating, she did not skate for three month. But something kept Maria close to skating and after a while she began looking for a new coach and new beginning.
Maria is known for her unique, elegant, classical style of skating and strong ability to jump. She was able to performed the triple axel in practice, but was often bitten by her nerves. After ups and downs in the career of the figure skating many people probably thought that she will never make it. But they were wrong... Noting could stop her from getting to the top, not even the Russian Federation.
On March 27, 1999 Maria Butyrskaya, at 26, won World Figure Skating Championships that were held in Helsinki, Finland. She became the oldest-ever world women's champion. All the hard times and training finally paid off. She had reached one of her goals.
Maria had a great 1998-1999 skating season. She intends to challenge for the gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Games. When Maria stops competing as an amateur she plans to become a choreographer and costume designer. She studies design in Moscow and is already know for designing her own figure skating costumes.
Born: June 28, 1972-Moscow, RUS
Hometown: Moscow, RUS
Training Town: Moscow, RUS
Home Club: Dynamo Moscow
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 48 kg (103 lbs)
Coach: Elena Tchaikovskaya, Viktor Kudryavstev
Choreographer: Nicolai Androsova
1998 Champions Series Final-3rd
1998 European Championships-1st
1998 Olympic Winter Games-4th
1998 World Championships-3rd
1998 Goodwill Games-2nd
1999 Russian Nationals-1st
1999 Japan Open-2nd
1999 ISU Grand Prix Finals-2nd
1999 World Championships-1st
Maria Butyrskaya Photo Gallery
Kate's Maria Butyrskaya Site
Maria Butyrskaya: Russia's Ice Queen
Charisma Forever: Maria Butyrskaya
The Superstar on Ice, Maria Butyrskaya
Maria Butyrskaya: Enigma on Ice
