Yulia Vyacheslavovna Lipnitskaia: a girl who has taken the whole world by storm. This 15 year old Russian figure skater has shocked the world with her talent. At her first Olympic games, she has already helped the Russian team to win the gold medal, becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist in figure skating history. The International Skating Union requires Olympic skaters to turn 15 before July 1 of the year before the Games and Lipnitskaia turned 15 last June, making the cutoff by less than a month.
For this girl, life hasn’t been easy. She is being raised by her single mother, Daniela Leonidovna Lipnitskaia. Her father, Veacheslav, had left the family before Yulia was born to enlist in the Russian army, and never returned to his home city, whereupon Daniela gave her surname to Yulia. Originally born in Yekaterinburg, she later moved to Moscow when she and her mother began to more seriously discuss her career.
But Yulia hasn’t just become amazing at the Olympics. She has won many medals at other events all around the world. In the 2009–2010 season, she placed 5th on the junior level at the 2010 Russian Championships. She was 4th on the senior level the following season at the 2011 Russian Championships. She also competed at the 2011 Russian Junior Championships but withdrew from the competition after the short program. At the event in Fukuoka, Japan, she placed fourth in the short program, second in the free skate, and won the silver medal behind Mao Asada.
Although Yulia did not take home the gold in these 2014 Olympic games, she finished strong, placing fifth. Hopefully the experience she has gained will lead her to success in future Olympic games.
-Betty B.D.
Athlete Spotlight:
Yulia Lipnitskaia,
World-class figure skater