Alexei Yagudin

He was the second-youngest male World Champion at the age of 18 years and 15 days, 6 days older than Donald McPherson in 1963.

Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin (Алексей Константинович Ягудин; 18 March 1980) is a Russian former competitive figure skater.

Alexei Yagudin was born on 18 March 1980 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

When Yagudin was four, his father moved to Germany, severing all contact with his wife and son.

His parents would officially divorce when he was 12.

He graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health.

Yagudin was introduced to skating at age four by his mother, Zoya, who saw the activity as a way to improve his health.

He learned all his double jumps before age ten, the five triple jumps before age twelve, and the triple Axel jump before he turned thirteen.

His first coach was Alexander Mayorov, and then he was introduced to the famous Russian coach Alexei Mishin when Mayorov moved to Sweden in 1992.

Yagudin trained in Mishin's group from 1992 to 1998.

He began competing at the international level in 1994, and won the 1996 World Junior Championships.

The famous rivalry with fellow Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko began when they trained in Mishin's group, and intensified after Yagudin left.

In 1997, Yagudin competed in the World Championships for the first time and won a bronze medal.

In 1998, Yagudin led a Russian sweep of the medals at the 1998 European Championships with Evgeni Plushenko in second and Alexander Abt in third.

Later that year, he competed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics despite a severe case of pneumonia, and finished in 5th place.

A month later, he won the 1998 World Championships.

He became the first Russian single skater from the post-Soviet era to win the World title.

In the 1998–99 season, Yagudin won eleven out of the thirteen competitions in which he participated, which included the defeat of Kurt Browning in the World Professional Championships, and winning the Grand Prix Final.

Yagudin struggled at the beginning of the 1999–2000 season.

He withdrew from the 1999–2000 Grand Prix Final due to a knee injury, and then lost to Plushenko at the Russian Championships and 2000 European Championships.

At the 2000 European Championships, he finished ahead of both Plushenko and former Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov to win his second continental title.

He successfully defended his world title against Plushenko at the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France.

At the 2000 World Championships, he won his third consecutive world title.

Yagudin's 2000–01 season was marred by injuries and inconsistency.

He lost to Plushenko at the 2000–01 Grand Prix Final, Russian Championships, and the 2001 European Championships.

Yagudin is the only skater (all disciplines included) to have achieved a Golden Slam, a victory in all major championships (Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, Grand Prix assignments, Grand Prix Final) in the same season (2001–2002).

He sustained a foot injury shortly before the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver, Canada.

He stood in fifth place after the qualifying round and placed second in the short program, receiving a standing ovation and compliments of 'It was all about heart and guts' for his performance of The Revolutionary Etude.

He went on to win the silver medal after ranking second in the free skate.

Yagudin started the 2001–02 Olympic season with a bronze medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in September.

He altered his training regimen as a result, and then enjoyed the best season in his career.

He defeated Plushenko at the 2001–02 Grand Prix Final and regained his European title.

He is the 2002 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002), a three-time European champion (1998, 1999, 2002), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (1998–1999, 2001–2002), the 1996 World Junior champion, and a two-time World Professional champion (1998, 2002).

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Yagudin won the men's event, receiving first-place votes from every judge throughout the competition, became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions.

He received four 6.0 scores for his free skate.

In 2003, Yagudin was awarded with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV degree of the Russian Federation.

About two months after the event, Yagudin left Mishin and joined Tatiana Tarasova, who would coach him until his retirement in 2003.

In 2017, he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

After his retirement from eligible skating, Yagudin has toured as a professional skater and appeared as a show host, an actor and a figure skating commentator for Russian television networks.

In 2019, he opened the Figure Skating Center Alexei Yagudin in Minsk, Belarus where he coaches.