Alina Kabaeva

Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gymnast, who has been designated Honoured Master of Sports by the Russian government.

Kabaeva is one of the most decorated gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastic history, with 2 Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals, and 21 European Championship medals.

She is reportedly the longtime partner of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kabaeva was born on 12 May 1983 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union, the daughter of Lyubov Kabaeva and Marat Kabayev, a professional football player.

Her father is a Muslim Tatar and her mother is Russian.

In 1993, she represented Kazakhstan at an international competition in Japan.

In her early teens, Kabaeva moved to Moscow, where her mother took her to the Russian head coach, Irina Viner.

Kabaeva stayed with Viner, and made her international debut representing Russia in 1996.

The 15-year-old Kabaeva won the 1998 European Championships in Portugal.

At the time, she was the youngest member of the Russian squad, competing alongside internationally recognized teammates Amina Zaripova and Yana Batyrshina as well as Irina Tchachina.

Kabaeva then became the 1999 European Champion in Hungary, and won the 1999 World Title in Osaka, Japan.

Kabaeva went on to win a total of 5 All-Around titles at the European Championships.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, in Australia, Kabaeva was expected to claim Gold in All-Around; however, due to an error in an otherwise exceptional performance—she dropped her hoop, and ran to retrieve it outside of the competition area—Kabaeva won the bronze medal, with the final score of 39.466 (Rope 9.925, Hoop 9.641, Ball 9.950, Ribbon 9.950).

Belarus's Yulia Raskina took the silver medal, while fellow Russian teammate, Yulia Barsukova, won the Olympic gold medal.

At the 2001 World Championships in Madrid, Spain, Kabaeva won the gold medal for the Ball, Clubs, Hoop, Rope, the Individual All-Around, and the Team competitions.

At the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, Kabaeva won the gold medal for the Ball, Clubs, and Rope competitions, and the Silver in the Individual All-Around, and Hoop.

However, Kabaeva and her teammate, Irina Tchachina, tested positive to a banned diuretic (furosemide), and were stripped of their medals.

Viner, the Russian head coach, who also served as the Vice President of the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee at the time, said her gymnasts had been taking a food supplement called "Hyper", that contained mild diuretics, which, according to Viner, the gymnasts were taking for premenstrual syndrome.

When the supply ran out shortly before the Goodwill Games, the team physiotherapist restocked at a local pharmacy.

According to Viner, the supplement sold there was fake and contained furosemide.

The Committee requested that the Goodwill Games Organizing Committee nullify Kabaeva and Tchachina's results.

The FIG also nullified their results from the World Championships in Madrid, causing Ukraine's Tamara Yerofeeva to be declared the 2001 world champion.

Kabaeva was not allowed to participate in competitions from August 2001 to August 2002.

Her first international competition after the ban was the 2002 European Championships, where she took first place in the individual all-around.

Kabaeva gained the 2003 World Title in Budapest, Hungary.

Kabaeva won the All-Around Gold Medal at the 2003 World Championships, as well as the event final in Ribbon and Ball ahead of Anna Bessonova from Ukraine.

In 2004, Kabaeva won the All-Around Gold at the 2004 European Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Greece, Kabaeva won the gold medal in the Individual All-Around for Rhythmic Gymnastics, with a score of 108.400 (Hoop 26.800, Ball 27.350, Clubs 27.150, Ribbon 27.100), the Silver Medal went to her teammate, Irina Tchachina.

In October 2004, Kabaeva announced her retirement from the sport.

However, in June 2005, the Russian Head Coach Irina Viner announced a possible comeback.

Kabaeva resumed her sport career at an Italy-Russia friendly competition in Genoa, on 10 September 2005.

On 5 March 2006, Kabaeva won the Gazprom Moscow Grand Prix, with fellow Russians Vera Sessina and Olga Kapranova, taking the Second and Third places.

Kabaeva won the silver medal in All-Around at the 2006 European Championships, behind teammate, Sessina.

From 2007 to 2014, Kabaeva was a State Duma deputy from United Russia.

At the 2007 European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan; Kabaeva, Sessina, and Kapranova were chosen to represent Russia.

However, on the eve of the competition, Kabaeva withdrew due to an injury.

In September 2014, Kabaeva became the chairwoman of the board of directors of the National Media Group.

Her younger sister, Leysan Kabaeva, is the general director of a real estate agency and in 2016 was appointed as a judge of the Almetyevsk City Court in Tatarstan by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Due to Marat's career, the family often travelled to different places in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Kabaeva started rhythmic gymnastics at age three, with coach Margarita Samuilovna.