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| Birth Name(s) : Oksana Baiul |
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Full Oksana Baiul Biography
Oksana Baiul (Ukrainian: Оксана Баюл) (born November 16, 1977) is a Ukrainian professional figure skater. She is the 1994 Olympic Champion.
Oksana Baiul was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Union, in what is present-day Ukraine. She was only 13 when her mother, Marina, died.
Baiul won the 1993 World Figure Skating Championship in her first senior competitive season at the age of 15. She then won the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, defeating Nancy Kerrigan from the US. Baiul nearly missed competing in the free skate altogether, having been injured after a collision with Tanja Szewczenko of Germany during a warm-up session following the ladies' short program. She received two Olympic-approved pain-killing injections in her lower back which enabled her to perform and complete her free skate.
Baiul turned professional after the 1994 Winter Olympics, even though she was only 16 years old at the time and had only competed in four major international events (winning the two highest ranked — World Figure Skating and the Olympics -- and finishing second in the European competition in 1993 and 1994). Following her win at the 1994 Winter Olympics, some skating commentators and critics praised Baiul's balletic style and performance ability. Following the Olympics, however, Baiul was plagued by two physical ailments that affected her skating ability. The first was arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer of 1994, after which she was advised by her doctor to not return to the ice for two months. Due to the million dollar contract signed by her coach/manager/surrogate mother, Galina Zmievskaya, Baiul ignored doctor's wishes (at Zmievskaya's behest) and returned to the ice in two weeks and was competing in six. This, as well as the changes in her maturing body, hindered her jumping ability drastically.
In response to her increasing professional and personal problems, Baiul turned to alcohol. In 1997, she was arrested after intoxication caused her to crash her car. She eventually entered a rehab program. Since then, Baiul has continued to skate professionally from time to time, including an engagement with the touring show "Broadway on Ice".
Baiul lived in Richmond, Virginia for a while before moving to her current residence in New Jersey. She recently amicably ended an engagement with long-time boyfriend, Gene Sunik. She has her own line of clothing and jewelry. In November 2005, she appeared on the Bravo program Celebrity Poker. She also is part of the celebrity panel of judges (along with Steve Garvey and Jonny Moseley) on the American Broadcasting Company show Master of Champions.
Although raised as a Russian Orthodox Christian, Baiul's maternal grandmother was Jewish. Due in part to this, she supports the Tikva Children's Home Charity offering help for the Jewish Children of Odessa, Ukraine. In addition, Baiul also supports and is a member of the International Museum of Women, a world-class cultural and educational institution whose mission is to value the lives of women around the world.
In December 2006 Oksana was warmly welcomed in Moscow where she skated at the Red Square ice-rink alongside the famous champions from Russia, China, France and many other countries.
In February 2007, Oksana will collaborate with renowned ballet dancer Saule Rachmedova to bring together New York Ice Theater and couture fashion for the debut of innovative fashion designer Levi Okunov's Winter Collection.
In Late March 2007, Oksana appeared on MTV's TRL. She was there to promote the new ice skating film Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell.
Beginning May 16th 2007, Oksana will be starring in the world premiere of the ice skating musical COLD AS ICE . This musical will performed at the Gateway Playhouse in New York with rumors of a possible tour and broadway transfer. |
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