Yana Kudryavtseva

Personal life

Yana's father, Aleksey Kudryavtsev was an elite swimmer and won an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the 4 × 200 m freestyle. Her mother, Viktoriia Kharitonova has called her an "Angel with iron wings", resembling a ballerina in the jewelry box when performing yet has an unbreakable constitution and strong will. Yana has a younger sister named Anna.

Kudryavtseva trained 6–8 hours a day; a typical schedule included an early get up, then choreography and practice. An open practice at the gym until 2 p.m. and a second practice in afternoon lasting until 7 p.m., after which is followed sauna or swimming. Her nickname on the gym is "Crystal Statuette".

Despite having achieved so much at a young age, Kudryavtseva has said about her success, "I cannot say I have accomplished really a lot. Like Irina Viner says: "When you're on the victory podium, you're a queen, but when you come down from it, you're nobody. You cannot be too proud of yourself". "I am just like my teammates, we're all equal."

Junior

Her father introduced her to gymnastics when she was four to improve her posture, flexibility, and body shape. She made her international debut competing on the novice level at the 2007 IT Finland. She won junior national competitions in Russia, including the national junior championships in 2009 Dmitrov, 2011 Samara and 2012 in Kazan.

In the 2011 season, Kudryavtseva won the junior World Cup titles at the 2011 and 2012 World Cup Pesaro. At the 2012 European Junior Championships she won the gold medal in ball as well as helping the Russian junior team (with Julia Sinitsina, Aleksandra Soldatova and Diana Borisova) win the junior team gold medal.

2013 season

Kudryavtseva debuted as a senior at the 2013 Moscow Grand Prix. At her next Grand Prix in Holon, she competed in the Senior International event where she won the All-around gold medal as well as gold in clubs, ball and bronze in hoop, ribbon final. At age 15, she competed in her first World Cup at the 2013 Sofia where she became the first rhythmic gymnast to win a World Cup All-around gold medal in her debut beating Sylvia Miteva (silver) of Bulgaria and teammate Margarita Mamun (bronze), she also won gold medal in hoop, clubs and bronze in ribbon, ball final. Kudryavtseva won her second All-around gold medal at the 2013 Minsk World Cup. She missed qualifying in hoop final due to a drop and fumble of her hoop on the carpet but was able to win gold in ball and silver in clubs, ribbon final.

Kudryavtseva debuted at her first senior Europeans when she replaced Alexandra Merkulova who was one of Russia's nominal list entry for the 2013 European Championships in Vienna, Austria. Kudryavtseva competed in three apparatus and together with her teammates (Margarita Mamun and Daria Svatkovskaya) won Russia the Team gold medal. She won gold in clubs and ball (the first to score a 19.000 under the 2013–16 New Code of Points), she finished 4th in ribbon final. Kudryavtseva became the youngest gold medalist at the Europeans since Alina Kabaeva won also at 15 years of age.

Kudryavtseva competed at the 2013 World Cup stage in Saint Petersburg, Russia where she won the all-around bronze medal. She failed to qualify in hoop because of the fumble of her hoop outside the carpet at the end of her routine but won gold in ball and two silver medals in clubs, ribbon final behind teammate Margarita Mamun.

Kudryavtseva then debuted in her first Worlds at the 2013 World Championships in Kiev, Ukraine. During the qualification a technical glitch with the sound repeatedly interrupted the music in her ribbon routine and she had to start her program again. Nevertheless, during the finals she won the gold medal in ribbon scoring 18.516 points and in clubs (tied with teammate Margarita Mamun), and took the silver medal in ball and hoop. Kudryavtseva won the All-around gold at the 2013 World Championships (Hoop:18.533, Ribbon:18.083, Ball:18.550, Clubs:18.700) with a total 73.866 points beating Ganna Rizatdinova of Ukraine and Melitina Staniouta of Belarus. She became the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the World Championships in the All-around at 15 years old. In 25–27 October, Kudryavtseva competed at the World Club Championship, the 2013 Aeon Cup in Tokyo, Japan representing team Gazprom (together with teammates Margarita Mamun and junior Yulia Bravikova) won the team gold. She then won the All-around finals at the event.

2014 season

Kudryavtseva began her season competing at the 2014 Moscow Grand Prix where she won the bronze medal in all-around behind teammate Maria Titova, qualifying to 2 event finals, she won silver in hoop and clubs. In her next event, Kudryavtseva won gold in all-around at the 2014 Thiais Grand Prix with an overall score of 74.300 points. In the event finals, she won gold in ball, hoop and silver in clubs. She then competed in the 2014 Stuttgart World Cup, where she won the all-around gold medal with an overall score of 74.784 points. In the event finals: she won 3 gold medals (ball, hoop, clubs) and finished 5th in ribbon. Kudryavtseva won silver in all-around at the 2014 Holon Grand Prix behind Margarita Mamun, she qualified to 3 event finals: she won 2 gold medals in (clubs, ribbon) and a bronze in ball. At the 2014 Pesaro World Cup, Kudryavtseva topped the all-around and event finals podium, it was Kudryavtseva's first sweep of the gold medal in all events competing as a senior. In 23–27 April at the 2014 Russian Championships in Penza, Kudryavtseva won her first National All-around title beating three-time Russian champion Margarita Mamun. She then competed at the 2014 Desio Italia Cup but withdrew after the second rotation due to illness. Kudryavsteva returned to competition at the 2014 Corbeil-Essonnes World Cup where she won the all-around silver behind Mamun, she qualified to 3 event finals: she won gold in ribbon and silver medals in clubs, hoop. Kudryavtseva won another all-around silver medal behind Mamun at the 2014 Tashkent World Cup with an overall score of 74.250 points. In event finals, she won 2 gold medals (ball, hoop), finished 6th in clubs and 7th in ribbon. In her next event, she won the all-around gold at the 2014 Minsk World Cup with a total of 74.583 ahead of Mamun. In the event finals, she won 3 gold medals (hoop, ball and clubs). In 10–15 June, Kudryavtseva won the 2014 European All-around title ahead of Melitina Staniouta of Belarus and Ganna Rizatdinova of Ukraine. In 8–10 August, Kudryavtseva won the all-around gold at the 2014 Sofia World Cup and all the event finals, becoming her second sweep of the gold medals in the World Cup series. In 5–7 September, competing at the 2014 World Cup series in Kazan, Russia, Kudryavtseva won the all-around scoring a total of 74.950, 1.7 points ahead of silver medalist Margarita Mamun. She qualified to all 4 event finals, and won gold in ball (19.000), clubs (18.950), ribbon (18.450) and silver in hoop (18.450). In 22–28 September, Kudryavtseva (along with teammates Margarita Mamun and Aleksandra Soldatova) represented Russia at the 2014 World Championships where they won Team gold with a total of 147.914 points. She qualified to all event finals and won 3 gold medals (in ball, hoop, clubs) and a silver in ribbon. In the All-around, Kudryavtseva became the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win back-to-back All-around title scoring (in Ball:18.800, Clubs:18.916, Ribbon:18.550, Hoop:19.000) a total of 75.266 points, the highest total mark recorded under the 20-point judging system at the World Championships. Kudryavtseva was also awarded the Longines Prize for Elegance, which saw her receive $5,000, a statue by Swiss artist Jean-Pierre Gerber and a watch. In 17–19 October, Kudryavtseva traveled in Tokyo for the 2014 Aeon Cup, representing team Gazprom (together with teammates Margarita Mamun and junior Veronika Polyakova) won the team gold. She won the All-around silver in the finals behind teammate Margarita Mamun. Kudryavtseva was one of the finalist for the 2015 SportAccord Awards in category of the Sportswoman of the Year 2014, along with Geva Mentor (GBR, Netball), Kaillie Humphries (CAN, Bobsleigh) and Marit Bjørgen (NOR, Cross Country Skiing).

2015 season

Kudryavtseva started her season at the 2015 Moscow Grand Prix where she won silver in the all-around behind Margarita Mamun. She qualified to 3 event finals, taking silver in clubs, ribbon and finished 8th in hoop. Her next competition, on 27–29 March, Kudryavtseva continued to struggle at the 2015 Lisboa World Cup taking bronze in the all-around behind teammates Aleksandra Soldatova(gold) and Margarita Mamun(silver). she qualified 2 event finals, silver in clubs and 5th in ribbon. In her next event, after a slower-than-usual start to her competitive season, Kudryavtseva roared back to sweep the gold medals at the 2015 Bucharest World Cup in the all-around with a score of (75.950 a new PB) and all event finals. In 10–12 April, Kudryavtseva competed at the 2015 Pesaro World Cup and won the all-around silver medal behind Margarita Mamun, she qualified to 3 event finals and won gold in clubs, ribbon and silver in hoop. At the 2015 European Championships in Minsk, Kudryavtseva took 4 gold medals in ball, clubs, ribbon and team. In May, 15–16, Kudryavtseva won the all-around gold at the 2015 Holon Grand Prix, she won 3 gold medals in apparatus finals (ball, hoop, clubs). In 12–18 June, at the inaugural 2015 European Games, Kudryavtseva won its first ever all-around title with a total of 76.100 points (the highest all-around mark scored under the 20-point judging system). Due to a quota of 1 per country in apparatus finals in the European Games for gymnastics, Kudryavtseva only qualified in 3 out of 4 apparatus finals as she placed only 2nd in hoop qualifications behind teammate Margarita Mamun. Nevertheless, Kudryavtseva won gold in ball, clubs and ribbon. She has commented on her success: "I can’t judge myself, only the audience and judges can. Today, I did everything precisely, so I got consistent scores." In August, Kudryavtseva won gold in all-around at the 2015 Budapest World Cup, she qualified to 3 apparatus finals, taking gold in hoop, ball and finished 4th in clubs after a drop from her routine. Her next competition at the 2015 Sofia World Cup, Kudryavtseva repeated her gold medal sweep winning the all-around and all the apparatus finals (hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon). At the 2015 World Cup series in Kazan, Kudryavtseva won the all-around silver medal behind teammate Margarita Mamun, a drop from Kudryavtseva's clubs and not completing a risk element scored her 17.800 in Clubs, costing her the 1st-place finish overall. She qualified to 3 apparatus finals (hoop, ball, ribbon) but withdrew from the events, after suffering an ankle inflammation sustained in her clubs routine. Her vacated qualified apparatus finals, was given to the third ranked Russian gymnast in qualifying scores, Aleksandra Soldatova.

In 9–13 September, Kudryavtseva returned to competition at the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart, (together with teammates Margarita Mamun and Aleksandra Soldatova) represented Russia where they won the Team gold. Kudryavtseva; still nursing a slight inflammation on her left ankle, opted not to compete for the World title with the Hoop, which in her absence was won by Mamun. Kudryavtseva also modified a few of her signature moves, to avoid putting pressure on her left ankle, which was wrapped. However; She competed in the remaining 3 apparatus and was able to win the gold medals in Ball, Clubs and Ribbon. In the All-around finals, Kudryavtseva started well in her first routine in Clubs but a slight error with the Ribbon allowed Mamun to move into the lead, which she held heading into the final rotation however Mamun dropped the Ribbon in a risk element, Kudryavtseva took full advantage and kept a clean routine posting the highest score of the competition (19.116) with the Ball to bounce back and take the gold with a total of 75.632 points. Commenting after her 3rd consecutive All-around title, Kudryavtseva has said "I didn't know that I had won, but it was kind of emotional because everything was finished, and I did everything quite well, so I was glad, It was an emotional moment." After Worlds, Kudryavtseva underwent treatment and rehabilitation for her ankle injury in Munich, Germany. She is not allowed to train for more than a month as she needs at least 6 weeks for the orthopedic boots before they can be removed, She can resume training after her re-consultation in Germany.

2016 season

Still recovering from her ankle treatment from a few months, Kudryavsteva opted to start her season appearing in an out-of-competition entry at the 2016 Baltic Hoop. On 1–3 April, Kudryavtseva finally competed at the 2016 World Cup Pesaro, where she executed a clean performance without major errors despite being her first competition of the season, she won the all-around gold with a total score of 76.450 points, surpassing her previous World record score of 76.100 points. She qualified in all apparatus finals but later withdrew as a precaution to her still fragile ankle recovery. Her vacated qualified apparatus finals was given to the third ranked Russian gymnast in qualifying scores, Dina Averina. On 13–15 May, Kudryavsteva then competed at the 2016 Tashkent World Cup where she won the all-around gold medal with a total of 76.200 points; clearing more than 4 points ahead of silver medalist Aleksandra Soldatova, Kudryavtseva qualified to all apparatus finals and made her first golden sweep of the season and fifth in her career (hoop:19.200, ball:19.250, clubs:19.350, ribbon:19.300). Kudryavtseva won gold in the all-around at the 2016 Sofia World Cup with a total of 75.750 points, she qualified to 3 apparatus winning gold in ball, ribbon and 4th in clubs. On 17–19 June, Kudryavtseva competed at the 2016 European Championships where she narrowly won the all-around gold medal with a total of 76.082 points; after Margarita Mamun dropped her hoop apparatus. On 8–10 July, Kudryavsteva took silver in the all-around behind Mamun at the 2016 Kazan World Cup with a total of 75.950 points, Kudryavsteva qualified to 3 apparatus finals winning gold in hoop, ball however, she withdrew from her last event in ribbon after feeling sickness and was then replaced by America's Laura Zeng to compete. On 22–24 July, culminating the World Cup of the season in 2016 Baku World Cup, Kudryavsteva took the all-around silver medal with a total of 77.050 points – which is a New Personal Best for her. She qualified to 3 apparatus finals: winning gold medals in hoop, clubs (tied with Mamun) and ribbon (tied with Mamun).

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics

Kudryavsteva came in these Olympic Games as the reigning World All-around champion, having won all three all around world titles after the London Olympics. On 19 August, she competed at the preliminary session where her total score ranked second in the qualifications behind Margarita Mamun. On 20 August, at the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final, Kudryavtseva had established herself in the lead after the first two rotations with scores of 19.225 in hoop and 19.250 in ball. However, in the third rotation in clubs; in the last seconds of her routine, she failed to catch one of her clubs and had to scramble to get her hand on it before the music ended, she received a score of 17.883. In the last rotation, she came back with a strong ribbon routine where she scored 19.250. But the serious mistake in her clubs was enough to take her out of contention for the gold, Kudryavsteva won the silver medal with a total of 75.608 points, teammate Margarita Mamun won the gold medal with a total of 76.483 points. Despite not winning the Olympics, Kudryavsteva retains as the only rhythmic gymnast to had never finished a competition off an international All-around podium.

Retirement

On November 28, 2016, it was reported that Kudryavtseva had completed her career because of her leg injury, Irina Viner said that because of the severe consequences of the broken leg, she will still need some operations although the recovery will not take that long. This announcement was later confirmed by the International Federation of Gymnastics on the month of January in 2017.

Gymnastics technique

Kudryavtseva is known for her clean technique and light execution. She has mastered unique skills especially the ball spin on the tip of the finger, apparatus catch turning to roll, the ball/hoop series, in clubs with her high, asymmetric, difficult throws and the ribbon serpentine.

Kudryavtseva's innovative mastery of the apparatus has led to the International Federation of Gymnastics Approving new moves/skills that she has executed:

Endorsements

In 2014, Kudryavtseva signed a sponsorship deal and became one of the official Ambassador for luxury watches Longines, replacing compatriot and previous gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva.

Records

Competitive highlights

(Team competitions in seniors are held only at the World Championships, Europeans and other Continental Games.)