Ivan Yakimushkin

Biography

Russian skier Ivan Yakimushkin continues the glorious traditions laid down by compatriots in this sport. He is already competing with the strongest skiers on the planet, while claiming that he is just getting in shape.

Childhood and youth

Ivan was born on June 17, 1996 in the city of Murom, Vladimir region. The mischievous, mobile and cheerful boy was fond of sports and cars. My love for skiing came from my parents: my father was not only good at this kind of competition, but also worked as a coach. However, he was not the first mentor of his son. At first, 8-year-old Yakimushkin studied under the supervision of Galina Alexandrovna Kabanova.

Then Ivan's father took up the preparation closely, and the family supported the novice athlete. We lived amicably, after training we gathered at a common table with our sister and mother, who cooked the Caesar salad adored by her son. The boy did not particularly recognize authority, preferring to test others for strength himself. sometimes he was bold and argued, but he knew how to admit his own mistakes.

At the age of 11, Yakimushkin was given a scooter. Since then, the fascination with speeds began, and by the age of 16, the guy already dreamed of a track motorcycle. Parents barely dissuaded their son from buying a Honda CBR 600RR sports bike out of fear that Ivan would just crash on it. Now the athlete is glad that he listened to his family, and then he was full of resentment and disappointment.

He realized his youthful dream of a motorcycle at the first opportunity: at the age of 20 he bought a Kawasaki with an engine of 300 cubic centimeters, which he later changed to a bike of the same brand, but twice as powerful. Yakimushkin behaves carefully on the roads, and outside the city "breaks off" at high speeds.

The love of skiing also allowed the guy to realize his passion for fast driving. Ivan achieved his first significant results in 2011, when he won the All-Russian junior championship. Then he became a candidate for the master of sports. At first Yakimushkin represented the Moscow region, and then moved to the national team of the Tyumen region. In 2014, the guy overcame the standard of the master of sports in cross-country skiing.

Skiing

2015 became a landmark year in the biography of the athlete: then at the youth championship of the planet in Almaty, he became the world champion in the relay for the first time, to which he added a personal silver at the 10-kilometer distance with a skating stroke. In 2016, he again took the gold of the World Championship and became the "athlete of the year" in Murom.

Since 2017, Yakimushkin began his career at the adult level, having joined the Russian national team, where he trained in the group of Oleg Perevozchikov. Ivan's potential was revealed gradually and, without making sudden leaps, he showed gradual positive dynamics.

In 2019, at the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, the skier won 3 gold medals. There could have been 4 of them, but according to the results of the sprint, Yakimushkin was expected to be disqualified for violating the rules. Ivan then won 10 kilometers in the classics and in the pursuit race, and both times Anton Timashov and Ivan Kirillov stood next to him on the podium. They also helped him win the relay.

The year 2020 turned out to be important for the skier's career: he competed at the World Cup stages, where he twice got on the podium. As a result, the Russian finished the season in the top twenty of the strongest skiers on the planet, being in 17th place in the overall World Cup standings. Compatriot Alexander Bolshunov topped the table.

The 2021 st competitive year began for the athlete with the start of the "Tour de Ski". In the absence of representatives of Norwegian nationality, the Russians ruled the ball there. The rating is expected to be headed by Alexander Bolshunov, followed by Denis Spitsov, Ivan Yakimushkin and other Russian skiers. The hegemony of the Russians was diluted by the Frenchman Maurice Manifesta.

Ivan confidently passed start after start, but the results could have been higher if not for the blockage at the sprint stage of the Tour de Ski in the Italian Val di Fiemme. Then the skier had to go around the collapsed Lauri Lepisto and William Poromaa, which prevented him from "breaking through" to the semifinals.

In March 2021, at the World Championships in Oberstdorf, Ivan took 2nd place in the relay as part of the Russian national team.

Personal life

Ivan's personal life was formed thanks to sports: his beloved girlfriend Olga Kucheruk is also engaged in skiing. They performed together and won All—Russian competitions, representing their regions: Yakimushkin — Tyumen region, and Kucheruk - Samara. Lovers spend almost all the time with each other: they live together, train and relax.

Athletes have common hobbies, they do not quarrel and help mutual development. For example, Ivan insists that Olga read specialized literature, understand the physiology and structure of her own body. They have fun and are interested in each other, and therefore they rarely go to social networks and do not notice when their smartphones are discharged.

Nevertheless, the skiers keep in touch with the fans through Instagram. Yakimushkin's page is regularly updated with fresh photos and news. Ivan and Olga spent the quarantine of 2020 together. First, they did repairs in their own apartment, and then they went to the farm to Kucheruk's parents, where it turned out to be more convenient to train in rural conditions. The couple has not married yet and considers it a matter of time.

With a height of 183 cm, the skier weighs 81 kg.

Ivan Yakimushkin now

In the autumn of 2021, a 15 km test race was held, according to the results of which athletes were selected for the first stage of the World Cup. Yakimushkin took 3rd place. In the pursuit race in the Finnish Hand, the first four places were taken by the Russians — Ivan became the fourth in this list. In the future, luck did not favor the skier much, but he managed to enter the top 10 at some competitions.

At the multi-day Tour de Ski, which started in December, Yakimushkin participated in the classic race, where he finished in 5th place. In an interview, the athlete shared that he felt offended for a couple of moments where he frankly gave up. And if I pushed a little harder, I could have achieved a podium. After four stages of the multi-day event, Ivan took 7th place in the overall standings.

In January 2022, he finished ninth at the classic mass start. This race, according to the skier, was very difficult for him, and he could not explain why it was so difficult. But he was even more disappointed by the mass start in the free style, where he fell, tore his leg and came 14th. In the overall standings, according to the results of the multi-day race, the native of Murom secured the 6th position. The athlete expressed hope that he would be able to be in the best shape at the Beijing

Olympics.

Yakimushkin opened his performance at the Olympic Games with a 15 km classic style race, where he took 13th place. But on the penultimate day of the competition, Ivan was able to justify the hopes placed on him by winning silver in the mass start, shortened to 30 km due to weather conditions. Alexander Bolshunov took gold in this discipline.

"Today was the best race of my career, I am incredibly happy to win a personal medal at the Olympics, and all the past difficulties and failures only increase its value."

Progress

2015 — Winner of the World Junior Championships in relay

2015 — Silver medalist of the World Junior Championships in skiathlon

2016 — Winner of the World Junior Championships in the 15 km race

2016 — Silver medalist of the World Junior Championships in relay

2018 — Champion of Russia in the relay

2018 — Silver medalist of the Russian Sprint Championship

2019 — Winner of the World Winter Universiade in the pursuit race

2019 — Winner of the World Winter Universiade in the relay

2019 — Winner of the World Winter Universiade in the individual race

2019 — World Cup Relay winner

2020 — Winner of the World Cup in mass start

2021 — Silver medalist of the World Championships in Oberstdorf in the relay

2022 — Olympic silver medalist in mass start

Interesting facts

Ivan is not sure that his life will be connected with sports in the future, and therefore he has unlearned a profession far from skiing: He graduated from the Tyumen University of Oil and Gas with a degree in oil business. Due to the tight competitive training schedule, the guy spent 7 years on higher education.

Vladimir Putin personally congratulated Yakimushkin on his triumph at the Universiade, and he called this event more exciting than the fact of victory.