About how a simple girl from a large family of a reindeer herder in Komi became the first and so far only person in the world to win medals at five Olympics in a row.

The little girl Raya was destined to take up skiing. Or rather, even like this: fate gave Raisa Smetanina a choice: reindeer or sport, because she was born into a family of hereditary reindeer herders in the village of Mokhcha, Komi Republic.

The deer could have been dismissed right away; the girl was too ambitious and active even for her age. Skiing is another matter. From birth, Raya had an undeniable advantage over many other skiers. While for her competitors, skiing from childhood was just entertainment, a sport at most, for her it was a way of life - the road to school and back was not close, and in the northern region there was snow most of the year, so she had to travel on skis. Moreover, the directors of the two neighboring schools where Smetanina studied were avid fans of skiing and constantly competed with each other, organizing competitions between their students.


Initially, Raisa became addicted to skiing thanks to her older brothers - she simply tried to follow them, and thanks to her ambition, even overtake them in some ways. One of the fastest in the school, she was sent to regional competitions, and then to the republican ones, held nearby - in Pechora. At the regional youth championship, Raisa took a silver medal, but even after that she did not take up skiing seriously, postponing this moment a little.


Having entered the pedagogical school in Syktyvkar, she returned to her hobby and tried to take it to a professional level under the guidance of coach German Kharitonov. He prepared her for competitions, and thanks to living in a large city, she could not miss the most important competitions. In one of them, a fast girl with excellent technique was noticed by the coach of the USSR national skiing team, Ivanov, who included her in the national team. The year was 1972.

And now, after two years of persistent effort, 15–20 classes a week, which lasted from 2 to 10 hours, Raisa’s first major success came - victory at the World Championships as part of the women’s relay. Without the help of her teammates, that year she was only able to come third in the five-kilometer race. But this did not upset her; on the contrary, it provoked her. She began to train with even greater self-denial, and all for the sake of the next start - the 1976 Olympics.


Along the way, having won the world championship of the same year in 5- and 10-kilometer races, Raisa Smetanina went to the games as the leader of the USSR ski team. Then, in Innsbruck, she was just a little short of taking all the gold that was possible. She won as part of the relay, won the 10-kilometer individual race, but at five kilometers she lost only a second to her rival from Finland and took second place. Despite the fact that it was a resounding success, Raisa was very upset about the silver, realizing that she could have taken the third gold.




Olympic team: Zinaida Amosova, Raisa Smetanina, Galina Kulakova, Nina Baldycheva.

Then there were victories at world championships and other competitions. Four years later, at the Olympics in Lake Placid, Smetanina still completed 5 kilometers and became second in the relay. Four years later, the Queen of Skiing, as her fans nicknamed her, Smetanina won two silver medals at the Sarajevo Olympics, in the 10- and 20-kilometer races. In 1988, the most unsuccessful Olympics for Smetanina took place - the games in Calgary, where the 36-year-old girl “only” took bronze and silver at the same distances, being very upset by the result. By that time, many who began playing sports at the same time as her had long since completed their careers, and she could not stop lamenting that she did not achieve victory.

“Force yourself to be the strongest,” the girl told herself. Subsequently, this phrase became her motto.

But you can’t end your career on such a minor note as a bronze medal, especially after losing to your own teammates, the first of whom was young Anfisa Reztsova. Smetanina considered leaving in triumph, having decided to participate in the next white Olympics - in Albertville in 1992.


Of course, I wanted to win an individual medal, one that would belong only to her, but in the 10-kilometer race, 40-year-old Smetanina was “only” fourth, just short of the podium. But the fishless and gold relay race is not bad, especially if, by winning first place at the Olympics at the age of 40, you set a record for women’s sports.

Smetanina also holds another record, this time for all athletes. She is the first and at that time only athlete in the history of the Olympic Games to win awards in five competitions in a row. To this day, she remains one of two girls whose collection includes 10 Olympic medals. The second is Italian Stefania Belmondo. In total, she has 26 medals at world championships and Olympics.


After her victory at 40, they always joked about Raisa that, thanks to her unusual date of birth, the years do not affect her and at 40 she has more energy than a ten-year-old girl. And Smetanina was born in the leap year 1952, February 29. So she celebrated her birthday every four years, as well as her Olympic successes - happy moments, to say the least!


Raisa Smetanina (left) and Galina Kulakova
The leadership of the Komi Republic did not forget the merits of the great skier and built her a good home. She is not ashamed to invite her friends from the national team here. Galina Alekseevna Kulakova also came to visit. And they have something to remember.


Smetanina Raisa Petrovna- Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1976).
She participated in five Olympics and returned from all of them with medals! 4-time Olympic champion (1976- in the 10 km race and in the 4 x 5 km relay, 1980 - in a 5 km race, 1992 - in the relay race) 5x silver (1976- in a 5 km race, 1980 - in the 4 x 5 km relay race, 1984 - at 10 and 20 km, 1988 - in a 10 km race) and 1 time ( 1988 - in a 20 km race) bronze medalist Olympic Games, 5-time world champion (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1991), multiple USSR champion (1974, 1976-77, 1983-86, 1989, 1991).

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina’s services to national sports have been recognized with high state awards:

Orders of the Badge of Honor (1976),
Red Banner of Labor (1980),
Friendship of Peoples (1984),
Honor (2003);
Badge of honor “For merits in the development of physical culture and sports” (1992).

In total, she has 26 awards from world championships and Olympics. On the recommendation of the IOC, Raisa Smetanina was awarded the International Coubertin Prize. A ski center in the capital of the Komi Republic, Syktyvkar, is named after her.

In 1993, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Smetanina received the Fair Play prize for her exemplary sports career. Indeed, few people have managed to maintain excellent physical shape and achieve high results for so many years.


All-Russian competition for the prizes of Raisa Smetanina (third from left)

She became an Olympic Champion 4 times, a World Champion 5 times, and her medals at the USSR championships were countless. Smetanina is now passing on her invaluable experience to new generations.

For her, they all shine equally expensive. And gold, and silver, and bronze. 10 Olympic medals of Raisa Smetanina. Not a single skier in the world has or has had any more.

“For 20 years, the girls on the team changed, but for some reason I remained. Over 20 years, I managed to compete at 5 Olympics, and I never returned without a medal,” says 4-time Olympic Champion in cross-country skiing Raisa Smetanina.

She started skiing as soon as she learned to walk. This was not a fashionable hobby or a whim of parents - it was neither a vital necessity. Place of birth of Raisa Smetanina, Komi Republic. Far North. She is the 7th child in a family of reindeer herders. All her brothers and sisters had skis. Without them, you can’t get to school or friends in the tundra.

“My father made small skis there, and we skied and ran after deer,” recalls 4-time Olympic Champion in cross-country skiing Raisa Smetanina.

I made it to the Soviet Union national team. She received an invitation to the main team of the country at the age of 20. At 22, Smetanina won her first gold medal and the title of World Champion. After the victory they became regular and frequent. So much so that even foreign commentators have learned to pronounce the name of her hometown Syktyvkar without hesitation. And Raisa Smetanina herself began to be called Miss Olympics for her titles and technique.

“She has a unique technique, like a cat. It would seem very smooth, you can’t see how she pushes off. It’s not visible as she moves. But if you analyze, there is a colossal force of push,” says Olympic Champion in cross-country skiing Lyubov Egorova.

It was only apparent lightness. Smetanina literally snatched medals from her rivals. This is what happened in 1976 in Innsbruck - not just seconds, their tenths are worth their weight in gold. 1988, Calgary. The leader of the USSR national team has severe back pain. There is no chance of winning, let alone winning a medal. Contrary to the doctors' predictions, she went to the start line. Finished second. They say the result upset her. But not much.

“She came up to us and said: girls, learn to enjoy other people’s victories. If you learn to enjoy other people’s victories, then they will come to you,” recalls Olympic Champion in cross-country skiing Tamara Tikhonova.

The joy of her Olympic victories always coincided with another holiday - her own birthday. February 29, like the Winter Olympics, only occurs on leap years.

“I once asked my mother why you signed me up for this day, when it’s my birthday every four years, and she answered: I didn’t think about it,” says 4-time Olympic Champion in cross-country skiing Raisa Smetanina .

Now Raisa Smetanina is a coach. At home. There, in the Far North, he works with talented children. Young skiers also congratulate her on her anniversary. Only the date is called different: the 15th anniversary. They say that this is exactly how old Raisa Petrovna would be today if she celebrated her birthday according to the Olympic tradition once every four years.

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina - Soviet skier, five-time Olympic champion. Repeated champion of the USSR and the world. She won more than 20 medals at various distances. In 1993, in Paris, she was awarded the Fair Play award for a worthy example of a sports career.

Childhood

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (see photo below) was born in the village of Mokhcha (Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) in 1952. The parents of the future champion were hereditary reindeer herders.

The girl adapted early to that life and with all her heart fell in love with the tundra, its air, vast expanses, silence, blue lakes... Here she gained independence, calmness, and the ability to get rid of loneliness - the eternal companion of a skier in the fight for the distance.

The Smetanin family consisted of five brothers: Ivan, Ilya, Gennady, Fedor, Vladimir - and two sisters: Olya and Raya. From early childhood they were taught to ski, since this was the main means of transportation in the tundra. Skis were passed down by inheritance, and the time came when they fell into the hands of Raisa.

The northern region lived an active sports life. Two local school directors were big fans of ski racing and regularly organized competitions for children and also made films about it. On weekends, they constantly visited each other and exchanged advice, looking for new training methods. With their enthusiasm they managed to ignite not only school students, but also children from all over the region.

First competitions and studies

For the first time, Raisa won the youth championship of the republic in Pechora. The girl took second place. After school, Smetanina Raisa Petrovna moved to Syktyvkar to enter the pedagogical college. Here she met her first coach, German Kharitonov, and began skiing seriously. After graduating from college in 1970, Raisa was accepted into the Urozhay sports society as a member of the national team.

Carier start

In 1971, Raisa Petrovna Smetanina was included by the coach of the USSR national team in the list of applicants for participation in the Olympics.

The most difficult year for the athlete was 1972, when she worked extremely hard in order to learn all the tricks of skiing. Her coach was Viktor Ivanov, and the girl was looked after by Galina Kulakova. Thanks to this, Raisa showed good results, taking third place at the national championship (5 and 10 km).

First gold

1974 brought the athlete her first gold. Raisa Petrovna Smetanina won it in the team relay at the World Championships in Falun. At the Olympics in Innsbruck, the Soviet team had trouble. Galina Kulakova was unable to lead the team, but Smetanina took her place.

The young skier completed the five-kilometer distance brilliantly, but lost gold to Helena Tekalo, losing only a second to her. Raisa worked with the coach on her mistakes and developed a strategy for the next race. This bore fruit, and Smetanina managed to beat all her rivals at a ten-kilometer distance. The result of the Olympics is two gold and one

New victories

At the 1980 Olympics, Raisa Petrovna Smetanina entered as the first racer to reach the podium twice in individual competitions. At the 1982 World Championships, the athlete won at a distance of 20 kilometers, becoming the only Soviet skier to be in the top six.

The Fourteenth Olympic Games were also crowned with success for Raisa. She won two silver medals (10 and 20 km). And the 1985 World Championships brought her gold (relay).

Transfer of experience

Realizing that her sports career would someday end, Raisa Petrovna Smetanina took care of the young athletes from the team. She began training a new generation of Russian skiers. Raisa Petrovna showed the girls by personal example how perseverance and hard work they need to achieve their goals. The famous skier constantly set a high pace for them, both in training and in competitions.

Last victory

In 1992, Raisa Petrovna Smetanina, whose biography was presented in this article, went to the Winter Olympics in Albertville. The forty-year-old athlete appeared on the ski slope as number two. She took fourth place at the ten-kilometer distance and won gold in the relay.

This was the last medal in Raisa Petrovna’s career. It became a symbolic and expensive reward. Now the great racer could retire and pass the baton to young and promising skiers. At that time it was Lazutina, Vyalbe and Egorova, who ran with Raisa Petrovna at the Olympics. In their interviews, the girls always said that Smetanina made a huge contribution to the team’s numerous victories - this is solely her merit.

For Raisa Petrovna's sporting achievements, the leadership of the Komi Republic gave her a good-quality home.

Smetanina Raisa Petrovna

(born 1952)

Soviet skier. Four-time Olympic champion (1976 - 2 medals; 1980, 1992), multiple world champion (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1991), multiple champion of the USSR.

Raisa Smetanina was born on February 29, 1952 in the village of Mokhcha, Izhemsky district in the Komi Republic. Her date of birth later gave the legendary skier reason to joke that she was actually much younger than her age, because she celebrated her birthday only once every four years.

For two decades, Raisa Smetanina was the leader of the USSR national cross-country skiing team. For her numerous victories, she received the title “queen of the ski track,” which she constantly confirmed with victories in numerous competitions.

Raisa's parents, Pyotr Pavlovich and Matryona Afanasyevna Smetanin, were reindeer herders, so the girl was taught to ski from childhood. After all, during long wanderings across the tundra, skis often helped people survive. Her father made her first skis for Raisa when she was only three years old. The first teacher was the elder brother Ilya, then the school physical education teacher supervised the girl’s preparation. Raya regularly participated in school and regional skiing competitions. She still has her diploma for second place in a school skiing competition. Then she ran 3 kilometers in 13 minutes 16 seconds. The coaches of the USSR national team noticed her during the major republican and all-Russian championships of the early 1970s, in which the girl from Komi persistently fought for the highest places and showed excellent times. Her coach, Viktor Ivanov, recalled that he drew attention to Raisa at one of the competitions, where she was in the lead for a long time on a very difficult section of the route. Only when the leaders of the union team, who started last, got down to business, did the girl give up her position to them. In 1972, Smetanina was invited to join the USSR national cross-country skiing team. From the first training camp, Raisa impressed the coaches with her courage; she fearlessly developed high speed in the most difficult areas, where the risk of injury was very high. In addition, the athlete enjoyed training on the simulators, sometimes the coaches even had to stop her, while they more often urged the rest of the skiers. Already at the first USSR championship, Smetanina took second place in the ten-kilometer distance. And when she entered the top ten in the five-kilometer race, where any wrong move can throw a participant several places in the table, the coaches realized that they were not mistaken in their choice. They saw Raisa’s enormous potential, her athletic character and will to win, because at that time her technique was far from perfect.

The first success came to Raisa Smetanina in 1974, when she won the gold medal at the world championship as part of the Soviet women's relay team. Two years later, Smetanina confirmed her success in individual races, becoming first at distances of 5 and 10 kilometers.

And then there was the Olympics in Innsbruck. The Olympics, which became a difficult test for Raisa Smetanina. Twice everything was decided by one single second. At first she did not allow her to win, and then it was as if she was returning the debt. But first things first.

The right to go to the Olympics still had to be won, and Raisa went through the sieve of the qualifying tournaments. In Murmansk, Smetanina became a prize-winner at a distance of 10 kilometers, then won the race in Krasnogorsk, and finally at the last race in Bakuriani she made it into the top four. She went to the Olympics in Innsbruck as the leader of the USSR national team. She was expected to win at two distances: 5 and 10 kilometers. Before the start of the race, a draw was held to determine the order in which the athletes entered the track. And Raisa got one of the first numbers. This meant that her main rivals, entering the track, would already know Smetanina’s result and adapt to it. Naturally, this complicated the task of the Soviet athlete, because she needs to set a pace that will be beyond her rivals’ strength. Raisa completed the course perfectly, and 500 meters before the finish she was 5 seconds ahead of the expected time schedule! There is a gentle climb ahead leading to the finish. Raisa gave it her hundred percent, realizing that every moment could decide the fate of the medal. It seemed that her result would be enough to win. But the blond Finnish athlete Helena Tokalo, who ran later, was still faster. She overtook Smetanina by just a second...

That evening, Finnish fans walked around Innsbruck with flags and banners, constantly chanting the name of the winner. After all, Tokalo managed to break an extremely unsuccessful streak for them: three Olympics in a row without a “gold” in cross-country skiing!

Two days later there was a new start, this time at a distance of 10 kilometers. And again Smetanina pulled out one of the first numbers. And again she ran as fast as she could, trying not to let her opponent get ahead of her, to intimidate her with her pace. And again, the Finnish coaches “led” Helena Tokalo along the distance in accordance with Smetanina’s schedule, constantly suggesting the necessary changes in pace. 5 kilometers before the finish, Tokalo lost to Smetanina by as much as 11 seconds. It seemed that the fight was over, but the Finnish skier suddenly picked up the pace and began to rapidly reduce the gap. She almost managed to get past Smetanina again. “Almost” resulted in a second of lag. That very second that Raisa missed a couple of days before. Perhaps this result was a manifestation of the highest sports justice.

Smetanina confirmed her highest class in the relay race, in which the USSR national team left no chance for its rivals. Baldycheva, Amosova, Smetanina, Kulakova - the skiers competed in that order. Raisa ran her part of the distance better than anyone who took to the track that day. For the incredible will to win shown in Innsbruck, she received the unofficial title “Miss Olympics-76” from the organizers.

“Smetanina paved the way for the Soviet team to gold,” Olympic champion Helena Tokalo said in an interview then, “setting a pace for the race that our experienced Heikki Kuntola, of course, could not withstand... I enjoyed watching Raisa’s graceful run from the sidelines.” .

In 1980, in Lake Placid, Raisa Smetanina again performed successfully. At a distance of 5 kilometers she lost to Barbara Petsold from East Germany, but a few days later she took convincing revenge in the ten-kilometer race. Even then, the success of the 27-year-old Soviet skier seemed incredible. Few could have imagined that Smetanina would still win at the age of 40! In the relay, the Soviet team was only second, losing to the GDR team with the magnificent Barbara Petsold. And at the end of the year, Smetanina won two stages of the World Cup, in Davos, Switzerland, and in Ramsau, Austria.

In Sarajevo in 1984, Raisa failed to win Olympic gold. She took second place twice at distances of 5 and 10 kilometers. There was a chance to get another medal in the women's relay, but at the very finish the Soviet skier lost to Maria Liisa Hämäläinen, and the Finnish team won third place.

Therefore, few people believed that at the Olympics in Calgary Smetanina would be able to seriously fight for victory. After all, by that time she was already 36 years old - an unheard of age for skiing. But Raisa proved that with a professional attitude towards training and, above all, towards oneself, a person is able to achieve much more than is expected of him. Smetanina claimed gold in the 10-kilometer race until the last meters, but still lost and was content with the silver medal. Soon she added bronze at a distance of 20 kilometers, making the whole world talk about her again as a phenomenal athlete.

After that Olympics, Smetanina was going to stop regular performances. Still, age took its toll, over the years of endless training and racing, fatigue had accumulated, and besides, it was increasingly difficult for her to withstand competition from young skiers, of whom there were quite a few in the Union at that time: Elena Vyalbe, Lyubov Egorova, Larisa Lazutina. However, the coaches convinced Raisa to stay. They managed to prove that the team still needs her and can benefit the national team. First of all, Smetanina was a clear example of what can be achieved and what one should strive for. She was an unquestioned authority for her teammates; people looked up to her. Therefore, Raisa gave her consent to another Olympic cycle of intensive work - and this is four long years.

In 1992, 39-year-old Smetanina came to the Olympic Albertville as part of the CIS team. She started the 15-kilometer race and finished fourth. This gave the coaches the opportunity to include her in the relay race. Of course, they took a lot of risks, and it was not easy for Smetanina, who understood that in case of failure, all responsibility for the defeat of the team would fall on her. And Raisa completed her part of the race perfectly, and her partners did not disappoint. Lyubov Egorova became a three-time Olympic champion in Albertville, the main heroine of that Olympics. Larisa Lazutina and Elena Vyalbe won their first gold. The gold medal became Raisa's tenth Olympic award. A few days after this victory, she turned 40 years old.

Raisa Smetanina holds several records. She is the only athlete to win ten medals at the Olympics. Raisa took part in five Olympic Games in a row, which is also a record. She is one of only three athletes to win five silver medals at the Olympics - a less honorable achievement, but still very satisfying.

Smetanina benefited from her friendship with Galina Kulakova, the leader of the national team in the early 1970s. On the ski track, Raisa and Galina were irreconcilable rivals, fighting tooth and nail for victory, and outside the competition they were best friends. Kulakova shared her invaluable experience with Smetanina, which sometimes helped more than coaching instructions. Raisa later said that her brother Ilya taught her to ski, but Galina Kulakova made her a real athlete.

Despite her worldwide fame and the opportunities that come with it, Raisa Smetanina loves her native land very much. Back in 1980, in Lake Placid, giving an interview to American journalists, she said that for her the most beautiful place on earth was her native Mokhcha and the Izhma River.

Raisa is the most titled athlete of the Komi Republic. According to the results of a survey conducted at the end of the 20th century by the Associated Press, she was recognized as one of the most outstanding athletes of the last century. Her achievements were also noted in Russia. Even during the Union, the athlete received the Order of Lenin, there were also orders of the Red Banner of Labor, “Badge of Honor”, ​​“Friendship of Peoples”... Smetanina was presented with a special award from UNESCO “For Nobility in Sports”. All these trophies are carefully displayed in one of the rooms of Smetanina’s house in Syktyvkar, a kind of museum for the athlete. The republican ski stadium, which regularly hosts international competitions, bears the name of Raisa Smetanina. Raisa celebrated her fiftieth birthday (by the way, the year of her anniversary was not a leap year, and the holiday had to be celebrated on March 1) as the coach of the Komi Republic ski team. She is happy to pass on her skills to young athletes. We hope that at the upcoming Olympics the famous skier will rejoice at the victories of her students and will be proud of their medals as if they were her own.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book 100 Great Married Couples author Mussky Igor Anatolievich

Mikhail Gorbachev and Raisa Titarenko Who knows, the first and last president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev would ever have decided to begin his fateful reforms for the country if he had a different wife. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born in 1931 in the village of Privolnoye

From the book 100 great Russians author Ryzhov Konstantin Vladislavovich

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA Elizabeth, daughter of the reformer Tsar Peter I, was born on December 18, 1709 in the ancient village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow. Her mother was Petra's unmarried wife Ekaterina Skavronskaya. On this day, the sovereign had just returned to Moscow after a long absence and

From the book 100 Famous Symbols of the Soviet Era author Khoroshevsky Andrey Yurievich

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (EL) by the author TSB

From the book All the masterpieces of world literature in brief. Plots and characters. Russian literature of the 20th century author Novikov V I

Sofya Petrovna Tale (1939–1940, published 1965) USSR, 30s. After the death of her husband, Sofya Petrovna enrolls in typing courses in order to obtain a specialty and be able to support herself and her son Kolya. Being competent and neat and having received the highest qualifications, she easily

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (E-Y) author Brockhaus F.A.

Elizaveta Petrovna Elizaveta Petrovna - Russian Empress (1741 - December 24, 1761), daughter of Peter the Great. and Catherine I (b. December 18, 1709). From the day of the death of Catherine I led. Princess E. Petrovna went through a hard school. Her position was especially dangerous under Anna Ioannovna and Anna Leopoldovna,

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (CE) author TSB From the book Dictionary of modern quotes author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich

KUDASHEVA Raisa Adamovna (1878-1964), poetess 238 A Christmas tree was born in the forest, / It grew in the forest. “A Christmas tree was born in the forest...” (published in 1903 as part of the play “The Christmas Tree”), music. L. Beckman

Introduction

The Komi Republic has a rich history of sporting victories. Back in 1972, a native of Ukhta, Ivan Pronin, as part of the USSR national team, first represented the Komi region at the XI Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. The glory of our fellow countrymen Raisa Smetanina, Nikolai Bazhukov and Vasily Rochev in 1976 at the XII Olympics in Innsbruck, as well as Viktor Zhluktov and Sergei Kapustin, who became Olympic champions in ice hockey, thundered throughout the world. Of course, we cannot fail to note the outstanding achievements of our young athletes.

It is very important to know those who have glorified and continue to defend the honor of our republic now at various competitions. Therefore, let's look at the biographies of several athletes.

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (born 1952 in the village of Mokhcha, Izhemsky district of the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), four-time Olympic champion, seven-time world champion, World Cup winner. Honored Master of Sports of Russia in cross-country skiing. Currently working as a senior trainer-teacher at the State Autonomous Institution of the Republic of Kazakhstan "TsSPSK". The most titled skier of the Komi Republic, Raisa Petrovna Smetanina, according to the results of a survey conducted by the world news agency Associated Press, was recognized as one of the outstanding athletes of the 20th century.

For two decades, Raisa Smetanina was the undisputed leader of the country's cross-country skiing team. “Queen of the Ski Tracks” - she worthily confirmed this high title at numerous competitions, swiftly, gracefully and persistently flying along the snowy slopes to another victory.

Raisa Smetanina was born in the village of Mokhcha, Izhemsky district of the Komi Republic on February 29, 1952 into a large family of Komi reindeer herders. The first ski instructors were my older brother Ilya and a physical education teacher. The first competitions are rural and regional. While studying at the Syktyvkar Pedagogical College named after. I. Kuratova - the first major republican and all-Russian competitions, during which the head coach of the country’s women’s team, V. A. Ivanov, noticed the persistent, hard-working girl from Komi. In 1972, Raisa Smetanina was invited to big-time sports and was included in the USSR cross-country skiing team.

At the USSR championships: 21 gold, 14 silver, 15 bronze medals.

For the development of physical culture and sports and the demonstrated perseverance and skill, she was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1976), the Red Banner of Labor (1980), Friendship of Peoples (1984), and the October Revolution (1988).

In 1992, the Republican ski complex, introduced in 1977, was named after Raisa Smetanina.

In 1993, Raisa Smetanina was awarded a special UNESCO prize “For Nobility in Sports.”

Rochev Vasily Pavlovich

Honored Master of Sports of Russia in cross-country skiing. Olympic champion, world champion, multiple champion of the USSR. Currently he works as the senior coach of the Komi Republic cross-country skiing team. V.P. Rochev raised multiple champions of Russia, Vladimir Lensky, participants in the Olympic Winter Games Vladimir Legotin, Andrei Nutrikhin. Under his leadership, Vasily Rochev (junior) won a gold medal at the World Championships in 2005 and became a bronze medalist at the XX Olympic Winter Games in 2006. Russia was defended as part of the Olympic team at the XX Olympics by two more of his students - Olga Rocheva-Moskalenko and Ivan Arteev.

In 1969 he graduated from Bakur high school and entered the Syktyvkar Pedagogical School No. 1 named after. I.A. Kuratov to the Department of Physical Education.

In 1969, he was included in the youth team of the VSO "Urozhay".

In 1970, he was called up to serve in the internal troops of the USSR, where he began to play for the Dynamo sports club and ended up in the USSR youth team. In its composition in 1971, at the European Junior Championships (Nesselwang, Germany), he took second place in the 10 km race and first as a member of the team in the 3x10 relay.

In 1976 he entered and in 1982 graduated from the State Institute of Physical Culture named after Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner. P.F. Lesgafta.

From 1971 to 1982, V. Rochev was a member of the USSR national team.

Participant in the 1976 Olympics (Innsbruck, Austria), 1980 (Lake Placid, USA), where he became an Olympic champion and silver medalist.

V. Rochev is a participant in five World Championships, where he won one gold, two silver, two bronze medals. Multiple winner and prize-winner of prestigious international competitions.

Participating in the USSR Championships, V. Rochev won 12 gold, 8 silver, and five bronze medals.

Two-time winner and multiple medalist of the USSR Cup.

In 1980 he was awarded the title "Honored Master of Sports of the USSR".

On April 9, 1980, he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and on April 17, 1998, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, second degree.

From 1982 to the present day, V. Rochev has been the senior coach of the national team of the Komi Republic. Under his leadership, the national team of the Komi Republic repeatedly becomes the winner of the Russian Cross-Country Championship. Over the years, V. Rochev has trained champions and medalists of Russia, international masters of sports, participants in the Olympic Games, such as V. Legotin, A. Nutrikhin, S. Chernykh, V. Lensky and others.