Oksana Baiul
Oksana Baiul was born in Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine on November 16th, 1977 and is the Figure Skater. At the age of 46, Oksana Baiul biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 46 years old, Oksana Baiul has this physical status:
Baiul began competing and took the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships in Helsinki, finishing second to Surya Bonaly of France.
Prior to the 1993 World Championships in Prague, Baiul had crashed into the boards and displaced disks in her back and neck. At the event, she stopped practising and consulted a Czech doctor. She competed in skates with crooked blades because it was too late to try a new pair. Ranked second in the short program and first in the free skate, she finished ahead of Bonaly and became world champion at age 15.
In 1994, Baiul won the silver medal at the European Championships in Copenhagen, again finishing second to Bonaly. At the 1994 Winter Olympics, she was second to American Nancy Kerrigan after the short program of Ladies' singles. During a practice session before the long program, she collided with Germany's Tanja Szewczenko, sustaining a wrenched lower back and a small cut on her right shin, which required three stitches.
She received two Olympic-approved pain-killing injections of anaesthetics in her lower back and shoulder, which enabled her to compete in the free skate. She won the free skate over Kerrigan by the slimmest of margins, and so won the gold medal. It was a controversial win that was defended by the referee, who said that Baiul had skated in an artistic and engaging style while Kerrigan skated cautiously. She won the Olympic gold medal at the age of 16 years and 101 days, becoming one of the youngest figure skating Olympic champions. Kerrigan placed second and Chen Lu from China placed third. Baiul was announced as the winner after Surya Bonaly and Katarina Witt completed their respective programs out of medal competition. In addition to her Olympic title, Ukraine named her in 1994 as a Merited Master of Sports.
Despite their status as Olympic champions, Baiul and Viktor Petrenko faced difficulties in Odesa, as did fellow Ukrainians across the country. The country was struggling economically. and conditions at their rink in Odesa had deteriorated severely. The government could not extend financial support for figure skating following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Lacking a working ice resurfacer, coaches and skaters often had to resurface the rink ice by hand.
Such conditions influenced Baiul's decision to turn professional after the 1994 Winter Olympics, although she was only 16 years old. Zmievskaya negotiated a very profitable contract for her to tour the United States following the Olympics and earn money with her sport. In May 1994, at age 16, Baiul signed an agreement with the American talent agency William Morris Endeavor.
Baiul said later that her drinking problems began during this tour. She said:
Following the Olympics, Baiul was plagued by physical ailments that affected her skating ability. She required arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer of 1994, after which she was advised by her doctor not to return to the ice for two months. Due to the million-dollar touring contract, Baiul ignored the doctor's recommendations. She resumed skating in two weeks and returned to performing in six. Her jumping ability became hindered.
