Teen figure skating sensation Yulia Lipnitskaya will take to the ice today in the first of two programs for a shot at the Olympic gold medal in her homeland Russia.
Lipnitskaya will be skating along with 29 other talented skaters from around the world for the ladies short program on Wednesday.
The young teen captured the heart of Russia and the world when she skated fearlessly at the Olympic team skate event last week. She wowed the crowd with her amazing flexibility and insanely dizzying spins. But it is not just her extraordinary talent that charms us – it is her level of maturity that is displayed during her performance.
The Russian prodigy comes from humble beginnings. She has been training hard since the age of four, with the teen's success widely credited to her mother, Daniela, who has given up everything for her daughter to skate. She can be seen by her side after every skate.
However, it has been reported that Yulia never met her father, Vyacheslav, as he was conscripted to the army shortly after Daniela got pregnant and never returned. Daniela raised her daughter alone as a single mother and at times struggled to make ends meet.
Yulia and her mother are from the city of Yekaterinburg. Former neighbor Valentina Popova told The Daily Mail: "When Yulia's mother Daniela became pregnant, her father Slava was conscripted into the army and did not return. It is said immediately after the army, he moved to another city. Daniela raised her daughter alone. She had to work at several jobs, even on the local market, to make ends meet. I remember Daniela returning home frozen after a day on the market in freezing temperatures. She worked so hard to provide and support Yulia. It was very tough."
The Daily Mail reports that Russian state officials have been ordered to trace her father.
Former coach Elena Legkovets recalled: "Almost from the first day it became clear that she was not like the others. She stood out for her brightness, activity and extraordinary seriousness." She continued, "I have never seen her cry. She is a fighter. Even when she fell, she felt pain, but she took her courage into both hands, rose, and ran on."
Yulia skated in Yekaterinburg until the age of 10. At that time, she had to decide whether to move to Moscow where she can get the training she needs, or to remain in the city and abandon the sport.
The 15-year-old previously said in an interview that the move to Moscow depended on her decision to continue skating.
She said, "My mother gave up everything for me. In Yekaterinburg, she had a job and an apartment in the centre of the city, and her whole life. And in Moscow - nothing. We did not even know where we will live." She continued, "My mother doesn't work now. So I am the only breadwinner in the family."
Now Yulia has come into the international spotlight after her breathtaking performances. She is already the youngest Olympic gold figure-skating gold medalist and has a bright future ahead of her. This is only her first Olympics and she can potentially compete in two more if she wishes.
Forbes estimates that the young teen could also cash in on her talent and charisma like fellow Russian Maria Sharapova through endorsements and potentially earn $5 million a year.
