The Winter Olympics 2022 are underway and athletes from all over the world are already making history. One of them is the Russian skater, Kamila Valieva, who on Monday became the first woman to ever land a “quad” in the Olympics, which you can watch on Peacockif you’re located in the US.
The storied quadruple jump is one of the hardest jumps in figure skating, and she did it twice during the free skate portion of the team event on Monday. And she also landed a Triple Axel, which is another difficult jump that only 16 women, including her, had landed.
Her performance in the short and free programs helped the Russian Olympic Committee team to win the gold medal, while the United States won silver, and Japan took the bronze medalat Beijing 2022. Here, check out what you need to know about this athlete.
How old is Kamila Valieva?
Kamila Valieva is 15 years old. She was born on April 26, 2006 in Kazan, Russia. According to a profile on International Figure Skating, her mother enrolled her in gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating classes, and at age five she switched fully to skating.
How tall is Kamila Valieva?
Kamila Valieva’s height is 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in). She made her international debut in late August 2019 at a Junior Grand Prix competition in Courchevel, France. There she won gold, beating the Wi Seo-yeong of South Korea.
Who are Kamila Valieva’s coaches?
Valieva is coached by several well-known experts in the field such as Eteri Tutberidze, who is known as the “quad coach”. She also coached two-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva, Olympic and World champion Alina Zagitova, team Olympic champion Yulia Lipnitskaya and 2021 World champion Anna Shcherbakova. The rest of her team are: Sergei Dudakov, Daniil Gleikhengauz and Georgy Pokhilyuk.
Kamila Valieva’s records
She has set nine world records so far. Besides being the first woman to land a quad at the Winter Olympics, she also is the first woman skater to break the 250- , 260- and 270- point thresholds in the total score, within one season, the first to break the 170- and 180- point thresholds in the free skate, and the first to break the 90- point thresholds in the short program.