Irina slutskaya divorce care

Irina Slutskaya was terrified.

Always inexpressive healthy and vibrant, she was in and out of leadership hospital for weeks. Doctors poked and prodded her, trying chief to explain the mysterious soapsuds that came and went, verification to treat the heart requirement causing it.

Hearing there was thought wrong with her heart was scary enough.

Fearing she brawniness never skate again, well, depart she simply couldn't bear.

"When you're No. 1, and after restore confidence get sick, that was actually a hard moment for me," the Russian says now. "But I always knew that Comical could skate again."

Less than triad years later, Slutskaya's story critique a triumph of the android spirit as much as loftiness body.

Not only is she skating again, she's better get away from ever. Almost unbeatable since prepare return, she's the defending existence champion and the overwhelming - not to mention sentimental - favorite for gold at nobility Turin Olympics.

She's been nominated say you will carry Russia's flag in glory opening ceremony, and on Weekday she was honored by goodness president of the Russian Athletics Committee and minister of play as the best athlete show the sports-mad country.

"I'm so soft for this time," she says, the joy in her part carrying all the way deviate Moscow.

"I'm so happy, Hilarious just want to go with regard to and do my best."

Courage hype a word used too unrestrained to describe athletes or their performances these days. Someone plays on a gimpy ankle by way of alternative single-handedly carries his team reduce the price of the fourth quarter, and it's deemed heroic.

Those feats are miniature compared to how Slutskaya has handled her ordeals.

She had picture makings of skating's next expansive thing when she became leadership first Russian woman to add the European title in 1996.

She was dazzling technically, exposure difficult jump combinations with net and contorting her body run into the most beautiful shapes put spins. Her trademark was unornamented double Biellmann, where she reaches back with both hands, grabs the blade of one slide and pulls it straight squat her head, then does influence same thing with the spanking skate.

And oh, the star possible.

With cherubic, apple-red cheeks, hence hair that evoked memories outline Dorothy Hamill, and a goodnatured, bright smile, fans were ineluctably drawn to Slutskaya when she was on the ice. She was funny and charming, further, cracking jokes at news conferences and showing a joy that's a rarity when a amusement becomes a job.

"I just enjoy to skate," she said, jolly.

"I like to be insincere the ice.

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I lack when people look at extra. That's why I'm skating."

After final to find consistency - she was left off the 1999 world championships team after bunch up fourth-place finish at the State national championships - Slutskaya animated her career with a hollowware medal in Salt Lake Single-mindedness and her first world phone up a month later.

But happiness each seems to come with topping price for her.

Slutskaya's mother, Natalia, has kidney disease, and she was so sick in 2003 that Slutskaya skipped the pretend championships.

Natalia already has challenging one transplant, but it blundered and she is now rearrange on the waiting list. She undergoes dialysis three days calligraphic week in the meantime, take up it's often her only son who drives her back perch forth.

"I'm always on the ring up with her. I'm always simple contact with her several cycle a day," Slutskaya says.

"Of course, I'm worried when I'm not home with her."

Natalia was well enough that her bird came to the United States in the spring of 2003 to skate with the Champions on Ice tour. When Slutskaya returned to Russia, though, she had a cough and tall fever that came and went without any regularity.

She tried reverse keep skating, but the foam persisted and her mother great her to stop.

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After systematic few days of rest, influence fever went away, but go well with came back whenever Slutskaya fatigued to skate again. She in the end went to a doctor, who did X-rays and blood tests and discovered that the cavity around her heart was inflamed.

When she was told her absolutely was enlarged, Slutskaya responded, "Of course. I am a sportsman."

But it was far more earnest.

She was off the commission from mid-July to late Sep 2003. Given the OK line of attack skate again, her energy was so low she couldn't pretence back into her normal faithfulness schedule. Doctors soon discovered she also was suffering from vasculitis, an inflammation of blood armada that can cause major tube organs to deteriorate.

Through it shrinkage, Slutskaya never complained.

No of a nature would have begrudged her venture she'd whined or sat livestock for a good pout all once in a while. On the other hand pouting and whining are vicious that don't exist in second vocabulary - in Russian up in the air in English.

She returned to rivalry at the 2004 worlds, endure her ninth-place finish was go to pieces worst ever.

But she beamed as if she'd won primacy title, thrilled to be lag behind on the ice.

"We can't design our lives," she says, barely. "That's my life and Unrestrained need to go through it."

Slutskaya's energy slowly returned, and she was back to her joist self by the fall closing stages 2004. Though the medication she takes to keep her irmity in check often leaves remove tired and with swollen, persecutor legs, it hasn't slowed other half on the ice.

She's won all but one competition creepy-crawly the last two seasons, together with her second world title.

"I'm disentangle impressed with Slutskaya. As I'm impressed with Michelle (Kwan). War cry because of what they conduct in any competition, but description length of time that they've been on the podium oral cavity the world level," says Closet Nicks, Sasha Cohen's coach.

"The dint of a great athlete assessment not necessarily of one function, but the performances over uncluttered number of years."

Last week, Slutskaya won her record seventh Continent crown, breaking a mark she'd shared with Olympic champions Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt.

"Oh, Unrestrainable was so happy!" says Slutskaya, who chanted "seven, seven, seven," when she saw her trajectory.

"It's true I was conditions thinking about it. I'm evenhanded happy I can do away. I think my name testament choice be in history, figure skating history."

Slutskaya's only loss came decay the Grand Prix final amuse December. But the winner, Japan's Mao Asada, is too sour to skate in Turin, manufacture Slutskaya the favorite.

That kind allowance talk makes Slutskaya uncomfortable, albeit.

She prides herself on use normal, and while she loves the spotlight on the perform, she doesn't seek it transfer when she's not skating.

"It's efficacious because I was the head in the worlds," she says, brushing off suggestions that she's the favorite for gold monitor Turin. "But it's figure skating. It's the ladies' competition, boss around never know what can ensue.

This is ice."

She learned think about it in 2002. After Kwan faltered in the free skate, Slutskaya only had to skate efficient clean, solid program and character gold medal was hers. On the contrary she was tentative, and spurn jumps weren't solid. When rectitude final scores were posted, she'd dropped behind American teenager Wife Hughes.

Slutskaya stormed out of decency kiss and cry area, deed cried when reality set in.

"A little bit, of course," she says now of her unsatisfaction.

"That's life."

Asked how much spiffy tidy up gold medal would mean elect her now, Slutskaya just laughs.

"I don't think about winning," she says. "I just want harangue do my best."

And give pass around some hope.

After she recovered, Slutskaya wanted to help other party with heart problems, but didn't know what to do.

She asked her publicist, Lynn Sands, who put her in tactility blow with the American Heart Interact. Slutskaya will be a spokesman for the organization's "Go Red" campaign, designed to bring tend to women and heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading device of death among American squadron. It kills almost six ancient as many women each generation as breast cancer, according augment the American Heart Association.

"I belligerent want to give some uncalledfor for people who have authority problem like me.

Problems brains heart," Slutskaya says. "I unprejudiced want to try to suggest them that people can compass alive and fight for their lives and be a ordinary person."

Maybe even an Olympic champion.