Lyasan Utiasheva

Lyasan Albertovna Utiasheva (Russian: Ляйсан Альбертовна Утяшева, Bashkir: Ләйсән Альберт ҡыҙы Үтәшева, born June 28, 1985) is a Russian TV show host, socialite, and former individual rhythmic gymnast, she was a two time Grand Prix Final all-around medalist. Utiasheva is now working as a successful businesswoman, founder of the online project «Sila Voli», one of the Ambassadors of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and a mother of two children. She was known for her extreme flexibility, her emphasis in point of landing on high releve in her back split pivots led to a career ending injury.

Lyasan Utiasheva
Personal information
Full name	Lyasan Albertovna Utiasheva
Alternative name(s)	Liasan Utyasheva
Country represented	Russia
Born	28 June 1985 Rayevskiy, Bashkir ASSR, Soviet Union[1]
Hometown	Moscow
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	50 kg (110 lb)
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team	1993
Head coach(es)	Irina Viner
Assistant coach(es)	Vera Shatalina
Former coach(es)	Oxana Skaldina, Alla Yanina
Choreographer	N. Kosinova
Eponymous skills	The Utyasheva - backsplit to backscale to backsplit pivot with help
Retired	2006
Medal record Representing  Russia World Championships Disqualified 2001 Madrid Team European Championships 2004 Kiev Team 2002 Granada Team Grand Prix Final 2001 Deventer Rope 2001 Deventer Clubs 2001 Deventer All-around 2001 Deventer Hoop 2001 Deventer Ball 2002 Innsbruck All-around World Games 2001 Akita Hoop 2001 Akita Rope 2001 Akita Ball 2001 Akita Clubs

Lyasan Utiasheva in a gala performance

Career

Utiasheva in a gala show

Utiasheva's first coach was Alla Yanina. Irina Viner invited both Utiasheva and her coach to join the Olympic Centre in Moscow, but it was only Utiasheva who moved.

Utiasheva's breakthrough came in 2001 when she placed third at the Russian Championships. She then competed at the 2001 World Cup in Berlin and won gold medals in All-around and the individual apparatus finals in clubs, ball, rope and hoop.[2] At the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan, Utiasheva won four silver medals behind teammate Irina Tchachina in event finals for rope, hoop, ball and clubs.[3] Utiasheva won the all-around silver medal at the 2001 Grand Prix Final in Deventer, she also won 2 gold medals in the apparatus finals in clubs and rope. She was a member of the Russian team that won gold at the 2001 World Championships in Madrid but they were later disqualified due to Alina Kabaeva and Irina Tchachina testing positive for a banned diuretic.

In September 2002, Utiasheva hurt her foot on a bad landing while training in Samara but the X-ray revealed no fracture so she continued training and competing for the next eight months. At the 2002 Grand Prix Final in Innsbruck, Utiasheva felt pain in her feet after her ringjump and withdrew from the competition after the hoop final. At a specialist clinic in Berlin, magnetic resonance tomography showed that the navicular bone of both her feet had numerous fractures. She underwent surgery and returned to the sport briefly in 2004 but, unable to perform her jumps, she retired from competition and completed her career in 2006.

Utiasheva continued performing in galas and also began coaching. She starred in Alexei Nemov's 2007 show with other rhythmic stars including Yulia Barsukova. She was also one of the judges at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017 Miss Russia pageants.

Personal life

Lyasan Utiasheva was born to a Bashkir mother named Zulfiya Utyasheva, and a father of mixed Russian, Polish, and Volga Tatar descent named Albert Utyashev.[4] She converted to Orthodox Christianity from Islam.[5][6][7] She married Russian actor and comedian Pavel Volya, with whom she has a son, Robert, born in Miami, Florida. She gave birth to a daughter, Sofiya, in Summer 2015.

Routine music information

Year	Apparatus	Music title [8]
2005	Hoop	Trisha / Carson City / Battle in the Boneyard music from Con Air by Mark Mancina
	Ball	Full Moon and the Shrine by Keiko Matsui
	Clubs	Obicham Ludo by Malina
	Rope	El Tango De Roxanne music from Moulin Rouge by Ewan Mcgregor, Jose Feliciano, Jacek Koman
2004	Hoop	Trisha / Carson City / Battle in the Boneyard music from Con Air by Mark Mancina
	Ball	Full Moon and the Shrine by Keiko Matsui
	Clubs	Oh Yeah by Yello
	Ribbon	Summertime music from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
2002	Hoop	Gypsy Dance music from Don Quixote by Leon Minkus
	Ball	Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven
	Clubs	A Gusta / Journey to Shambala / Hindi Sad Diamonds by Safri Duo / Oliver Shanti / Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo, Alka Ya
	Rope	Straight to Number One / Big Beat / Tango in Harlem by Touch and Go
2001	Hoop	Nirbandh by Eastern Voices
	Ball	Act II: Un bel di vedremo (Butterfly) usic from Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
	Clubs	Kismet by Bond
	Rope	Keys to Imagination by Yanni
2000	Hoop	It Ain't Necessarily So / I've Got Rhythm by George Gershwin / Benjamin Goodman
	Ball	Norwegian Mountains / Reflection / The Heat by Oystein Sevag / Peter Gabriel
	Rope	Fantasia de Asturias by Isaac Manuel Francisco Albeniz
	Ribbon	Keys to Imagination by Yanni

References

1. "Athlete personal page". © 2000 Чуев В.В. ® RSGmagazine. 2000. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
2. "2001 World Cup Final Results". http://r-gymnast.bplaced.net. External link in |publisher= (help)
3. "Ляйсан Утяшева приняла решение уйти из большого спорта". Sovsport.ru. April 21, 2006. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
4. "Ляйсан Утяшева, рождённая в раю — Советский спорт, 22 февраля 2003, № 33 (15978)". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
5. Ляйсан Утяшева пишет стихи — Комсомольская правда, 29 мая 2009
6. "Ляйсан Утяшева, рожденная в раю — Советский спорт, 22 февраля 2003, №33(15978)". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
7. Еврейская община Ярославля встретилась со знаменитой спортсменкой Ляйсан Утяшевой — Иудаизм-пресс, 21/05/2006
8. "Utyasheva RG Music List". rgforum.

External links

• Official website
• Lyasan Utiasheva at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Lyasan Utiasheva Profile (in Russian)
• Rhythmic Gymnastics Results
• Lyasan Utiasheva on Instagram