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Irina Viner

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Irina Viner
Ирина Винер
Viner in 2015
Born
Irina Alexandrovna Viner

(1948-07-30) 30 July 1948 (age 76)
Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
OccupationHead Coach of Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics (since 2001)
Known forHead Coach of the Olympic Training Center of rhythmic gymnastics in Novogorsk and coach of multiple Olympic/World champions
SpouseAlisher Usmanov
ChildrenAnton Viner
Parents
  • Alexander Efimovich Viner (father)
  • Zoya Zinovyevna Viner (mother)
Awards

Irina Alexandrovna Viner (Russian: Ирина Александровна Винер; born July 30, 1948), formerly Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova (Russian: Ирина Александровна Винер-Усманова), is a Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, former president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, and former vice president of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation.

In 2015, Viner was awarded the Olympic Order in recognition of her outstanding achievements in global sports, making Viner the first gymnastics coach in history to receive the award. Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, personally handed her the necklace and presented the award.[1]

Viner is one of the most successful gymnastics coaches of all time. Her pupils won five Olympic all-around golds in a row: Margarita Mamun (2016), Evgeniya Kanaeva (2008, 2012), Alina Kabaeva (2004), and Yulia Barsukova (2000).[2]

She was married to business magnate Alisher Usmanov, formerly Russia's richest man.[3]

Early and personal life

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Viner was born in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. Her father, Alexander, was a People's Painter of Uzbekistan. Her mother, Zoya, was a doctor. Viner is Jewish,[4] and in an interview she gave to Russian magazine Hello! at her home, she has said that she reads about Kabbalah, though she doesn't speak Hebrew.[5]

Viner was married to Uzbek–Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov until 2022.[6] She and Usmanov originally met in their youth at a sports hall in Tashkent, where he was involved in fencing; they reconnected many years later in Moscow.[2] She has a son from her first marriage, Anton, who was born in 1973 and later adopted by Usmanov.[7] Anton is a real estate investor.[8]

Career

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(L-R) Viner with rhythmic gymnasts Yana Lukonina, Daria Dmitrieva, Evgenia Kanaeva, former President Dmitri Medvedev, Daria Kondakova and RG coach Anna Shumilova

As a young girl Viner wanted to take ballet but was discouraged, so she took up gymnastics at the age of 11.[2] Viner was a three-time champion of the Uzbek SSR and graduated from the Uzbek State Institute of Physical Culture. She worked as coach of the national team in rhythmic gymnastics in Tashkent, and under her tutelage, Venera Zaripova became her first successful gymnast. In 1990, Viner briefly moved to Great Britain to coach the British national team.[9]

After Barcelona Irina moved to Moscow and began working for the Moscow City Sports Association (MCSA). Since 1992 Irina Viner-Usmanova was the head coach of the Olympic Training Center. She became the head coach of the Russian National Team in 2001 and the president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation in 2008.[10]

In 2015, Viner was awarded the Olympic Order in recognition of her outstanding achievements in global sports, making Viner the first gymnastics coach to receive the award. Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee personally handed the necklace to her and presented the award.[1][11]

On 6 February 2016, Viner was elected to the Supreme Council of the United Russia party.[12]

Viner featured in the 2017 documentary Over the Limit, which covered her training of Margarita Mamun in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics. The film depicts her controversial training methods including sustained verbal abuse, with statements and insults directed at Mamun such as "You're going to die bitch" and "Go f*** yourself with your shaking".[13][14]

In an interview she gave to Russia's Hello! magazine at her home, she has said that her pupils venerate myrrh-pouring icons before every competition.[15] Since she has talked about reading Kabbalah in the same interview, some gymnastics sites translating the article into English assumed she was referring to Kabbalah icons,[16] but this is most likely a mistaken assumption, as myrrh-pouring icons have long been associated with Eastern Orthodox Christianity,[17] while Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism, and Judaism forbids the use of icons altogether.

After Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram defeated Russia's Dina Averina at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the all-around individual competition, Viner attacked Ashram, the judges, as well as the wider gymnastics community, accusing them of bias against Russia and saying that "Dina is the real champion".[18][19][20] In the following all-around group competition at the same Olympics, the Russian team lost to the Bulgarian team, and Viner in response once more insinuated an anti-Russian conspiracy in the judging, saying, "everyone understood perfectly well that this was meant to happen, that Russia’s hegemony had to be stopped." Three months later, it was announced that Viner had signed the coach of the Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team at Tokyo, Ira Vigdorchik, to become the new coach of Russia's rhythmic gymnastic team.[21][22][23]

Viner resigned as the president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation in October 2024.[24]

Controversies

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On 9 May 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Viner was sanctioned by Latvia, included in the country's list of undesirable persons, and was prohibited from entering the country.[25][26] On 19 October 2022, she was sanctioned by Ukraine as a member of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party.[27][28]

In 2023, Viner proposed establishing an alternative Olympics Games and invite BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries to participate in it, following the news that Western nations oppose Russia's involvement in the 2024 Summer Olympics due to its invasion of Ukraine.[29]

Viner was sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) on 6 March 2023 for her behavior and statements at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The disciplinary commission ruled that Viner would be prohibited from attending international competitions for the next two years.[30] On 22 November 2023, the GEF Appeal Tribunal Panel upheld Viner's two-year sanction, clarified its scope and timing, and declared the Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia liable for the actions of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation and its members.[4]

Notable pupils

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Viner with President Vladimir Putin in May 2015

Viner has trained many Russian Olympic/World/European/World Cup medal winners,[3] including:

Russian gymnasts

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Individual rhythmic gymnasts:

Notable group rhythmic gymnasts:

Counselor/Coordinator for Russian Group:

International gymnasts

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Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Thomas Bach, President of IOC handed Irina Viner the awarded of the Olympic Order". Stadium.ru. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Непобедимая Ирина Винер отмечает юбилей". Vesti (in Russian). July 30, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Powerful people: Alisher Usmanov". Forbes. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "YIVO | Sport: Jews in Sport in the USSR". yivoencyclopedia.org.
  5. ^ Sabina Dadashova (January 13, 2014). "Ирина Винер о спорте, любви и мудрости" (in Russian). HELLO! Magazine. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  6. ^ Anita Raghavan. "The Hard Man of Russia". Forbes. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Антон Винер". Kommersant (in Russian). March 26, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  8. ^ "Why Russia's rhythmic gymnasts are always on top? Ask Irina Viner…". 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. ^ Keith Elliott (January 15, 1993). "Gymnastics: Rhythmic section seeking high notes". The Independent. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  10. ^ "Russian culture". August 15, 2013.
  11. ^ "Irina Viner-Usmanova: Thomas Bach awarded the entire artistic gymnastics". vestnikkavkaza. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  12. ^ Тимур Кизяков и Петр Толстой вошли в Высший совет «Единой России» Archived 2016-02-07 at the Wayback Machine «Йод», 06.02.2016
  13. ^ Lodge, Guy (November 23, 2017). "Film Review: 'Over the Limit'".
  14. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (October 11, 2018). "Review: A Russian Gymnast Goes 'Over the Limit' (Published 2018)". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "Ирина Винер о спорте, любви и мудрости". HELLO! Russia (in Russian). 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  16. ^ rhythmicgymnasticsinfo (2014-01-13). "Irina Viner-Usmanova Interview for HELLO! Magazine". Rhythmic Gymnastics Info. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  17. ^ ""myrrh-streaming" icons". ICONS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  18. ^ ""Нас нельзя изнасиловать. Нас можно только убить». Ирина Винер-Усманова высказалась за кадром интервью для «Матч ТВ"". 12 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Судьи 6 минут решали, как сделать так, чтобы выиграла Ашрам! Интервью Ирины Винер-Усмановой". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  20. ^ ""Все на Матч!": подробное интервью Ирины Винер-Усмановой". 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Former Israeli gymnastics team Ira Vigdorchik coach to train Russian team". Israel National News. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  22. ^ Pohoryles, Aviad (30 November 2021). "Former Israeli national gymnastics coach to train Russian team". www.israelhayom.com. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  23. ^ "Viner-Usmanova explained the arrival of the ex-trainer of Israelis to the Russian national team – GENERICO.ru". 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  24. ^ Astakhov, Sergey (2024-10-01). "Ирина Винер сложила полномочия президента Всероссийской федерации художественной гимнастики" [Irina Viner resigns as president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation]. matchtv (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  25. ^ "Усманов отозвал свой иск о разводе с Винер. Ранее миллиардер попал под санкции США и ЕС, Винер ограничения не коснулись" [Usmanov withdrew his lawsuit for divorce from Wiener. Previously, the billionaire came under US and EU sanctions, but Viner was not affected by the restrictions]. The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  26. ^ "Петросяну, Винокуру и Киркорову запретили въезжать в Латвию" [Petrosyan, Vinokur and Kirkorov were banned from entering Latvia]. Bublik (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  27. ^ "ВИНЕР-УСМАНОВА Ирина Александровна - биография, досье, активы" [VINER-USMANOVA Irina Aleksandrovna - biography, dossier, assets]. Война и санкции (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  28. ^ "Винер-Усманова Ирина Александровна, Правительство России, член совета по развитию физической культуры и массового спорта при правительстве" [Viner-Usmanova Irina Aleksandrovna, Government of Russia, member of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Mass Sports under the Government]. Rupep (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  29. ^ Ирина Винер: Мы можем составить конкуренцию Олимпийским играм, собрав страны ШОС и БРИКС
  30. ^ Международная федерация гимнастики отстранила Ирину Винер на два года из-за ее поведения после Олимпиады в Токио
  31. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  32. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  33. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2013-10-05 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  34. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  35. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  36. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  37. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2012-08-06 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  38. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  39. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  40. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  41. ^ As stated in her record at FIG
  42. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2011-12-05 at the Wayback Machine at FIG
  43. ^ As stated in her record Archived 2015-04-26 at archive.today at FIG
  44. ^ В России вручили награды номинантам Национальной спортивной премии. Спортсменами года стали Кулижников и Сидорова
  45. ^ "Ирина Винер и Леонид Рошаль получили премию "Человек года"". Lenta (in Russian). December 10, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
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