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    Athlete profile: Maria Butyrskaya

    Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

    Athlete information
    NameMaria Butyrskaya
    CountryRussia
    PronouncedMAH-ree-ah boo-TEER-sky-ah
    Age27
    Birthdate06/29/72
    BirthplaceMoscow, Russia
    ResidenceMoscow, Russia
    Height/Weight5'3", 108
    EventsSkating

    Athlete notes

    Skating's Madonna, this Moscow Material Girl invents steamy, intense artistic programs worthy of her sobriquet...but jumps will determine if she will "bust a move" from fifth at the 1997 World Championships to the podium in Nagano...third after the short program at the '97 Worlds, Butyrskaya's wobbly performance punctuated her need for consistency...Butyrskaya, who is known as Masha (MAH-shah), has dyed her hair blonde, designs her own costumes (rather short in length) and is given much input into her routine by choreographer Natalia Ulianova (nah-TAHL-yah oo-LEE-ah-no-vah)...

    Athlete notes

    "I think I have a great strength in that I skate to many different kinds of music," says Butyrskaya, who adds, "My outfits are my personality"...Butyrskaya's technical side has improved greatly under Elena Tchaikovsaya (chy-KAHV-sy-yah), her coach of the past two seasons...her triple flip and triple Lutz have become more solid...in fact, she has been experimenting with the triple Axel -- a jump only Midori Ito and Tonya Harding have completed in women's skating history...as a child, Butyrskaya was brought into skating at age five by her mother Svetlana in order to improve her weak frame...her father, Viktor, competed in a form of "Russian" wrestling that emphasized self-defense...both of her parents are computer programmers...she still lives in Moscow, despite feeling somewhat threatened..."I even was robbed in the elevator of our house," Butyrskaya recalls. "But I love Russia. Sure I'll skate a lot in the US because only there I can make a living on skating. But I'll always return to Russia"...often complaining of jet lag, Butyrskaya may arrive in Japan extra early...off the skating circuit, Butyrskaya has been known to stay out late - hitting the dance clubs and shooting a little pool...Tchaikovsaya is Butyrskaya's fourth coach...she was originally mentored by Sergei Volkov, the first Soviet men's world figure skating champion in 1975...but Volkov died of cancer in 1990...Butyrskaya skated briefly with two-time World Champion Vladimir Kovalev (1977 & 1979) until Kovalev left to teach in Greece...


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