Meet the new Russian divas (original) (raw)

Alina Kabaeva: rhythmic gymnast

As a child in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Alina Kabaeva was derided as 'too fat' for gymnastics. Then she met Irina Viner, one of the toughest coaches of the Soviet era, who took her to a training centre in Moscow and allowed her only water for the first three days. 'Irina said, "If you don't get thin I will squeeze the fat out of you with my own hands." I got so hungry I begged her for food. I drove myself crazy thinking about my grandmother's pancakes.'

Kabaeva is aged 24 and doesn't look like a gymnast. She has curves, hips and breasts. The curves come and go, she says, subject to training commitments. 'I eat Russian caviar by the spoonful, it is so good for you,' she says. 'But when I was preparing for competition I ate just one spoonful of dried apricots, nuts and raisins in the morning - enough calories for a 10-hour day of training. My other diet is buckwheat and green tea; it is so boring you can never get fat on it.'

After retiring in 2004 with six world championship and one Olympic gold medal, the undisputed queen of rhythmic gymnastics made her international comeback this year, winning the all-round gold at the World Cup in Portugal in April. She is still pursued by the Russian paparazzi, her love life is a source of endless speculation and there was even a hit song about her - 'Alina' - by Russian pop band Sindikat. 'Being a star in gymnastics is not just about skill,' she says, 'it is also about personality. Look at me. I don't want to be rude, but everyone wants to be like Alina Kabaeva.'

Of her rival Khorkina, she is haughtily dismissive. Khorkina's appearance in Playboy in 1997 offended Kabaeva's Uzbek values. Or so she claims: 'Khorkina can do as she wants,' says Alina, 'but I am from Tashkent so I am careful about showing my body. I have done beautiful photos, but I have always kept my clothes on.'

Svetlana Khorkina: artistic gymnast

She stands in the corridor of a London hotel, a photographer's light burning her face. His mumbled response to her question, 'Do I look good?' leaves her unimpressed. 'One more photograph, three more questions,' Svetlana Khorkina says, snapping her red fingernails. 'I love interviews.'

Before Khorkina, gymnasts were tiny. Then came the leggy Russian with an ambition to make her sport, for so long associated with pre-pubescent girls, glamorous. Her appearance in the Russian edition of Playboy in 1997 shocked many. 'I changed people's attitudes,' she says, 'it's very good to be sexy. My career made it clear that tall girls can do incredible things. I opened the way. Now I'm famous the world over.' Was it so straightforward? 'I didn't feel anything,' she says, 'apart from maybe when I was on the top podium and they were underneath.'

They used to say Khorkina flirted with the judges to win her 13 artistic gymnastic gold medals, including two Olympic titles. They said she was as much an actress as a gymnast, which is no surprise when you meet her. The 28-year-old beams, pouts, tosses her hair, places a finger on her lips in affected repose. 'I wouldn't have been called a diva or a queen if I wasn't creative,' she says. 'My costume and make-up were always important to me. When people come to see gymnastics they want a performance, not just a sport. I have a talent. I have accomplished so much in sport it will take dozens of years before anyone else achieves as much.'

Now vice president of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, as well as a mother and sometime actress, Khorkina knows where she wants to go next: Hollywood.