Crossover Dream - Ksenia Makarova

By Alexander Wildeve

Russia’s #1 Women’s Olympic Figure Skater Ksenia Makarova

Like Pushkin’s finest verse in sensuous motion on skates, delicious ice dream Ksenia Olegovna Makarova glides with a figure so elegant and toned it leaves one breathless in wonder. The grace, the speed and the passion exuded by this 17-year-old #1 Russian Olympic figure skater is astounding.

Set to one of her favorite accompaniments, the soundtrack from The 13th Warrior, she performs a thrilling combination Stag Leap followed by a Russian Split, soars into a Mohawk Turn then finishes with a perfect Biellmann spin during a training session at this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The cool runner from St. Petersburg was born in 1992, daughter of former Soviet figure skating pair Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov. Trained and mentored by her talented parents, the ice skating prodigy has leapt head and shoulders above her chilled-out peers. She’s now the one to watch in the ruthless global arena of skating brilliance.

Ksenia Makarova hopes for Olympic glory

A blond-haired siren who performs with seemingly magnetic propulsion, Ksusha moved to the U.S. at age 8 following an early childhood spent enduring the icy, harsh Russian winters. The nubile and talented Makarova actually spent most of her early years in disdain of the sport, a product of numerous slips and falls suffered during her first ice skating sessions. But as she grew, so did the skating bug inside of her, until in 2003 she began competing in a procession of U.S. competitions. This campaign culminated in a seventh place showing at the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships while still at the tender age of 14.

Returning to her Russian roots in 2007, Ksenia Makarova began performing for her native country which soon proved to be the perfect decision. In 2009 she took gold in the Coupe Internationale de Nice and this year became the 2010 Russian National Figure Skating Champion. Crucially, this qualified her for a place in the 2010 European Figure Skating Championships and her big shot at Olympic glory in Vancouver.

While still developing her fledgling career, Ksenia Makarova’s chances for a medal at this year’s Winter Olympics are red hot, as is the probability of enhancing her stature as a top gun in women’s figure skating. Although disappointed with her ninth place at the recent European Championships in Tallinn, the budding high voltage beauty knows what it means to compete at winter’s biggest sporting event: “I’ve been dreaming it my whole life, and it coming true is amazing.”