‘I love my body’: Meet Russian skeleton champion Yulia Kanakina who swapped ballet for sport (PHOTOS)
Rising Russian sports star Yulia Kanakina represents one of the most exotic sports – skeleton – which requires not only physical strength, but insane coordination and exceptional bravery.
Sliding through a frozen track at a supersonic speed with your face down is an extreme adventure where a minor mistake can lead to a tragic ending.
Kanakina who gave up ballet classes to take up skeleton said that she was terrified by an ice track in the beginning and prayed to reach the finish line without being injured.
“In Krasnoyarsk we had a track with three big curves. I rode it at a speed of 15km/h and just prayed to reach the finish,” the 24-year-old said. “But finally I got used to it. I’m not afraid of training.”
The 24-year-athlete who is quite active on social media says that she loves to share beautiful pictures of herself but has no intention of raising the popularity of skeleton through saucy snaps.
“I love the beauty of a woman’s body, and a man’s as well. If a picture is not vulgar, why not share it? I’m satisfied with my body. I love taking pictures. I can gladly admire other girls’ pictures showing their bodies,” Kanakina said.
The 2017 world junior champion revealed tha she once took part in an erotic photo session but didn’t enjoy it, regretting having given her consent to it. Since then she has been turning down all proposals to pose for men’s magazines.
Kanakina started to compete internationally in 2011 immediately attracting the attention of national coaches who invited her to join the Russian team.
In 2017 she took her first major title winning the IBSF Junior World Championship. A year later she finished second at the junior worlds.
Kanakina who now performs as a senior finished the 2019-2020 season in the top 15 collecting 814 points at World Cup stages.