| PROFILE | |
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| ILIA`S STORY | |
It all began on the ponds of Moscow, a cold winter it was. Ilia and some friends played on the frozen ice. At the beginning Iliaīs parents wanted their son to stop skating, because he had so many crashes on the ice, but soon Ilia was to improve rapidly. His parents decided for Ilia to join a real figure skating club.They chose the Red Army Sports club, a club with great facilities, due to the large financial support from the state. Iliaīs first coach was Viktor Gromov, but it wasnīt until he was discovered by a certain Viktor Kudryatsev in 1989, his career really got going. Kudryatsev is a very reknown coach, he previously coached Sergei Volkov the first Russian World Champion, and is known for his skills on the technical side of the sport. Kudryatsev quickly saw the potential of the young skater and took him under his wings at the famous Dinamo club in Moscow. While training Ilia also had to finish his school, he was indeed a good student and after having graduated from his final-exam, he started sportstudies in Moscow. In 1993 Ilia made his international debute at Junior Worlds, he made an immidiate impression by finishing on the podium in 3rd place. This was the start of a great career, a career which hopefully will last a long time. |
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| ON THE ICE |
The Natural one of the many nicknames that Ilia Kulik has gotten over the years, but really one of the few which says something characteristic about his skating. Ilia is indeed a natural skater, the natural flow, effortless speed across the ice and textbook positions in his jumps is unmatched in the World of figure skating. The way he uses his body and arms creates an impression of total harmony, when he flies across the ice. 
Being a Russian it is only normal that he has great basic skating skills, but unlike many of his fellow Russians in the past, Ilia Kulik can skate to any kind of music, from the very romantic and classical Liebestraum and Romeo and Juliet to the energetic
pieces of Tango and his Mortal Combat exhibition number from 1998.With his high jumps and great maneuvers on the ice it very soon became obvious that Ilia was a great athlete, like most other top-skaters of today, he has the quad-toe in his repetoire, but what really makes Ilia stand out from most of his competitors, is his entries into the various jumps, his brilliant technique in the air, and the clean running edges coming out of his jumps. Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about Iliaīs spins, were they fast enough, and what about his positions! Well to tell the truth his spins arenīt in the same league as those of Todd Eldredge or Scott Davis. He hasnīt got the flexibility of a Yevgeny Plushenko or a Rudy Galindo either, but they are still good enough not to give any deductions, and one must have in mind that his spins have indeed improved a great deal over the past seasons! In terms of presentation Ilia has really undergone a change over the years, from being the serious rather shy looking skater, he was in 1995, he is now a skater who loves the crowd and loves to perform in front of them, and why shouldnīt he?? The final word must be that Ilia Kulik is one of the most complete skaters the World has ever seen! |