Alina Kabaeva is the winner of the Olympics, 3 world championships, 6 European championships, but we love her not only for this. She has become a real sex symbol of Russian sports.
Alina herself interpreted her image at the first victorious 1999 World Championship - Carmen from the opera by Georges Bizet: “a woman who plays with men”. When asked by a journalist if this is close to her spirit, 16-year-old Kabaeva will answer: "Yes!" The athlete always hid the details of her personal life. She learned this in the group of Irina Viner.
Minus three kilograms
Alina was born in hot Tashkent. A trip to Moscow to see the famous coach Irina Viner seemed like a pure adventure. The girl was already 11 at that time - too late to get into the group. However, after watching, Viner became interested, saying that she would take Alina if she lost three kilograms in three days.
The figure of Kabaeva, who seemed to the coach to be overweight, was appreciated by the editors of glossy magazines a few years later.
Football player and policeman
One of these probably fell into the hands of the Russian national team football player Maxim Buznikin - the first person suspected of having an affair with Kabaeva. The player wore a T-shirt with a picture of a gymnast under his uniform and even dedicated a song to her in an amateur music album:
Alina, Alina, Alina
Half of my dreams.
Alina, Alina, Alina
Half of my fate.
The player seemed to be trying to communicate something to the whole world, but did not dare. In an interview, he explained that only friendship connects them with a gymnast, and more often he refused to comment on anything at all.
It is believed that the relationship was interrupted by Irina Viner. It is explainable. The year 2000, the time when Buznikin and Kabaeva could meet (the national teams held a joint training camp in Novogorsk), turned out to be not the best for the gymnast. She made a gross error in her hoop performance.
“We did interviews with Kabaeva many times,” the player said, “What? Where? When? ”, Sports journalist Ravshan Askerov. - She is very lively, she never refused it. But there was the influence of Irina Viner: all interviews turned out to be verified.
Relations with another personal fan of Kabaeva were more open - Alina talked about preparing for the wedding, but this caused even more questions. The groom was the captain of the militia Shalva Museliani, whom his relatives for some reason called David. He presented the sportswoman with an expensive Mercedes coupe, although at that moment he was still officially married to another woman (in one of her interviews, the first wife recalled with regret that Museliani gave her only Daewoo Matiz). As a result, not only tabloid journalists, but also Museliani's colleagues from law enforcement agencies, showed curiosity. The OSB officers were interested in where the policeman got from, besides the Mercedes, also the Volvo and the Chrysler. Museliani himself, according to the newspaper, explained his well-being by the fact that his father is a businessman, a wealthy man and helps his son.
Secret husband
The name of another man in the life of Alina Kabaeva is unknown, but he exists. During the opening of the Games in Sochi, it was hard not to notice the wedding ring on the finger of Alina Kabaeva, who was carrying the torch at the climax of the Olympic torch relay.
According to the most popular version, the athlete's chosen one is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rumors about this have been spreading since at least 2008, but have not received a single confirmation. The newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent, which brought material about the wedding of the politician and the sportswoman on the cover, was closed 6 days after publication.
The media have repeatedly reported that Kabaeva gave birth to a child. True, her assistants do not recommend that journalists ask Alina Kabaeva questions about this face to face - the interview may stop abruptly. The athlete opens up only in front of trusted people. In 2013, she gave an interview to her friend Alexei Nemov, who published a glossy sports magazine.
- There are moments that an athlete does not like to touch in an interview, I know that. The guys can relax with me, talk the same language, - Nemov told our correspondent. - It was easier for me than for other journalists, since we have been friends for a very long time. And yet, like millions of ordinary people, I was interested in her personal life. Too many rumors revolved around her and the president. Where does the information about her relationship come from? For myself, I explain this by politics. There, everyone wants to cut the rating of the other - the one who is more successful, more successful. Therefore, when I heard for the first time about the "romance" between Putin and Kabaeva, of course, I did not believe it. I remember immediately called Alina and asked not to forget to invite me to the wedding. She: "Lyosha, are you out of your mind, or what ?!"
However, in an interview with a friend, Alina only told about the absence of children.
After that, the press sent the athlete to the hospital twice more - in 2015 and 2019. And the last time it was about twins. If you believe every news, you might think that Alina Kabaeva over the past 10 years has become the mother of five children. At the same time, Kabaeva was seen regularly at the workplace of a State Duma deputy.
After leaving parliament, Alina Kabaeva disappeared from the public field.
No congratulations to Putin
The President of Russia loves sports and often congratulates Russian champions and champions on their birthday. The last time a congratulatory telegram from the Kremlin went to Alina Zagitova on her 18th birthday. On round dates, Vladimir Putin does not forget to wish Tatiana Tarasova, Irina Rodnina, Vladislav Tretyak happiness. Sometimes birthday greetings go to Maria Sharapova, Elena Isinbaeva and many other famous athletes.
But it is impossible to find information on the congratulations of Alina Kabaeva on the website of the President of Russia. Of the six top athletes who ran the last leg of the Olympic relay in Sochi, the gymnastics champion is the only one whom Vladimir Putin did not publicly congratulate on his birthday. On May 12, Alina Kabaeva turned 37 years old, and again she was left without warm wishes from the Kremlin.