Born March 18, 1980 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Alexei Yagudin is a young but already legendary ice skater. Olympic Gold Medalist and four time world champion.
In the 2001-2002 season Alexei Yagudin made history by being the first person to ever win the World Championships, European Championships, Grand Prix Final, and Olympic Games in one season. He also earned first place at Masters of Figure Skating, Skate Canada, and Trophee Lalique.
His recent performances at the Olympic Games and at World Championships have received the highest scores of all time. At the Olympics he earned four perfect 6.0 marks for artistry/presentation after his free skate, three more than anyone else in history for a single performance.
At World Championships he earned an unprecedented six perfect 6.0s for his short program, including the first ever 6.0 mark for required elements and technical skill.
Alexei Yagudin is known for his giant vertical leap, his intricate and challenging footwork, his overall excellence as both an athlete and an artist, and his warm, gracious attitude towards the audience and fans.
He's also known among female figure skating fans as "the cute one."
As the commentators say, he has definitely been the best thing going in men's figure skating since his first World Championship in 1998.
He currently trains in Newington, Connecticut with his coach and choreographer Tatiana Tarasova. He loves the United States but is very happy representing his homeland, Russia. He is without a doubt Russia's greatest skater of all time, although I hear sometimes that people in Russia favor Yevgeni Plushenko, Yagudin's greatest rival.
Yagudin plans to continue competing on the Olympic-eligible level, at least long enough to win another World title, which would tie him with Dick Button. Fans hope he will go on to win more, and even go for another Olympic medal.
This writeup is accurate as of April 16, 2002.