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BIOGRAPHY

Oksana Baiul
	BIOGRAPHY | GALLERY | GOSSIP | BLOG

Oksana Baiul, born November 16, 1977 in Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine, is a professional figure skater and Olympic gold medalist.

At the age of 15, Oksana Baiul won the 1993 World Figure Skating Championship in her first senior competitive season, and she followed this up by winning the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. However, in her long programs at both the 1993 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics, Baiul failed to land a single triple jump combination. Her narrow victory over American Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Winter Olympics was controversial, given Kerrigan's near-clean skate and slight errors made by Baiul. Baiul turned professional after the 1994 Winter Olympics, even though she was only 16 years old at the time and had only competed in four major international events (winning the two highest ranked -- Worlds and the Olympics and finished second in the Europeans in 1993 and 94).

Following her win at the 1994 Winter Olympics, some skating commentators and critics gushed over Baiul's balletic style and performance ability. However, following the Olympics, Baiul was plagued by two physical elements that hit her jumps hard. The first was arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer of 1994, wherein she was advised by her doctor to not to return to the ice for two months. Due to the million dollar contract signed by her coach/manager/surrogate mother, Galina Zmievskaya, Baiul ignored doctor's wishes (at Zmievskaya's behest) and returned to the ice in two weeks and was competing in six. This, as well as the changes in her maturing body, hindered her jumping ability drastically.

Because of her increasing professional and personal problems, Baiul turned to alcohol. In 1997, she was arrested after crashing her car while intoxicated. She eventually entered a rehab program. Since then, Baiul has continued to skate professionally from time to time, including an engagement with the touring show "Broadway on Ice".

Baiul currently resides in New Jersey. She recently amicably ended an engagement with long-time boyfriend, Gene Sunik. She has her own line of clothing and jewelry. In November 2005, she appeared on the Bravo program Celebrity Poker.

Recently, Baiul discovered previously unknown Jewish heritage when talking with her maternal grandmother. Due in part to this, she supports the Tikva Children's Home Charity offering help for the Jewish Children of Odessa, Ukraine. In addition, Baiul also supports and is a member of the International Museum of Women -- a world-class cultural and educational institution whose mission is to value the lives of women around the world.