Main points
- Liliya Podkopayeva, an Olympic champion from Donetsk, continues to support Ukraine while living in the United States, where she has founded her own business and is raising three children.
- The athlete does not communicate with her godmother Ani Lorak because of her political position, and also broke off relations with her first husband, who was accused of treason.
Liliya Podkopayeva / Collage of Channel 24
The Ukrainian champion has forever inscribed her name in world sports. The injury prevented Liliya Podkopayeva from returning to professional sports, but she managed to come to terms with it and continued to work in other areas.
- 1 Liliya Podkopayeva in professional sports
- 2 Personal life
- 3 Where is she now and what does she do?
The champion is originally from Donetsk. She has been engaged in artistic gymnastics since the age of 5, which became a fateful decision for her. What is known about the athlete's career, whether she communicates with the traitor Ani Lorak and where and how she lives now, read the material of Channel 24 .
Liliya Podkopayeva in professional sports
In 1993, Podkopayeva became the champion of Ukraine and took part in the world championship. At the age of 18, the athlete achieved real recognition. She participated in the 1996 Olympic Games, where she won three medals in Atlanta. Two gold medals – in the floor exercise and in the all-around and a silver medal – on the beam.
Liliya Podkopayeva at the 1996 Olympics: watch the video online
An interesting fact is that then she performed an element that she had been working on for 7 years and which went down in the history of gymnastics with her name.
Lilia Podkopayeva's performance at the 1996 Olympics: watch the video online
Unfortunately, these were the last Olympic Games for the gymnast. During one of the trainings, Lilia fell from the beam and broke two ribs. This injury did not allow the girl to return to the big sport.
But despite this disappointment, the athlete did not give up. She continued to play sports to keep herself in shape. Moreover, she even opened her own business in the States – she released a line of sportswear.
Podkopayeva has appeared on Ukrainian television entertainment shows for many years. The athlete even took part in “Dancing with the Stars”, where her partner on the floor was Sergey Kostetsky.
Liliya Podkopayeva and Sergey Kostetsky – Jive: watch the video online
Personal life
The gymnast's first husband in 2004 was Ukrainian businessman Timofey Nagorny. Due to certain circumstances, the star could not get pregnant, so the couple decided to adopt a boy named Vadim. Fate turned out so that when the adoption procedure was going on, Liliya found out that she was pregnant. The couple did not refuse adoption, and at the end of 2006 the couple had a daughter, Karolina.
Liliya Podkopayeva with her first husband / Photo from social networks
The girl's godmother was the traitor Ani Lorak, who was the athlete's best friend at the time. Today, they do not communicate.
“Losing a loved one, a friend is a certain kind of tragedy. But I consider the greatest tragedy to be how the Ukrainian Karolina Kuek behaved towards her homeland – towards the country where she was born and raised. Now she has found a new homeland and a new circle of friends. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our communication ceased, and I am very sorry that she made such a choice,” Podkopayeva said.
Ani Lorak and Lilia Podkopayeva / Photo from the athlete's Instagram
Our editorial team wrote about how Ani Lorak lives today, who not only betrayed Ukraine, but also became a citizen of Russia.
After some time, the couple divorced. The gymnast decided not to disclose all the details, but Nagorny said that the publicity had a negative effect on his wife, and she became indifferent to the feelings of her once close person. By the way, in 2018, the businessman was indicted for high treason. He said that he was supposed to create a political party to promote Russia's interests in Ukraine.
In one of the interviews, the gymnast said that her ex-husband had not communicated with the children since they divorced.
This person is not involved in the children's lives in any way. He just disappeared and that's it. And it's terrible, but it's eye-opening, you don't walk around with rose-colored glasses. And the step I took many years ago – I got divorced – was the best decision,
– the athlete emphasized.
However, Lilia is not offended by Timofey and notes that she never interfered with her father's communication with the children.
The star's second husband was another businessman, Viktor Kostyrko. However, this union did not last long either.
In 2019, Podkopayeva finally found true love. Her heart was won by Igor Dubinsky, who has lived in Atlanta for over 20 years. The athlete decided to move to the United States, where she gave birth to her daughter Evelina.
Liliya Podkopayeva with her new husband and younger daughter / Screenshot from Instagram
It is known that the gymnast's son has already graduated from school and was planning to enter an American university. The boy and his sister Karolina also provided humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the war.
Liliya Podkopayeva with her son Vadim / Photo from the athlete's Instagram
Where is she now and what is she doing?
When Russia started a full-scale war, the gymnast has been actively supporting Ukraine since then. The star occasionally visits her homeland. In 2022, she admitted that she is learning Ukrainian because “she wants to speak it well.”
She also said that she does not feel very comfortable living in the United States and cannot share the common pain of the tragedy with Ukrainians caused by Russia.
The star also shared in the interview about her father, who is originally from Russia. According to her, the last time she saw him was sometime in the 2000s in Donetsk. At that time, her parents were divorced.
I didn't even know how to communicate, because it was the first time since childhood. I couldn't say “dad” – it somehow didn't work out. “Sasha” – I couldn't either. On “you” or on “you”? It was very uncomfortable,
– Podkopayeva recalled that meeting.
The gymnast insists that she holds no grudge against her father, but she does not know where he is now or what his fate has been.