Maria Butyrskaya became the first Russian lady skater ever to win the World Championships. Winning at the age

of 26, she also was the oldest ladies World Champion in history. The Russian won her first major title when she

became European Champion in 1998.  Butyrskaya is thinking about working in the field of choreography when she

has finished her active skating career. Even now she is doing a lot of her own choreography, and she also takes

part in designing her costumes. The Muscovite usually picks her music herself. Butyrskaya started to skate at her

kindergarden and soon won all the little competitions the kindergarden people set up for the children. She was

then accepted at the famous ZSKA club in Moscow where she trained for years. However, when she was a

teenager a coach didn't believe in her talent anymore and she had to leave the club and to look for another coach.