TASS: Coach Tatyana Tarasova hospitalised third time in a month
In short
Tatyana Tarasova, the 79-year-old Honoured Coach of the USSR in figure skating, is in hospital again, TASS reported on 5 October, citing a source who said her condition could not yet be stabilised. Kommersant described it as the third hospitalisation in a month; RBC said she had spent time in hospital twice in September. No cause was given and there was no confirmation from her family or doctors.
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TASS reported on 5 October that figure skating coach Tatyana Tarasova had been hospitalised again, citing a source who said her condition could not yet be stabilised. RBC, Kommersant and Vedomosti repeated the report within about an hour and a half, all attributing it to the same TASS source. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Kommersant said the reasons for the hospitalisation were not specified. Vedomosti quoted the source as saying: “She is in hospital again. Her condition cannot yet be stabilised.” RBC described Tarasova as a 79-year-old coach and said that, according to the TASS source, doctors had not been able to stabilise her condition. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The reports place the current hospitalisation in a series of recent stays. RBC said she had been in hospital twice in September for several days, including for a planned checkup. Kommersant described the current stay as the third in a month. Vedomosti reported that the coach's nephew, Alexei Tarasov, told TASS on 7 September that she had undergone a planned checkup and returned home, that a second hospitalisation became known on 17 September and that Tarasova reported her discharge on 19 September. Kommersant likewise said she announced her discharge two days after the second hospitalisation. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Vedomosti also recalled that Tarasova was in intensive care on 15 April, when RIA Novosti, citing a source, reported that the critical moment had passed and that the coach was conscious. The outlet added that in recent years she had had problems with her spine and joints, and that in early 2025 there were reports she had been diagnosed with hypertensive disease with damage to the heart. [ 4 ]
Kommersant gave background on Tarasova's career: she was born on 13 February 1947 into the family of hockey coach Anatoly Tarasov, who put her on skates at the age of four. In 1966 she became a champion at the Universiade in the Italian resort of Sestriere with her partner Georgy Proskurin, but was injured during the lap of honour in a way the outlet said was incompatible with continuing her competitive career. She began coaching at 19; among her first pupils were Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev, who won the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck and repeated the success four years later at Lake Placid. Kommersant said she received the title of Honoured Coach of the USSR before she was 30. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
Tarasova is one of the best-known figures in Soviet and Russian figure skating, and each report on her health draws wide attention in Russian media. The documents provide no information on a diagnosis, a treating clinic or a prognosis, so the practical consequences remain unknown. Because the only stated source for her condition is an unnamed TASS source, the reports leave the public picture incomplete.
Key facts
- TASS reported on 5 October that figure skating coach Tatyana Tarasova had been hospitalised again, citing a source. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The source said her condition could not yet be stabilised. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- RBC described her as a 79-year-old coach; Kommersant described her as an Honoured Coach of the USSR in figure skating. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Kommersant reported the hospitalisation as the third in a month and said the reasons were not specified. [ 3 ]
- RBC said she had been in hospital twice in September for several days, including for a planned checkup. [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reported that her nephew Alexei Tarasov told TASS on 7 September that she had had a planned checkup and returned home, that a second hospitalisation became known on 17 September and that she reported her discharge on 19 September. [ 4 ]
- Vedomosti reported that Tarasova was in intensive care on 15 April and that RIA Novosti, citing a source, said the critical moment had passed and she was conscious. [ 4 ]
- Vedomosti reported she had problems with her spine and joints in recent years and that in early 2025 there were reports of hypertensive disease with heart damage. [ 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The cause of the hospitalisation. Kommersant explicitly said the reasons for the hospitalisation were not specified; no other document gives a cause.
- Tarasova's current condition and diagnosis. All four documents rest on a single unnamed source cited by TASS; there is no confirmation from her family, doctors or a clinic in the documents.
- Whether this is the third hospitalisation in a month. Kommersant counts the current stay as the third in a month, while RBC reports only that she was in hospital twice in September for several days.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports that Tarasova has been hospitalised again and that her condition cannot yet be stabilised, citing a source. [ 1 ]
- RBC repeats the report and notes that she was in hospital twice in September and that doctors cannot stabilise the 79-year-old coach. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant reports the hospitalisation as the third in a month and says the reasons were not specified. [ 3 ]
- Vedomosti reports the hospitalisation and recalls her 15 April stay in intensive care and earlier problems with her spine, joints and heart. [ 4 ]