Polina Astakhova

Polina Ghrighorievna Astakhova (Полина Григорьевна Астахова, 30 October 1936 – 5 August 2005) was a Soviet artistic gymnast. She won ten medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics.

Polina Astakhova
Полина Астахова
Polina Astakhova at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Full namePolina Grigoryevna Astakhova
Поліна Григорівна Астахова
Полина Григорьевна Астахова
Country represented Soviet Union Ukraine
Born(1936-10-30)30 October 1936
Zaporizhia, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died6 August 2005(2005-08-06) (aged 68)
Kiev, Ukraine
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubShakhtar Donetsk,
Avangard Kiev,
CSKA Kiev

Biography

Astakhova became interested in artistic gymnastics at age 13, after she had watched the gymnastics championships in Donetsk, where their family moved a short time before. She trained in the local gymnastics sports club Shakhtyor under Vladimir Alieksandrovitch Smirnov.

Astakhova earned a nickname The Russian Birch in Western countries for her exceptional grace, and at the 1960 Olympics she was even called Madonna by the Italian journalists. Between 1956 and 1966 Astakhova was on top of many international and national competitions especially on the uneven bars apparatus event. She was a member of the USSR team between 1955 and 1968.

In 1954 Astakhova competed in the USSR Championships for the first time and in a year she made the USSR National team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. She was the youngest team member and contributed to the team's gold. At the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympics in Rome she led in the all-around, but lost a whole point for a fall on beam, which was the seventh routine of eight contested. She was very disappointed by the accident and even did not compete that year, although in Rome she won the gold in the team competition and on the bars, silver on the floor and bronze in the all-around. She recovered after the 1961 European Championships, where she won gold medals on the bars and on beam. Competing in the 1964 Summer Olympics, Astakhova contributed to the team's gold, won on the bars, was second on the floor and third in the all-around.

After retiring from competitions, since 1972 Astakhova worked as a national coach in Ukraine. In 2002, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Astakhova spent the last years of her life in Kiev before her death at age 68 from pneumonia.

Non-Olympic achievements

Year Event AA Team VT UB BB FX
1956USSR Championships3rd3rd3rd
1957USSR Championships3rd
1958World Championships1st3rd
USSR Championships3rd3rd2nd3rd
1959European Championships1st1st
USSR Championships1st1st2nd1st
USSR Cup1st1st3rd1st
1960USSR Championships1st2nd1st
USSR Cup1st
1961European Championships2nd1st1st2nd
USSR Championships2nd1st2nd
USSR Cup2nd1st
1962World Championships1st
USSR Championships3rd2nd3rd
1963USSR Championships3rd1st2nd
USSR Cup1st2nd1st2nd1st
1964USSR Championships2nd1st
1965USSR Championships2nd3rd
USSR Cup1st
1966World Championships2nd
USSR Championships3rd
1967USSR Championships3rd

See also

References

  • ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Polina Astakhova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.

This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E. V. Avsenev.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.