Aliya Mustafina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aliya Mustafina Алия Мустафина
Mustafina in August 2016
Personal information
Full name	Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1994-09-30) 30 September 1994 (age 30) Yegoryevsk, Russia
Hometown	Moscow, Russia
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international elite
Years on national team	2007–2021 (RUS)
Club	CSKA Moscow
Gym	Ozero Krugloye
Head coach(es)	Sergei Starkin Raisa Ganina Olga Sikorro Sergei Zelikson Evgeny Grebenkin
Former coach(es)	Dina Kamalova Alexander Alexandrov
Choreographer	Olga Burova
Music	Floor music 2007: "Sahra Saidi" 2008: "The Blue Danube" 2010: "Por Una Cabeza" 2009–2010: "Hijo de la Luna" 2011: "Hood Jump" 2012: "Final Hour" 2013: "Queen of Hearts" 2013: "Soulseeker" (World Championships) 2014: "Ancient Lands" and "Runaway" (partially included in the used mix) 2015: "My Way" 2016: Mix with "Moscow Nights" and "Consuelo (Vals para Mimi)" 2018: "Ancient Lands" and "Runaway" (partially included in the used mix) 2019: "Survivor" (2WEI)
Eponymous skills	Uneven Bars: 1½-twisting double back tuck dismount Floor Exercise: 3/1 turn with leg held up in 180° split
Retired	June 8, 2021
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  Russia Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 2 3 World Championships 3 4 5 European Games 3 1 0 European Championships 5 4 3 Summer Universiade 3 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Uneven bars Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Uneven bars Silver 2012 London Team Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team Bronze 2012 London All-around Bronze 2012 London Floor exercise Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro All-around World Championships Gold 2010 Rotterdam Team Gold 2010 Rotterdam All-around Gold 2013 Antwerp Balance beam Silver 2010 Rotterdam Vault Silver 2010 Rotterdam Uneven bars Silver 2010 Rotterdam Floor exercise Silver 2018 Doha Team Bronze 2013 Antwerp All-around Bronze 2013 Antwerp Uneven bars Bronze 2014 Nanning Team Bronze 2014 Nanning Balance beam Bronze 2014 Nanning Floor exercise European Games Gold 2015 Baku Team Gold 2015 Baku All-around Gold 2015 Baku Uneven bars Silver 2015 Baku Floor exercise European Championships Gold 2010 Birmingham Team Gold 2013 Moscow All-around Gold 2013 Moscow Uneven bars Gold 2016 Bern Team Gold 2016 Bern Balance beam Silver 2010 Birmingham Uneven bars Silver 2010 Birmingham Balance beam Silver 2012 Brussels Team Silver 2014 Sofia Uneven bars Bronze 2014 Sofia Team Bronze 2014 Sofia Balance beam Bronze 2016 Bern Uneven bars Summer Universiade Gold 2013 Kazan Team Gold 2013 Kazan All-around Gold 2013 Kazan Uneven bars Silver 2013 Kazan Balance beam FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 1 1 0 World Cup 0 1 0 World Challenge Cup 3 0 0

Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (Russian: Алия Фархатовна Мустафина; born September 30, 1994) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. She is famous for being the 2010 all-around world champion. She also won the European all-around title in 2013. Aliya is a two-time Olympic champion on the uneven bars, winning in both 2012 and 2016.

Aliya Mustafina has won seven Olympic medals in total. This ties her with Svetlana Khorkina for the most Olympic medals won by a Russian gymnast. She is also one of only nine gymnasts to win medals on every event at the World Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Aliya won four medals. This made her the most decorated gymnast at that competition. She also won more medals than any other athlete there, except for swimmers. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she made history again. She was the first female gymnast since 2000 to win an all-around medal in two Olympics in a row. She was also the first since Svetlana Khorkina (in 2000) to win the same Olympic event title twice.

About Aliya's Early Life

Aliya Mustafina was born in Yegoryevsk, Russia, on September 30, 1994. Her father, Farhat Mustafin, was a Greco-Roman wrestling bronze medalist at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Her mother, Yelena Kuznetsova, is a physics teacher.

Aliya's Junior Gymnastics Career

Starting International Competitions (2007)

Aliya's first big international competition was the International Gymnix in Montreal in March 2007. She finished second in the all-around. The next month, she competed at the Stella Zakharova Cup in Kyiv and also placed second. In September 2007, Aliya competed at the Japan Junior International. She placed second in the all-around and second in all four event finals.

European Junior Success (2008)

At the 2008 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in France, Aliya helped the Russian junior team win first place. She also won the silver medal in the individual all-around.

Becoming a National Champion (2009)

In 2009, Aliya competed in the senior division at the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Even though she was still a junior, she won the all-around title. She also placed second on uneven bars, first on balance beam, and third on floor. Later that year, she won the all-around at the Russian Cup. In December, she won the all-around at the Gymnasiade competition in Qatar. She also won gold medals on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor, and a silver on vault.

Aliya's Senior Gymnastics Career

Breakthrough Year (2010)

In April 2010, Aliya competed at the 2010 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham. She helped the Russian team win first place. She also won silver medals on uneven bars and balance beam.

At the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Aliya made history. She was the first gymnast since 1996 to qualify for the all-around final and all four event finals. She helped the Russian team win first place. She also won the individual all-around title. In the event finals, she won silver medals on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. She left the championships with five medals, more than any other gymnast.

Injury and Comeback (2011-2012)

In March 2011, Aliya competed at the American Cup in Florida. She finished second after falling on her last event. Later that month, she won gold medals on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam at a World Cup event in Paris.

In April 2011, at the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin, Aliya had a serious injury. She tore a ligament in her left knee during the all-around final. She had surgery a few days later. Her coaches were careful with her recovery to make sure she could compete in the Olympics. By December, she was back competing at the Voronin Cup in Moscow. She placed second on uneven bars.

In March 2012, Aliya competed at the Russian national championships. She won the all-around title and the uneven bars title. In May, at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Brussels, she helped the Russian team win second place.

London Olympics (2012)

Mustafina (center) holding her gold medal from the 2012 Olympic uneven bars final along with the silver and bronze medalists, He Kexin (right) and Beth Tweddle.

In July 2012, Aliya competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She helped Russia qualify for the team final in second place. She also qualified for the individual all-around, uneven bars, and floor finals.

In the team final, Aliya helped the Russian team win a silver medal. In the all-around final, she won the bronze medal. She tied with American Aly Raisman, but Aliya won the tie-breaker. Aliya then won the gold medal in the uneven bars final. This was Russia's first Olympic gymnastics gold medal in 12 years. She also won a bronze medal in the floor final.

After the Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Aliya the Order of Friendship award.

Continued Success (2013)

In 2013, Aliya won her second Russian national all-around title. She also won the all-around and team titles at the Stella Zakharova Cup.

At the 2013 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Moscow, Aliya won her first individual European all-around title. The next day, she won the uneven bars final. In July, Aliya competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. She helped Russia win the team gold. She also won the all-around title, gold on bars, and silver on beam.

In October, Aliya competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp. She won the bronze medal in the all-around. She also won a bronze medal on uneven bars. Then, she won her first world beam title, earning a gold medal.

More World and European Medals (2014)

In 2014, Aliya won her third Russian national all-around title. At the 2014 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Bulgaria, she helped her team win a bronze medal. She also won a silver medal on uneven bars and a bronze on balance beam.

At the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in China, Aliya helped Russia win a team bronze medal. She also won bronze medals in the balance beam and floor exercise finals. This brought her total World Championships medals to 11.

European Games Champion (2015)

Aliya took some time off in early 2015 to recover from injuries. She returned to compete at the Gymnastics at the 2015 European Games in Baku in June. She and her teammates won the team final. Aliya also won the individual all-around title. She received a gold medal on bars and a silver on floor.

Defending Olympic Gold (2016)

In March 2016, Aliya returned to competition at the Russian Championships. She won bronze medals on bars and beam. At the 2016 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Bern, she helped Russia win the team gold medal. She also won a bronze medal on uneven bars and a gold medal on balance beam.

Rio Olympics (2016)

Mustafina (right) with the Russian team after their silver-medal performance at the 2016 Olympics.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Aliya helped Russia win a silver medal in the team final. Two days later, she competed in the individual all-around final. She won the bronze medal, repeating her performance from the 2012 Olympics. On August 14, Aliya competed in the individual uneven bars final. She successfully defended her 2012 title, winning another gold medal!

Return to Competition (2018)

After having her daughter, Aliya returned to training in 2017. In April 2018, she competed at the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She won a gold medal with the Moscow team.

In October, Aliya competed at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Qatar. She helped Russia win a silver medal in the team final. She also qualified for the uneven bars final, where she placed fifth.

Final Competitions (2019)

In January 2019, Aliya competed in the all-around at an international event for the first time since the Rio Olympics. In March, she finished third in the all-around at the Russian National Championships. She then won the Birmingham World Cup.

In June, Aliya had to withdraw from the European Games due to an ankle injury. In August, she decided not to compete at the 2019 World Championships to rest and prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Retirement (2021)

Aliya Mustafina officially announced her retirement from gymnastics on June 8, 2021.

Coaching Career

In 2021, Aliya Mustafina began working as a coach for the junior national team. In February, she became the acting head coach of the junior national team.

Who Inspired Aliya?

When asked if she had any idols, Aliya said she never had any. She did say that Svetlana Khorkina was an "amazing gymnast." Aliya also admired Nastia Liukin for her "elegant and beautiful performances" and Ksenia Afanasyeva for her "strong and beautiful gymnastics."

Aliya's Personal Life

Aliya Mustafina started dating Russian bobsledder Alexey Zaitsev in 2015. They met at a hospital while recovering from sports injuries. They got married on November 3, 2016. In January 2017, it was reported that Aliya was expecting a baby. Her daughter, Alisa, was born on June 9, 2017. Aliya and Alexey later divorced in April 2018.

Aliya's Special Skills

Aliya Mustafina has two gymnastics skills named after her in the official Code of Points. This means she was the first to perform these difficult moves successfully in a major competition.

• Uneven bars: A dismount called the "Mustafina" is a 1½-twisting double tucked salto backwards.
• Floor exercise: Another "Mustafina" skill is a 1080° (3/1) turn with her leg held up in a 180° split position.

Images for kids

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  Aliya Mustafina, All-around Champion at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

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  Mustafina at a World Cup event in Paris in 2011.

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  Aliya Mustafina with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Judo Olympic silver medalist Alexander Mikhaylin in 2012

See Also

In Spanish: Aliyá Mustáfina para niños

• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Russia
• List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics
• List of top female medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships