Anastasia Bliznyuk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anastasia Bliznyuk
Anastasia Bliznyuk in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Anastasia Ilyinichna Bliznyuk
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1994-06-28) 28 June 1994 (age 30) Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Residence	Penza, Russia
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	51 kg (112 lb)
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team	2011-2013, 2016-2018, 2021
Club	MGFSO
Head coach(es)	Irina Viner
Assistant coach(es)	Tatiana Sergaeva
Medal record Group Rhythmic Gymnastics International gymnastics competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 0 World Championships 6 2 1 European Championships 7 1 1 Summer Universiade 3 0 0 Total 15 4 2 Representing  ROC Olympic Games Silver 2020 Tokyo Group All-around Representing RGF World Championships Gold 2021 Kitakyushu Team Gold 2021 Kitakyushu Group All-around Gold 2021 Kitakyushu 5 Balls Silver 2021 Kitakyushu 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs Representing  Russia Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Group All-around Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Group All-around World Championships Gold 2013 Kyiv 2 Ribbon + 3 Balls Gold 2017 Pesaro Group All-around Gold 2017 Pesaro 3 Balls + 2 Ropes Silver 2017 Pesaro 5 Hoops Bronze 2013 Kyiv Group All-around European Championships Gold 2012 Nizhny Novgorod Group All-around Gold 2012 Nizhny Novgorod 5 Balls Gold 2016 Holon Group All-around Gold 2018 Guadalajara Team Gold 2018 Guadalajara Group All-around Gold 2021 Varna Team Gold 2021 Varna Group All-around Silver 2021 Varna 5 Balls Bronze 2018 Guadalajara 5 Hoops Summer Universiade Gold 2013 Kazan Group All-around Gold 2013 Kazan 10 Clubs Gold 2013 Kazan 2 Ribbon + 3 Balls

Anastasia Ilyinichna Bliznyuk (born June 28, 1994) is a famous Russian rhythmic gymnast and coach. She is known for winning many medals in group rhythmic gymnastics.

Anastasia has won two gold medals at the Summer Olympics. She won in 2012 and 2016 in the Group All-around event. She also won a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics. This makes her the only rhythmic gymnast to win three Olympic medals! She has also won many medals at World and European Championships.

Early Career & Olympic Gold

Bliznyuk (left) and Sevastyanova in the 3 Ribbons + 2 Hoops final at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Anastasia Bliznyuk was part of the Russian Group that won gold at the 2012 European Championships. They also won gold at the World Cup Final in Minsk, Belarus.

In 2012, she won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. This was for the group all-around event. Her teammates were Uliana Donskova, Ksenia Dudkina, Alina Makarenko, Anastasia Nazarenko, and Karolina Sevastyanova.

To prepare for the Olympics, the Russian gymnasts followed a very strict diet. For six months, they mainly ate buckwheat. Anastasia lives in the city of Penza, Russia.

Challenges and Comeback

In early 2013, Anastasia had an injury. She could not compete with the Russian Group for a while. She returned later that year for the 2013 Sofia World Cup. Her team won silver in the all-around and gold in the 2 ribbons/3 balls event.

At the Minsk World Cup, they won gold in the all-around. They also got silver and bronze in other events. The Russian Group won all the gold medals at the 2013 Summer Universiade. This included the All-around, 10 clubs, and 2 ribbons/3 balls events.

Her team also won gold medals at the 2013 World Cup Final in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the 2013 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, they won a bronze medal in the Group All-around. They also won gold in the 2 Ribbon + 3 Balls final. After these championships, Anastasia and some other Olympic gymnasts ended their careers for a short time.

In 2014, Anastasia faced another challenge. She had an infection and needed six weeks to recover. After getting better, she started coaching a Russian reserve team. She began training again in 2015.

In 2016, Anastasia made an amazing comeback to competitive gymnastics. She rejoined the Russian group. They competed at the 2016 Moscow Grand Prix. She also took part in the 2016 FIG World Cup series. Anastasia and her team won group gold at the 2016 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships in Holon, Israel.

From August 19-21, Anastasia was part of the Russian group that won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was her second Olympic gold medal! She became only the third group rhythmic gymnast to win two Olympic gold medals.

Continuing Success & Coaching

In 2017, Anastasia continued to compete and became the captain of the Russian national group. They won many medals at different competitions. At the 2017 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Pesaro, they won gold in the all-around. They also won gold with balls and ropes, and silver with hoops.

In 2018, Anastasia started her season at the 2018 Grand Prix Moscow. Her team won gold in the group all-around. She had another injury but returned to win gold at the 2018 Grand Prix Holon. They also won gold at the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships in Guadalajara, Spain.

On July 5, 2021, Anastasia was chosen to represent Russia at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. This was her third time at the Olympics! Her group included Anastasia Tatareva, Alisa Tishchenko, Anastasia Maksimova, and Angelina Shkatova. At the Tokyo Olympics, the Russian group won the silver medal. This was the first time in 25 years that Russia did not win gold in group rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics.

From October 29-31, 2021, she competed at the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Japan. Her team won gold in the team competition for the fifth time in a row. They also won gold in the 5-ball final and silver in the mixed final.

Since late 2022, Anastasia Bliznyuk has been working as a technique coach. She helps the Chinese national rhythmic gymnastics team. This team won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in the Group All-around Final!

Detailed Olympic Results

See also

In Spanish: Anastasiya Blizniuk para niños