Katerina Pisetsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Katerina Pisetsky |
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| Personal information | |
| Nickname(s) | Katya |
| Country represented |  Israel |
| Former countries represented |  Ukraine |
| Born | 26 February 1986 Zaporizhia, Soviet Union |
| Height | 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Club | Sport Learn Petah Tikva |
| Head coach(es) | Natasha Asmolov |
| Former coach(es) | Lyubov Serebrianskaya |
Katerina "Katya" Pisetsky is a talented rhythmic gymnast from Israel. She was born in Ukraine and competed for Israel in the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport where gymnasts perform with equipment like ribbons, balls, hoops, and clubs, combining dance, ballet, and gymnastics.
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Early Life and Training
Katerina Pisetsky was born on February 26, 1986, in Zaporizhia, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. Her parents are Yevgeny and Tatiana.
Katya started rhythmic gymnastics when she was just 6 years old. Her first coach was Svetlana Zakharova. When Svetlana moved to Germany, she made sure Katya continued her training with Lyudmila Kovalik. Lyudmila was also the first coach of Oxana Skaldina, a famous gymnast who won world championships and Olympic medals.
Gymnastics Career
Lyudmila Kovalik saw how much potential Katya had. She encouraged Katya to train with Lyubov Serebrianskaya at the Gratsia club in Simferopol. Lyubov was the coach and mother of Kateryna Serebrianskaya, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1996.
Katya's parents were not sure about her joining a sports boarding school at first. But they agreed because her grandmother lived close by and could visit her often. Katya worked hard and improved her body movements and how she used the gymnastics equipment. For two years, she even shared a room with Svetlana Rudalova, another gymnast who later competed in the Olympics for Belarus.
Early Competitions
Katya won medals at the Ukrainian Junior Championships. She competed internationally for the first time in 1998 in Slovenia and won that event. In 2000, she placed seventh at the Club World Championships held in Tokyo, Japan.
Moving to Israel
In 2002, Katya's coach, Lyubov Serebrianskaya, was not able to coach as actively as before. Katya's family thought about moving to Belarus or Israel. Even though her coach disagreed, Katya's parents decided to move to Tel Aviv, Israel. Katya had competed there once before in 1999.
She took a break from gymnastics for six months after moving. Then, she started training again with Natasha Asmolov, who was from Belarus, at her club in Petah Tikva.
Representing Israel
Katya won the Israeli Cup in 2002. Her first international competition representing Israel was the 2002 Thiais Grand Prix in France. There, she placed 24th in the all-around competition. She finished second at the 2003 Israeli Cup. This made her the second-best Israeli gymnast at the European Championship in Granada.
At the 2002 European Championships, Katya placed 13th in the all-around. This was the best result an Israeli gymnast had achieved at that event. She also competed at the 2003 European Championships in Riesa, Germany. In that competition, gymnasts competed for individual apparatus only. Katya's best results were 10th place for both the ribbon and clubs events.
Olympic Dreams
Katya first qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens by placing 17th at the 2003 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Budapest. However, the Israeli Olympic Committee had strict rules. They required her to place within the top 10 at an international event to be approved for the Olympics.
At the 2004 European Championships in her home country, Ukraine, Katya placed 11th all-around. She just missed the top 10 cutoff. But the Israeli Olympic Committee made a special exception for her and named her to the Olympic team. Katya said that finding out she had officially qualified for the Olympics was one of the happiest moments of her life.
In Athens, Katya placed 16th in the all-around qualification round. She did not make it to the final, which was for the top 12 gymnasts. After the Olympics, she completed her required time serving in the Israeli army.
Katya also competed as part of the Israeli group squad at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The group finished seventh in the qualification round and then sixth in the final competition.
See also
- Nationality changes in gymnastics
