Ludmilla Tourischeva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ludmilla Tourischeva
Tourischeva at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1952-10-07) 7 October 1952 (age 72) Grozny, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Hometown	Kyiv, Ukraine
Height	160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight	52 kg (115 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Elite
Club	Dynamo
Head coach(es)	Vladislav Rastorotsky
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games Gold 1968 Mexico City Team Gold 1972 Munich Team Gold 1972 Munich All-Around Gold 1976 Montreal Team Silver 1972 Munich Floor Exercise Silver 1976 Montreal Vault Silver 1976 Montreal Floor Exercise Bronze 1972 Munich Vault Bronze 1976 Montreal All-Around World Championships Gold 1970 Ljubljana Team Gold 1970 Ljubljana All-Around Gold 1970 Ljubljana Floor Exercise Gold 1974 Varna All-Around Gold 1974 Varna Team Gold 1974 Varna Floor Exercise Gold 1974 Varna Balance Beam Silver 1970 Ljubljana Uneven Bars Silver 1974 Varna Vault Bronze 1970 Ljubljana Vault Bronze 1974 Varna Uneven Bars World Cup Final Gold 1975 London All-Around Gold 1975 London Vault Gold 1975 London Uneven Bars Gold 1975 London Balance Beam Gold 1975 London Floor Exercise European Championships Gold 1971 Minsk All-Around Gold 1971 Minsk Vault Gold 1971 Minsk Floor Exercise Gold 1973 London All-Around Gold 1973 London Vault Gold 1973 London Uneven Bars Gold 1973 London Balance Beam Gold 1973 London Floor Exercise Silver 1971 Minsk Uneven Bars Silver 1971 Minsk Balance Beam Bronze 1969 Landskrona All-Around Bronze 1969 Landskrona Uneven Bars Bronze 1969 Landskrona Floor Exercise Bronze 1975 Skien Floor Exercise

Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva (born October 7, 1952) is a famous former gymnast from Russia. She became an Olympic champion and won nine Olympic medals for the Soviet Union. After her gymnastics career, she became a coach in Ukraine.

Gymnastics Career Highlights

Ludmilla Tourischeva started gymnastics in 1965 when she was 13 years old. By 1967, she was already competing for the Soviet team. Her coach was Vladislav Rastorotsky, who also trained other famous gymnasts.

Early Olympic Success

Just after her 16th birthday, Ludmilla went to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. There, she helped her team win a gold medal. She quickly became a leader for the Soviet gymnastics team.

Dominating the Sport

From 1970 to 1974, Ludmilla was one of the best gymnasts in the world. She won the all-around gold medal at the World Championships in 1970 and 1974. She also won the European Championships in 1971 and 1973, and the World Cup in 1975. People admired her classic Soviet style, which was known for its grace, elegance, and perfect technique.

Munich Olympics 1972

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Ludmilla won the all-around gold medal. Even though she won, another young gymnast, Olga Korbut, became very popular at these games. Ludmilla also won a silver medal and a bronze medal in other events. She was one of the first gymnasts to use two different songs for her floor routines in a big competition.

Facing New Stars

In 1975, at the European Championships, Ludmilla finished fourth in the all-around. This was the first time in five years she didn't win an all-around competition. She was beaten by younger gymnasts like 13-year-old Nadia Comăneci from Romania and her own teammate Nellie Kim.

Final Olympic Games 1976

Ludmilla competed in her third Olympics at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. Even with a back injury, she helped the Soviet team win their third team gold medal. In the all-around competition, she won a bronze medal, finishing behind Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim. She also won two silver medals in other events. This brought her total Olympic medals to four gold, three silver, and two bronze!

Calm Under Pressure

Ludmilla was famous for staying calm during competitions. A journalist once said she was "supreme" in her calmness. A great example of this happened at the 1975 World Cup in London. The uneven bars she was using broke and crashed to the ground right after her landing. Ludmilla simply saluted the judges and walked off the stage without even looking back at the broken equipment. She then went on to win the all-around title and all four event finals! Her coach said, "Ljudmila would fight to death in any situation."

She was also known for being very kind. At the 1976 Olympics, she walked around the podium to congratulate Nadia Comăneci, who had won, and shook her hand before accepting her own medal.

The Grand Slam

Ludmilla Tourischeva is one of only two women in gymnastics history to win the "grand slam" of all-around titles. This means she won the all-around gold at the Olympics, World Championships, World Cup, and European Championships. The other gymnast to achieve this is Yelena Shushunova. Ludmilla also won four gold medals at a single World Championships in 1974.

Life After Gymnastics

In 1977, Ludmilla Tourischeva married Valeriy Borzov, who was an Olympic champion sprinter. She continued to be involved in gymnastics after she retired from competing.

She was chosen to be part of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee for the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in 1981. She has also worked as a coach, an international judge, and an official for the Ukrainian gymnastics federation. One of the gymnasts she coached was Lilia Podkopayeva, who won the all-around gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

Ludmilla has received many awards for her amazing gymnastics career. These include the Women in Sport trophy from the International Olympic Committee. In 1998, she was added to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Gymnastics Skill Named After Her

There is a gymnastics skill named after Ludmilla Tourischeva in the official Code of Points.

Images for kids

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  Ludmilla Tourischeva at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

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  The Olympic Rings, a symbol of the Olympic Games.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
• List of top Olympic gymnastics medalists
• List of top medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the Soviet Union