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
Height	160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
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 was a super talented gymnast from the Soviet Union. She was born on October 7, 1952. Ludmilla won many medals at the Olympics and other big gymnastics competitions. She is known for her calm and graceful style. After her gymnastics career, she became a coach and judge.

Becoming a Gymnastics Star

Ludmilla 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.

First Olympic Experience

Ludmilla went to her first Olympics in 1968 in Mexico City. She had just turned 16. Her team won a gold medal! She also placed 24th in the "all-around" competition. The all-around means competing in all the different gymnastics events.

Dominating the Gymnastics World

After the 1968 Olympics, Ludmilla became a leader on the Soviet team. From 1970 to 1974, she was almost unbeatable. She won the all-around gold at the World Championships in 1970 and 1974. She also won the European Championships in 1971 and 1973. In 1975, she won the World Cup.

Munich Olympics 1972

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Ludmilla won the all-around gold medal. This was a huge achievement! She also won a silver medal in the floor exercise and a bronze medal in the vault. She was one of the first gymnasts to use two different songs for her floor routines.

Facing New Rivals

In 1975, Ludmilla competed in the European Championships. For the first time in five years, she didn't win the all-around. She placed fourth behind younger gymnasts like Nadia Comăneci and her teammate Nellie Kim. This showed that new stars were rising in the sport.

Montreal Olympics 1976

Ludmilla competed in her third Olympics in 1976 in Montreal. Even with a back injury, she helped her team win another gold medal. In the all-around, she won a bronze medal. She also won silver medals on the vault and floor exercise. This brought her total Olympic medals to nine!

Ludmilla's Amazing Calmness

Ludmilla was famous for how calm she stayed during competitions. A journalist once wrote that she was "supreme" in her calmness.

The Falling Bars Incident

A great example of her calm nature happened at the 1975 World Cup in London. She was finishing her routine on the uneven bars when a hook broke. The bars fell apart and crashed to the ground right after she landed! But Ludmilla didn't even look back. She simply saluted the judges and walked off. She then went on to win the all-around and all four event finals! She later said she only thought about finishing her routine perfectly. Her coach said she would "fight to death in any situation."

Showing Good Sportsmanship

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

Special Achievements

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 Olympics, World Championships, World Cup, and European Championships all-around titles. The other gymnast to do this is Yelena Shushunova.

She is also one of only two women to win four gold medals at a single World Championships, which she did in 1974. The other is Simone Biles, who has done it multiple times.

Life After Gymnastics

In 1977, Ludmilla married Valeriy Borzov, a famous sprinter who won two Olympic gold medals.

Continuing in Gymnastics

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

Honors and Awards

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

Gymnastics Skill Named After Her

Ludmilla Tourischeva has a gymnastics skill named after her in the official Code of Points.

Images for kids

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  Olympic Rings

See also

In Spanish: Liudmila Turíshcheva para niños