Polina Astakhova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Polina Astakhova Полина Астахова
Polina Astakhova at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Polina Grigoryevna Astakhova Поліна Григорівна Астахова Полина Григорьевна Астахова
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1936-10-30)30 October 1936 Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	6 August 2005(2005-08-06) (aged 68) Kyiv, Ukraine
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	56 kg (123 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Club	Shakhtar Donetsk, Avangard Kyiv, CSKA Kyiv
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games Gold 1956 Melbourne Team Gold 1960 Rome Team Gold 1960 Rome Uneven Bars Gold 1964 Tokyo Team Gold 1964 Tokyo Uneven Bars Silver 1960 Rome Floor Exercise Silver 1964 Tokyo Floor Exercise Bronze 1956 Melbourne Team, apparatus Bronze 1960 Rome All-Around Bronze 1964 Tokyo All-Around World Championships Gold 1958 Moscow Team Gold 1962 Prague Team Silver 1966 Dortmund Team Bronze 1958 Moscow Uneven Bars European championships Gold 1959 Krakow Balance Beam Gold 1961 Leipzig Balance Beam Gold 1961 Leipzig Uneven Bars Silver 1961 Leipzig All-Around Silver 1961 Leipzig Floor Exercise

Polina Grigoryevna Astakhova (born October 30, 1936 – died August 5, 2005) was an amazing artistic gymnast from the Soviet Union. She won many medals, including ten at the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960, and 1964. She was known for her beautiful and graceful style.

Biography of a Gymnastics Star

Early Life and Training

Polina became interested in artistic gymnastics when she was 13 years old. She watched a gymnastics championship in Donetsk, where her family had recently moved. She started training at a local sports club called Shakhtyor. Her coach was Vladimir Alieksandrovitch Smirnov.

Nicknames and Style

Polina was known for her exceptional grace and beauty in gymnastics. People in Western countries called her The Russian Birch. This nickname showed how elegant and tall she looked. At the 1960 Olympics, Italian journalists even called her Madonna because of her graceful movements.

Olympic Achievements

Polina joined the USSR National team in 1955. Her first big competition was the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. She was the youngest member of the team and helped them win a gold medal.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Polina was doing very well in the all-around competition. However, she had a fall on the balance beam. Even with this, she still won a gold medal with her team. She also won a gold medal on the uneven bars, a silver medal in the floor exercise, and a bronze medal in the all-around.

Polina bounced back strongly at the 1961 European Championships. She won gold medals on both the uneven bars and the balance beam.

She competed again at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Here, she helped her team win another gold medal. She also won a gold medal on the uneven bars, a silver medal in the floor exercise, and a bronze medal in the all-around. Polina made history by being the first gymnast to win two Olympic gold medals in a row on the uneven bars. Only two other gymnasts, Svetlana Khorkina in 2000 and Aliya Mustafina in 2016, have achieved this since.

Life After Competition

After she stopped competing, Polina became a national coach in Ukraine in 1972. She helped train new gymnasts. In 2002, she was honored by being added to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Polina spent her last years in Kyiv before she passed away at age 68 from pneumonia.

Other Major Wins

Polina Astakhova was a top gymnast not just at the Olympics. Between 1956 and 1966, she won many medals at other important competitions. She was especially strong on the uneven bars.

At the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won two team gold medals in 1958 and 1962. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars in 1958 and a silver medal with her team in 1966.

In the European Gymnastics Championships, Polina won gold medals on the balance beam in 1959 and 1961. She also won gold on the uneven bars in 1961. She earned silver medals in the all-around and floor exercise in 1961.

Polina also had great success in national competitions within the Soviet Union. She won many gold, silver, and bronze medals across different events at the USSR Championships and USSR Cup events throughout her career.