Soviet gymnast Natalia Kuchinskaya: biography, achievements and interesting facts

Kuchinskaya Natalia - the best gymnast of the late 60'syears, the legend of Soviet sport. At its first international competition (World Championships in Dortmund), seventeen-year-old Natasha won six medals, half of which were gold medals. Similar results at this age did not reach yet none of the gymnasts of the world. Her magnificent technique and amazing grace hit the whole world. Fans eagerly awaited her performances.

Biography of the sportswoman

Kuchinskaya Natalia, biographywhich is closely associated with sports, was born in Leningrad on March 12, 1949. The family of the Kuchinsky can be called athletic: the father was a master of sports at once on several types, mother - a coach in rhythmic gymnastics. This circumstance to a large extent determined the fate of the girl, the fate of the most beautiful athlete in the history of gymnastics, for which sport has become the greatest passion in life.

Graduated in 1966, the school, she immediately goes toLeningrad University at the Faculty of Psychology. Natalia Kuchinskaya, gymnastics for which has become a matter of life, explains her act by the fact that in sports psychology is of great importance, and in order to achieve significant victories, the athlete needs serious knowledge in this field.

Further in the biography of the athlete was the World Gymnastics Championships, held in 1966 in Dortmund (West Germany), where the young Soviet gymnast became a three-time world champion.

In the period from 1965 to 1968 he participates in the USSR championships in artistic gymnastics, having won the title of absolute champion.

In 1968 Natalia became a two-time champion at the Olympic Games in Mexico.

It seemed that the future of the gymnast was bright andfine, but in reality everything was not quite right. According to the head coach of the USSR national team Larisa Latynina, at some point in the character of Natasha something broke, and the sport ceased to be for her the main thing of life. Probably, it also happened that aerial gymnastics, of which Kuchinskaya was representative, irrevocably retreated into the past.

Then there were unsuccessful searches of themselves outside of sports,divorce from her husband. In the early 90's Natalia moved to the United States of America, where she was reunited with her ex-husband, organized in Illinois her own gymnastics club, in which she trains young athletes.

The beginning of the road to big sport

Kuchinskaya Natalya began to join in her early yearsparents to the sport. It is interesting that my mother "stretched" Natasha at the age of two months. Similar attention was paid to the younger sister Natasha Marina, who later also achieved certain results, becoming a well-deserved master of sports in gymnastics.

As Natalia Kuchinskaya recalled, her childhood was spent in the gymnasium, where her mother trained athletes in rhythmic gymnastics.

The very atmosphere that surrounds the girl all the time, inafter all, caused her to become the best of the best, that is, the world champion. The young gymnast had enough sporting anger to achieve her goal, although, according to Kuchinsky herself, she did not have any special data, except for the ability to take long trainings without outside interference. Of course, the future star of Soviet sport was modest, as evidenced by the upcoming competition in the West German city of Dortmund.

Starry Dortmund Natalia Kuchinskaya

Young gymnast Natalia Kuchinskayabroke into the highest echelons of world sports. Passed in 1966 in Dortmund (Germany) World Championships in gymnastics lit its star in the sports horizon. Three gold medals at this age could not be won by anyone yet. The whole world was subdued by the spontaneity of the girl.

Excellent technique, grace and personal charmallowed Kuchinskaya immediately achieve excellent results in a competition of this level. Young age did not become for her a hindrance. On the contrary, from that moment onwards, all the gymnastics began to look forward to the Olympics in Mexico, which was to be held in 1968 with her participation.

Olympiad in Mexico City, 1968

Kuchinskaya Natalia by this time was undoubted leader of the Soviet national team. The Olympic team also included Lyuda Turishcheva, Larisa Petrik, Lyuba Burda, Olya Karaseva and Zinaida Voronina.

It should be noted that at that time the menacingrival team of the USSR was a team of Czechoslovakia, led by the absolute champion of the Games in Tokyo, World Champion Dortmund Championship Vera Chaslavsky.

The stress of the first day of major sportsthe competition was so great that Natasha did not submit to the bars in the rest stop squatting - an extremely simple element that she could perform with her eyes closed. And ahead was the second day and an arbitrary program.

It seemed that everything was lost for her, but the girl showed her sports anger in full.

The result was a bronze medal, which caused far more rejoicing than Zinaida Voronina's "silver".

The third day of the competition was triumphant for Natasha. "Gold" for the exercises on the beam - is it not a triumph for the athlete, who thwarted the performance on the uneven bars!

Life outside sports

Difficult and vulnerable character, changed realities insports, trauma led to the fact that Kuchinskaya Natalya left the sport. However, life outside sports proved to be no less difficult for a girl. Acting skills, journalism - all this did not become a new "business of life".

After graduating from the Institute of Physical Education left for Japan, but a year later returned home. But here she was waiting for lack of money and oblivion, divorce from her husband. The husband left for the USA, and Natalia stayed in Kiev.

Then there was life, swiftly rolling towards the "bottom". Only thanks to the fact that Natalia Alexandrovna's ex-husband intervened (took her to America), now she works as a gymnastics trainer, prepared a US champion.

Interesting facts about the life of the gymnast

Natalia Kuchinskaya, a Soviet gymnast-beautyalmost became a member of the family of the President of Mexico. The fact that the seventeen-year-old athlete with her performances at the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968, combining magnificent technique and amazing grace, "fell in love" with almost all the men of Mexico.

The son of the president of the country was not an exception. To a young Soviet athlete, a high-ranking bridegroom even offered her hand and heart, but the girl refused him.

Also an interesting story happened to a girl inthe first day of competitions in Mexico City, when in the evening to her in the Olympic village came members of the Organizing Committee of the Olympics. Their unexpected visit was explained by the fact that Natalia Kuchinskaya was unanimously chosen "the bride of Mexico City" as the most beautiful girl, and she must be sacrificed to the gods. Of course, the gymnast was struck by such "honor" and said that she was from the Soviet Union and she had nothing to sacrifice.

This statement aroused a smile among the guests, but still the beautiful photos of the sportswoman and catchy newspaper headlines about her were taken to the "victim".

Awards of the Kuchinsky

Natalia Kuchinskaya, whose awards, given hera rapid ascent to Olympus gymnastics can only cause admiration, for a fairly short period (1966-1968) managed to put in their "piggy bank" a sufficient number of them.

In 1966, the World Championship in sportsgymnastics brought her six medals: three gold, two silver and one bronze (free exercises, a log and beams - gold, personal and team all-around - silver, supporting jumps - bronze).

At the European Championships in 1967 for free exercises and exercises on a log Natalia became a silver prize winner of the competition.

In the same year at the USSR championship athlete won the title of the strongest in the base jump and the exercises on the uneven bars.

The Olympic Games in Mexico City (1968)that the Soviet sportswoman is the strongest gymnast in the world in exercises on a log. In this case, the team of gymnasts of the Soviet Union, which included Kuchinskaya, also proved to be the strongest.

In 1969, Natalia Alexandrovna was awarded the Order of Honor for outstanding achievements in sports.

In 2006, the US authorities decided to introduce Natalia Kuchinskaya to the International Gymnastic Hall of Fame (Oklahoma City).

Kuchinskaya as a unique phenomenon in sport

Soviet gymnastics knew and more titledathletes - this is Polina Astakhova, Larisa Latynina. The names of these girls rattled on many Olympics. However, there was no more immediate and charming gymnast than Natasha Kuchinskaya.

About her filmmaker Vladimir Saveliev was shot a wonderful film "Na-ta-li!", And journalists paid her attention as much as the other members of the USSR national gymnastics team were not honored.

Unfortunately, her sporting fate turned out to be complex and dramatic. The sportswoman could not fully realize her unique talent.