Natalia Alexandrovna Kuchinskaya (Russian: Наталья Александровна Кучинская; alternative transliteration Natal'ja Alieksandrovna Kutchinskaja), also known as Natasha Kuchinskaya (Russian: Наташа Кучинская) (born 8 March 1949) is a retired Soviet Olympic gymnast. She won four medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Kuchinskaya was born on 8 March 1949 in Leningrad and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten.[1] She originally aspired to become a ballet dancer, but was convinced to study gymnastics by her parents, who were both involved with the sport.[1] She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina, who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favorite gymnasts.[2]
By 1965, at age 16, Kuchinskaya was the USSR national champion. At the 1966 World Championships, after winning her second Nationals title, the USSR Cup and the World Trials, she established herself as one of the stars of the Soviet team, winning gold medals in three of the four event finals (balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise), a bronze on vault, and silvers in the all-around and team events. Kuchinskaya continued her winning streak in 1967, when she won the pre-Olympic test event in Mexico City and swept the USSR Nationals, walking away with the all-around title and every single event final gold medal.[3]
At the 1968 Olympics, Kuchinskaya was arguably the most popular member of the Soviet team. She placed third in the all-around, behind Věra Čáslavská and her teammate Zinaida Voronina; she also shared in the team gold medal and won the balance beam title and a bronze on the floor exercise. She was serenaded with a folk song, "Natalie," during her stay in Mexico City.[2][4][5]
The Olympics was Kuchinskaya's final competition. At the time, her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness;[4] in an interview in the late 90s Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport.[1]
Later life
Following her retirement, Kuchinskaya coached in the USSR, Japan and the United States. She has been married since 1980 to optician Alexander Kotliar and currently lives and coaches in the USA, running her own gymnastics club in Illinois.[4][6] In 1999 she appeared on the "Soviet Sport War" episode of the PBS documentary The Red Files discussing her experiences in gymnastics.[1] In 2006, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[7]
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January 31, 2023
natalia, kuchinskaya, natalia, alexandrovna, kuchinskaya, russian, Наталья, Александровна, Кучинская, alternative, transliteration, natal, alieksandrovna, kutchinskaja, also, known, natasha, kuchinskaya, russian, Наташа, Кучинская, born, march, 1949, retired, . Natalia Alexandrovna Kuchinskaya Russian Natalya Aleksandrovna Kuchinskaya alternative transliteration Natal ja Alieksandrovna Kutchinskaja also known as Natasha Kuchinskaya Russian Natasha Kuchinskaya born 8 March 1949 is a retired Soviet Olympic gymnast She won four medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics Natalia KuchinskayaNatalia Kuchinskaya in 1967Personal informationFull nameNatalia Alexandrovna KuchinskayaNickname s NatashaCountry represented Soviet UnionBorn 1949 03 08 8 March 1949 age 73 Leningrad Soviet UnionHeight1 58 m 5 ft 2 in Weight48 kg 106 lb DisciplineWomen s artistic gymnasticsLevelSenior internationalGymRound Lake national training centerFormer coach es Vladimir Reyson Larisa LatyninaRetired1968Medal record Representing Soviet UnionOlympic Games1968 Mexico City Team1968 Mexico City Balance Beam1968 Mexico City All Around1968 Mexico City Floor ExerciseWorld Championships1966 Dortmund Uneven Bars1966 Dortmund Balance Beam1966 Dortmund Floor Exercise1966 Dortmund Team1966 Dortmund All Around1966 Dortmund VaultEuropean Championships1967 Amsterdam Balance Beam1967 Amsterdam Floor Exercise Contents 1 Gymnastics career 2 Later life 3 Achievements 4 Gallery 5 References 6 External linksGymnastics career EditKuchinskaya was born on 8 March 1949 in Leningrad and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten 1 She originally aspired to become a ballet dancer but was convinced to study gymnastics by her parents who were both involved with the sport 1 She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favorite gymnasts 2 By 1965 at age 16 Kuchinskaya was the USSR national champion At the 1966 World Championships after winning her second Nationals title the USSR Cup and the World Trials she established herself as one of the stars of the Soviet team winning gold medals in three of the four event finals balance beam uneven bars and floor exercise a bronze on vault and silvers in the all around and team events Kuchinskaya continued her winning streak in 1967 when she won the pre Olympic test event in Mexico City and swept the USSR Nationals walking away with the all around title and every single event final gold medal 3 At the 1968 Olympics Kuchinskaya was arguably the most popular member of the Soviet team She placed third in the all around behind Vera Caslavska and her teammate Zinaida Voronina she also shared in the team gold medal and won the balance beam title and a bronze on the floor exercise She was serenaded with a folk song Natalie during her stay in Mexico City 2 4 5 The Olympics was Kuchinskaya s final competition At the time her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness 4 in an interview in the late 90s Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport 1 Later life EditFollowing her retirement Kuchinskaya coached in the USSR Japan and the United States She has been married since 1980 to optician Alexander Kotliar and currently lives and coaches in the USA running her own gymnastics club in Illinois 4 6 In 1999 she appeared on the Soviet Sport War episode of the PBS documentary The Red Files discussing her experiences in gymnastics 1 In 2006 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame 7 Achievements EditYear Event AA Team VT UB BB FX1965 USSR Championships 1st 1stUSSR Cup 2nd1966 World Championships 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 1stUSSR Championships 1st 2nd 1st 1stUSSR Cup 1st1967 European Championships 2nd 2ndUSSR Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st1968 USSR Championships 1stGallery Edit References Edit a b c d Interview with Natalia Kuchinskaya The Red Files supplementary material PBS 1999 Retrieved 2008 01 01 dead link a b Soviet Sports Wars transcript DOC PBS April 1999 Retrieved 2008 01 01 List of competitive results Gymn Forum Retrieved 2008 01 01 a b c Legends Natalia Kuchinskaya International Gymnast Retrieved 2008 01 01 Do favorites always win Sport in the USSR August 1988 Retrieved 2008 01 01 International Gymnastics home page Archived from the original on 2009 04 28 Retrieved 2008 01 01 Kuchinskaya s page at the IGHOF International Gymnastics Hall of Fame 206 Retrieved 2008 01 01 External links EditNatalia Kuchinskaya at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame Natalya Kuchinskaya at the International Olympic Committee Nataliya Kuchinskaya at Olympics at Sports Reference com archived Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natalia Kuchinskaya Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Natalia Kuchinskaya amp oldid 1037794275, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
