COUNTRY OF BIRTH

USSR (now Ukraine)

INDUSTRY

Sport

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Larissa Latynina is a Soviet gymnast who is the first and only female athlete to win nine Olympic gold medals. For 48 years, from 1964 to 2012, she stood alone as the most decorated Olympian of all time.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Larisa Latynina was born Larisa Dirij, on December 27, 1934, in Kherson, Ukraine, USSR. Her father was killed in World War II at the Battle of Stalingrad, and she was brought up by her mother in the poverty of the aftermath of the war. Latynina maintains that the remarkable success she enjoyed throughout her record-breaking career was primarily due to the example set by her tireless mother. Latynina began studying classical ballet when she was 11 years old but then saw another class doing gymnastics and asked if she could join.

EARLY CAREER

By the time she was 16, Latynina was the national gymnastics champion of the schools’ division. She was also a dedicated scholar and graduated from high school with honors in 1953. Latynina then began graduate study at the Kiev Physical Training Institute. She then made her debut on the international stage at the 1954 World Championships, winning the first of many gold medals. While studying in Kiev, she met and married Ivan Latynin, a ship engineer.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Latynina’s Olympic success began in 1956 when, at the age of 21, she won four gold medals and one silver medal at the Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. She then competed in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, winning a total of nine gold, five silver and four bronze medals. This record of 18 career Olympic medals remained unbeaten for 48 years, until 2012, when it was finally surpassed by American swimmer Michael Phelps. Latynina still remains the most decorated female Olympian of all time. Latynina also holds another 14 medals from World Championships and a further 14 from European championships. After she retired from competition in 1966, Latynina became senior coach of the Soviet Union national gymnastics team, a role which she held until 1977. She was a member of the Organizational Committee and director of gymnastics for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

RECOGNITION

In 1957, Latynina received the Order of Lenin, and in 1960, the Soviet Badge of Honor. She was honored with the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee in 1989. Latynina was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Ukrainian Star Award in 2002.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• In 1958, at the World Championships, Latynina won six medals while three months pregnant with her daughter, Tanya. She kept her pregnancy a secret until after the competition. After giving birth, Latynina returned to competition at the 1960 Olympics, where she won a medal in every event in which she competed.
• Of all her medals, Latynina said that her favorite was the small gold medal she was awarded in 1953 for graduating from school with honors.
• In 2000, a path in the Sydney Olympic Village was named "Larisa Latynina Way."