Natalia Kuchinskaya
Encyclopedia
Natalia Alexandrovna Kuchinskaya , also known as Natasha Kuchinskaya (Russian: Наташа Кучинская) (born March 8, 1949) is a retired Soviet Olympic gymnast.
Kuchinskaya was born on March 8, 1949 in St. Petersburg and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten. She originally aspired to become a ballet dancer, but was convinced to study gymnastics by her parents, who were both involved with the sport. She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina, who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favorite gymnasts.
By 1965, at age sixteen, 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.
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 dubbed "The Bride of Mexico" and "the Sweetheart of Mexico" by the admiring press and was serenaded with a folk song, "Natalie," during her stay in Mexico City.
The Olympics was Kuchinskaya's final competition. At the time, her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness; in an interview in the late 90s Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport.
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
. In 1999 she appeared on the "Soviet Sport War" episode of the PBS documentary The Red Files discussing her experiences in gymnastics. In 2006 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
http://www.internationalgymnasticsgym.com/
Kuchinskaya was born on March 8, 1949 in St. Petersburg and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten. She originally aspired to become a ballet dancer, but was convinced to study gymnastics by her parents, who were both involved with the sport. She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina, who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favorite gymnasts.
By 1965, at age sixteen, Kuchinskaya was the USSR national champion. At the 1966 World Championships
1966 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 16th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Dortmund, West Germany, in 1966.-Medals:-All-around:-Team final:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-All-around:- Vault :...
, 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.
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
Vera Cáslavská
Věra Čáslavská is a Czech gymnast. Blonde, cheerful and possessing impressive stage presence, she was generally popular with the public and won a total of 22 international titles...
and her teammate Zinaida Voronina
Zinaida Voronina
Zinaida Voronina, born Zinaida Borisovna Druzhinina was a Soviet gymnast who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid 1960s to early 1970s...
, she also shared in the team gold medal and won the balance beam title and a bronze on the floor exercise. She was dubbed "The Bride of Mexico" and "the Sweetheart of Mexico" by the admiring press and was serenaded with a folk song, "Natalie," during her stay in Mexico City.
The Olympics was Kuchinskaya's final competition. At the time, her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness; in an interview in the late 90s Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport.
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
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. In 1999 she appeared on the "Soviet Sport War" episode of the PBS documentary The Red Files discussing her experiences in gymnastics. In 2006 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Achievements (non-Olympic)
| Year | Event | AA | Team | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | USSR Championships | 1st | 1st | ||||
| USSR Cup | 2nd | ||||||
| 1966 | World Championships 1966 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 16th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Dortmund, West Germany, in 1966.-Medals:-All-around:-Team final:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-All-around:- Vault :... |
2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| USSR Championships | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |||
| USSR Cup | 1st | ||||||
| 1967 | European Championships | 2nd | 2nd | ||||
| USSR Championships | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
| 1968 | USSR Championships | 1st |
Where she is now
She currently coaches at International gymnastics in Mt. Prospect, Illinois with her husband.http://www.internationalgymnasticsgym.com/