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Sofia Muratova

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Sofia Muratova
Muratova at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameSofia Ivanovna Muratova
Country represented Soviet Union
Born(1929-07-13)13 July 1929
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died27 September 2006(2006-09-27) (aged 77)[1]
Moscow, Russia
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubDynamo Moscow
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Team
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Team
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome All-Around
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Vault
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Melbourne Team PA
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Melbourne All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Melbourne Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Rome Balance Beam
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1954 Rome Team
Gold medal – first place 1958 Moscow Team
Gold medal – first place 1962 Prague Team
Silver medal – second place 1958 Moscow Vault
Silver medal – second place 1958 Moscow Balance Beam

Sofia Ivanovna Muratova (Russian: Софья Ивановна Муратова, 13 July 1929 – 27 September 2006) was a Soviet gymnast. She competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won eight medals.

Early life

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Muratova grew up in Leningrad and lost her mother during its siege. Muratova herself was evacuated from the city in 1941. During the war she could not regularly attend school, but tried to train every day. She took up artistic gymnastics in 1943, entering a children's sports school, and just three months later competed in the Russian Championships for girls. In 1944 she moved to Moscow, where she trained under Ivan Zhuravlyov.

First successes

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In 1945 Muratova won her first major competition, the USSR Junior Championships. She soon became one of the strongest Soviet gymnasts, the only one to win five Soviet all-around titles, yet she was often unlucky at major international events.

World championships and Olympics

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1956 Soviet stamp, depicting Sofia Muratova on the floor.

Muratova missed the 1952 Summer Olympics due to injury. Two years later, at the 1954 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won a gold medal in the team competition and led the all-around contest, but broke her arm during a warm-up and had to withdraw from the championship. Her husband Valentin Muratov swore to win a gold medal for her and became the all-around champion.[2] She debuted at the 1956 Summer Olympics, winning the team gold and two bronze medals, all-around and on the uneven bars. At the rather unsuccessful 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Moscow Muratova won the team gold and two bronzes on vault and balance beam. Injuries haunted her on the way to the 1960 Summer Olympics, but with the help from Zoya Mironova, who operated Muratova just three months before the Olympics, she managed to recover and even win three medals — the team gold, all-around silver and bronze on the balance beam. She presented her gold medal to Mironova as a token of gratitude.[3] Her two Olympic all-around medals (1956, 1960) were a rare feat accomplished by only eight other women gymnasts.[4][5]

Muratova won seven all-around national titles, including the inaugural 1955 USSR Cup. She retired in 1965 and worked as a coach for 34 years. She was the head coach of the Soviet women's gymnastics team at the 1968 Olympics.[5] Earlier in 1957 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. Muratova died on 27 September 2006. Her husband Valentin Muratov died on 6 October of the same year.[4][2]

Achievements (non-Olympic)

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Year Event AA Team VT UB BB FX R
1949 USSR Championships 1st 2nd
1950 USSR Championships 1st 1st 2nd
1951 USSR Championships 3rd
1954 World Championships 1st
USSR Championships 1st 1st 2nd 2nd
1955 USSR Championships 1st 1st 3rd 1st
USSR Cup 1st
1956 USSR Championships 2nd 1st 3rd
1957 USSR Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
1958 World Championships 1st 2nd 2nd
USSR Championships 2nd 1st 3rd 3rd
1959 USSR Championships 2nd 1st 2nd
1960 USSR Championships 1st 3rd 1st
1962 World Championships 1st
USSR Championships 2nd
1963 USSR Championships 1st 3rd 3rd 2nd
USSR Cup 2nd 2nd 3rd
1964 USSR Championships 2nd 3rd
USSR Cup 1st

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sofia Muratova's grave (in Russian)
  2. ^ a b Valentin Muratov. sports-reference.com
  3. ^ Elakazova, Nina (2013). "Эпохи Зои Мироновой". 2 (59). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b Sofiya Muratova. sports-reference.com
  5. ^ a b Муратова Софья Ивановна. Great Soviet Encyclopedia

This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E. V. Avsenev.