Olga Valentinovna Korbut (Belarusian: Вольга Валянцінаўна Корбут, Vol'ha Valyantsinawna Korbut; Russian: Ольга Валентиновна Корбут) (b. May 16, 1955 in Hrodna), also known as the Sparrow from Minsk, is an American, Soviet-born gymnast who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympics, where she competed in 1972 and 1976 for the USSR team. Gymnastics has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. ... The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ... Gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics was represented by 14 events: 6 for women and 8 for men. ... The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... Gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics was represented by 14 events: 6 for women and 8 for men. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hrodna City emblem Hrodna (Belarusian: ; Russian: ; Polish: ; Lithuanian: ) is a city in Belarus. ... Soviet redirects here. ... The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. ... The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ... The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

Early life

Korbut, who started training at age 8, entered a Belarusian sports school headed by coach Renald Knysh at age 11. Korbut's first trainer was Elena Volchetskaya (an Olympian); she was moved to Knysh's group a year later. With him, she learned a difficult backward somersault on the balance beam. The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, were held in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. ...

She ended fifth at her first competition in the 1969 USSR championships. The next year, she won a gold medal in the vault. Due to illness and injury she was unable to compete in many of the tournaments prior to the 1972 Olympics.

The Olympics

At the Olympics, her acrobatics and open display of emotion, in contrast to the stereotypically cold eastern bloc athlete, captivated the Munich audiences, and there she became the first person ever to do a backward somersault on the balance beam. She also was the first to do standing backward somersalt on bars, and a back somersalt to swingdown (Korbut Flip) on beam. Her bars move is no longer seen in high level gymnastics but the tuck back and Korbut Flip are still very popular (2003 world beam champion Fan Ye performed both in her routine). This excellence in technical skills overthrew the sport's traditional emphasis on gracefulness. Munich (German: , pronounced  ; Austro-Bavarian: Minga; Italian: Monaco; Latin language: Monacum) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: ). Munich is Germanys third largest city and one of Europes most prosperous. ... The Korbut Flip is a gymnastic move created by Russian gymnast Olga Korbut. ... The Korbut Flip is a gymnastic move created by Russian gymnast Olga Korbut. ... Fan Ye was born on October 23, 1986 in Hebei, China. ...

During the Olympics, Korbut was one of the favourites for the all-around after her dynamic performance in the team competition. But memorably, she fell from bars and the title went to her teammate Ludmilla Tourischeva. Notwithstanding, she ended up winning three gold medals, for the balance beam, floor exercise and team, and one silver medal in the uneven bars. However, she is most renowned for her uneven parallel balance bar routine. Her Olympic achievement earned her the ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. Ludmilla Ivanovna Turischeva (Russian: Людмила Ивановна Турищева alternate spellings: Lyudmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischeva, born July 10, 1952 in Grozny) is a former Russian gymnast and a nine-time Olympic medalist for the Soviet Union. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... ABCs Wide World of Sports is a long-running sports anthology show on American television. ...

In 1973 she won the Russian and World Student (i.e., University) Games and a silver medal in the all-around at the European Championships. 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

The Soviet coaches and officials had designated Olga as the woman who could beat Romanian prodigy Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympic Games at Montreal. But Olga was injured and her performances were under-par. She was overshadowed not only by Comaneci but by her own teammate Nellie Kim. But she did collect a team gold medal and an individual silver medal for the balance beam. Nadia Elena Comaneci (originally Comăneci ) (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. ... (Redirected from 1976 Olympic Games) There were two Olympic Games in the year 1976: 1976 Summer Olympics 1976 Winter Olympics This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nickname: City of Mary (Ville-Marie) Motto: Concordia Salus (salvation through harmony) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1] [2] [3]  - City 365. ... Nellie Vladimirovna Kim (Russian: ; b. ...

She graduated from the Grodno Pedagogical Institute in 1977 and retired from Olympic competition thereafter. She married Leonid Bortkevich, who was a member of a popular Belarusan folk band Pesniary. The couple had a son, Richard, in 1979. Hrodna (or Grodno; Belarusian: Го́радня, Гро́дна; Grodno in Polish, Гродно in Russian, Gardinas in Lithuanian) is a city in Belarus on the Nemunas river, close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Pesniary LP Cover Volahda Pesniary (alt. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

The Legacy

Korbut was of course a highly decorated athlete, with four Olympic golds to her credit. But it is not her results for which she is most remembered. The media whirl that surrounded her after her Olympic debut in 1972 caused a surge of young girls to join their local gymnastic clubs. A sport which had previously seldom been noticed now made headlines. She also contributed to a change in the whole direction of the sport. Prior to 1972, the athletes were rather older and there was a greater focus on elegance than on acrobatics. In the decade after Korbut first came to the world's attention, this completely changed.

Trivia

In 2002 she participated in Celebrity Boxing 2, fighting Darva Conger but losing by unanimous decision. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Celebrity Boxing was a 2002 Fox show pitting washed up former celebrities against each other in a boxing match. ... Darva Conger on the cover of the August 2000 issue of Playboy magazine. ...

As of 2004 she is residing in the United States and recently had some problems with the authorities: she was caught allegedly shoplifting,^[1] and her son was caught with false dollar bank notes^{[citation needed]}. Divorced from Bortkevich in the late 1990s, Korbut is now married to Alex Voinich. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Korbut has reportedly experienced and recovered from anorexia^[2].

Olga supports the English football team Sunderland AFC

External links

• Official website
• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Olga Korbut
• List of competitive results
• Her short biography
• Olga Korbut at Olympics.org

The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) or International Federation of Gymnastics (IFG) is the governing body of competitive gymnastics. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/388
2. ^ http://www.rch.org.au/ceed/disorders.cfm?doc_id=2836

World champions in artistic gymnastics – women's team competition

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