Lilia Podkopayeva

Lilia Podkopayeva
— Gymnast —
Personal information
Full name	Lilia Alexandrivna Podkopayeva
Nickname(s)	LilyPod
Country represented	Ukraine
Born	August 15, 1978 Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.49 m (4 ft 11 in)
Weight	42 kg (93 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Club	Dynamo
Head coach(es)	Galina Lossinskaya
Eponymous skills	Vault round-off, back-handspring with 1/2 turn on - piked salto forward with 1/2 turn off Floor double front salto, also with 1/2 twist out
Retired	1997
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 0 World Championships 2 3 0 European Championships 4 1 4 Representing  Ukraine Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta All-Around 1996 Atlanta Floor Exercise 1996 Atlanta Balance Beam World Championships 1995 Sabae All-Around 1995 Sabae Vault 1994 Brisbane Balance Beam 1995 Sabae Uneven Bars 1995 Sabae Balance Beam European Championships 1994 Stockholm Floor Exercise 1996 Birmingham All-Around 1996 Birmingham Uneven Bars 1996 Birmingham Floor Exercise 1994 Stockholm Balance Beam 1994 Stockholm Team 1994 Stockholm Vault 1996 Birmingham Team 1996 Birmingham Vault

Lilia Alexandrivna Podkopayeva (Ukrainian: Лілія Олександрівна Подкопаєва; Russian: Ли́лия Алекса́ндровна Подкопаева (Liliya Aleksandrovna Podkopaeva); born August 15, 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast, the Merited Master of Sports of Ukraine (1994). She was the 1995 World All Around champion and the 1996 Olympic All Around champion. Often thought of as a complete athlete, Podkopayeva was known for combining power, style and balletic grace.^[1]

Gymnastics career

1993

In April, Podkopayeva competed at the World Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She qualified for the vault final, but crashed on her first attempt and finished last with a score of 8.893.

1994

In April, Podkopayeva competed at the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia. She placed sixth in the all around final with a score of 38.942. In event finals, she placed eighth on vault scoring 9.424, fifth on uneven bars scoring 9.350, and second on balance beam scoring 9.737.^[2]

In November, Podkopayeva competed at the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany. She contributed an all around score of 38.099 toward the Ukrainian team's fifth place finish.^[3]

1995

In October, Podkopayeva competed at the World Championships in Sabae, Japan. She helped Ukraine place fifth which meant that they qualified a full team to the Olympics. Podkopayeva then won the all around final with a score of 39.248. In event finals, she placed first on vault scoring 9.781, second on uneven bars scoring 9.837, second on balance beam scoring 9.837, and seventh on floor scoring 9.087.^[4]

1996

At the beginning of the year, Podkopayeva was seriously injured when she fell from the beam in practice, fracturing two ribs.

In May, Podkopayeva competed at the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She helped the Ukrainian team place third and individually she won the all around final with a score of 39.205. In event finals, she placed third on balance beam scoring 9.756, first on uneven bars scoring 9.825, and first on floor scoring 9.862.^[5]

Atlanta Olympics

In July, Podkopayeva competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. In the team final, she contributed a combined compulsory and optional score of 78.061 toward the Ukrainian team's fifth place finish. Podkopayeva then won the all around final with a score of 39.255. In event finals, she placed fifth on uneven bars scoring 9.787, second on balance beam scoring 9.825, and first on floor scoring 9.887.^[6] She was the fourth and to date last gymnast to win the Olympic all around title as the reigning World Champion and she is the only gymnast to win the all around without winning a team medal.She is also the last female gymnast to date to win the all around title and successfully win an event final gold medal.No other gymnast after her achieved this feat.Podkopayeva said, "I did feel some responsibility as the champion of the world and champion of Europe to perform well. I'm very happy I could finish with the floor."^[7]

1997

Podkopayeva originally intended to continue competing after the 1996 Olympics, and she was named to the Ukrainian team for the 1997 Worlds. However, injuries forced her to sit out the competition and to later retire.

Eponymous skills

Vault round-off, back-handspring with 1/2 turn on - piked salto forward with 1/2 turn off (5.20)

Floor double front salto with 1/2 twist out (F)

Post-retirement

In 2002, Podkopayeva started the Golden Lilia International Sports Festival. The event is an exhibition featuring artistic and rhythmic gymnasts, acrobats and dancers and its purpose is to inspire young people. She said, "It's important to us to show outstanding people and brightest talent so that the next generation can follow the best of the best.^[8]

In December 2004, Podkopayeva married Ukrainian businessman Timofei Nagorny. They are the parents of two children: Vadim, adopted in Ukraine in July 2006; and Karolina, born in November of the same year. However, as of 2009, Lilia has divorced Timofei and the two share custody of their children.

In 2005, Podkopayeva became United Nations Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.^[9] She is also an Ambassador of Council of Europe for Sport, Tolerance and Fair Play.^[10]

In 2007, Podkopayeva won Ukraine's Dancing With the Stars with partner Sergey Kostetskiy. The next year she represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Dance Contest. Along with partner Kirill Khitrov, she placed third in the competition.^[11]

In 2014 she did a gala event in Mexico, using similar choreography to the floor routine she did in Atlanta as well as doing backhand springs and round offs.

See also

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Ukraine

References

1. Lilia Podkopayeva, Class of 2008, International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
2. "1994 World Championships". Gymnastics Results. 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
3. "1994 Teams World Championships Women's artistic gymnastics". Gymnastics Results. 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
4. "1995 World Championships". Gymnastics Results. 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
5. "1996 European Championships". Gymnastics Results. 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
6. "Games of the 26th Olympiad Artistic Gymnastics". Gymnastics Results. 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
7. "And the Queen of Gymnastics Is ... Lilia Podkopayeva!". New York Times. The New York Times Co. 26 July 1996. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
8. "Podkopayeva Pulls Off 'Golden Lilia' Extravaganza". International Gymnast Magazine Online. International Gymnast Magazine. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
9. "High-Profile Event to Promote Healthy Lifestyle in Donetsk region". United Nations in Ukraine. United Nations. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
10. "United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors". United Nations in Ukraine. United Nations. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
11. Amanda Turner (28 October 2008). "Podkopayeva Pulls Off 'Golden Lilia' Extravaganza". International Gymnast Magazine Online. International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2014.

External links and sources

• Lilia Podkopayeva at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique