Marta Pihan-Kulesza
| Marta Pihan-Kulesza | |
|---|---|
| — Gymnast — | |
|
Marta Pihan-Kulesza wearing the leotard of Pro Lissone Ginnastica | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Marta Pihan-Kulesza |
| Country represented |
 Poland |
| Born |
23 July 1987 Szczecin |
| Hometown | Szczecin |
| Height | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 53 kg (117 lb) |
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics |
| Level | Senior |
| Years on national team | 2003 – 2016 |
| Club | MKS Kusy Szczecin |
| Head coach(es) | Jarosław Duda |
| Music | Assassin's Tango from Mr & Mrs Smith (2008), The Pink Panther theme (2014) |
| Retired | 2016 |
Marta Pihan-Kulesza (born 23 July 1987) is a Polish gymnast. Born in Szczecin, Zachodniopomorskie in Poland, she travelled to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She was Polish all-around champion in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. She represented her country at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London where she had a chance to be in the top 12 all-around after first three rotations, but eventually finished 19th due to a fall on the balance beam. Marta was also third reserve for the floor exercise final, where she placed 11th. She is known for a remarkable and highly difficult beam routine which includes a clean switch 1/1 and a double front (and later double arabian) dismount. Her floor routine shows off her talent for performing and has considerable difficulty.
In the qualifying round at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Marta posted a 56.499, which was the third highest all-around score. She qualified third on the balance beam with a 14.400 and sixth on floor with a 14.300. In the finals Pihan-Kulesza had a wobbly beam routine placing sixth with a 13.733 score. On the floor, Marta performed a clean routine and tied for the fourth place with Romania's Diana Bulimar.
At the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China, Marta qualified 13th for the all-around final with a 55.665 score. She finished third reserve on floor with 13.900 after experiencing difficulty with her last pass where she debuted and stuck her piked double arabian. She also finished 25th on both the balance beam and the uneven bars with a score of 13.766 and 13.933 respectively. Her scores contributed to Polish team's 17th place finish, which was enough to qualify for the 2015 World Championships held in Glasgow. She made a few mistakes in the all-around final and finished 14th with a 55.156.
In 2015, Marta competed at the European Championships in Montpellier, France, where she finished fifth in the all-around competition with a 55.198, as well as fifth in the floor exercise final with a 14.233. A few weeks later, she was set to compete at the 2015 European Games in Baku, but she got injured at the Polish Championships and had to withdraw from the competition. She then competed at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, where she made a few mistakes in the qualifications and didn't make any finals.
In early 2016, Pihan-Kulesza announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics at the age of 29.
External links
- Marta Pihan at Sports-Reference.