Korbut, Olga Valentinovna

Korbut, Olga Valentinovna

▪ Soviet gymnast
born May 16, 1955, Grodno, Belorussia, U.S.S.R. [now Hrodna, Belarus]
 
 Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.

      At age 11, Korbut entered a Soviet sports school led by Renald Knysh, her future coach. In 1969 she competed in her first U.S.S.R. championship, placing fifth. At the meet she became the first gymnast to perform a backward aerial somersault on the balance beam and the first to do a backward release on the uneven parallel bars; the moves became known as the Korbut salto and the Korbut flip, respectively. In the 1970 meet she won a gold medal in the vault.

      For much of 1972 before the Olympics, Korbut was out of competition because of illness and injury. At the Olympics her diminutive prettiness captivated the Munich audiences. She won individual gold medals in the balance beam and the floor exercise and an individual silver in the uneven parallel bars, as well as a gold with the Soviet team. In 1973 she won the Russian and World Student games and a silver medal in the European championships. In the 1976 Olympic Games at Montreal, she won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal for the balance beam.

      Korbut graduated from the Grodno Pedagogical Institute in 1977 and retired from Olympic competition thereafter. In 1991 she relocated to the United States, where she taught gymnastics.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Korbut, Olga (Valentinovna) — born May 16, 1955, Grodno, Belorussia, U.S.S.R. Soviet gymnast. Korbut first competed in the U.S.S.R. championships in 1969. Appealingly diminutive, with a captivating smile, she was the first person ever to do a backward aerial somersault on the …   Universalium

  • Korbut, Olga (Valentinovna) — (n. 16 may. 1956, Grodno, Belarús, URSS). Gimnasta soviética. Debutó en los campeonatos internacionales de 1969, a los 13 años. Menuda, atractiva, con una sonrisa cautivante, fue la primera persona en realizar un salto mortal invertido en la viga …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Olga Korbut — Pas d image ? Cliquez ici Contexte général …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Olga — /ol geuh, ohl /; Russ. /awl geuh/, n. 1. Saint, died A.D. 968?, regent of Kiev until 955: saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2. a female given name: from a Scandinavian word meaning holy. * * * (as used in expressions) Korbut Olga Valentinovna …   Universalium

  • Olga — (as used in expressions) Korbut, Olga (Valentinovna) Olga, santa Preobrazhénskaia, Olga Yosifovna Schwarzkopf, Dame (Olga Maria) Elisabeth (Fredericke) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Olga Korbut — Country represented  Soviet Union Born May 16, 1955 (1955 05 16) (age 56) Hrodna, then in Byelorussian SSR …   Wikipedia

  • Olga Kórbut — Medallero Gimnasia Mujeres Juegos Olímpicos Oro …   Wikipedia Español

  • Wolha Korbut — Olga Korbut Olga Korbut …   Wikipédia en Français

  • gymnastics — /jim nas tiks/, n. 1. (used with a pl. v.) gymnastic exercises. 2. (used with a sing. v.) the practice art, or competitive sport of gymnastic exercises. 3. (used with a pl. v.) mental feats or other exercises of skill: Verbal gymnastics. [1645… …   Universalium

  • Olympic Games — 1. Also called Olympian Games. the greatest of the games or festivals of ancient Greece, held every four years in the plain of Olympia in Elis, in honor of Zeus. 2. a modern international sports competition, held once every four years. [1600 10]… …   Universalium

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