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LUDMILLA TOURISCHEVA
Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( born July 10, 1952 in Grozny) is a former Russian gymnast and a
nine-time Olympic medalist for the Soviet Union.
Tourischeva began gymnastics in 1965 and began competing for the Soviet team as early as in 1967. Coached by Vladislav
Rastorotsky (who later trained Natalia Shaposhnikova and
Natalia Yurchenko), she represented the USSR at the 1968 Summer Olympics just
after her sixteenth birthday, sharing the gold medal with the USSR team and placing 24th in the all-around.
Two years later, Tourischeva would become the leader of the Soviet team. From 1970 to 1974 she dominated almost every
major international competition, winning the World Championships all-around gold in 1970 and 1974, the European Championships
in 1971 and 1973 and the World Cup in 1975. She was considered to embody the classic Soviet style: grace, elegance, impeccable
form and strong technique.
At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Tourischeva was a medal favorite, but found herself overshadowed by the sudden popularity
of her telegenic compatriot Olga Korbut. After Korbut fell from the uneven bars,
however, Tourischeva won the all-around gold medal. She was less successful in the event finals, qualifying for all four,
but winning only a silver and a bronze. Tourischeva was one of the first female gymnasts to use two separate pieces of
music for her floor exercise routines at an international competition. For the team competition, there was
"March" from movie Circus by Isaak Dunaevsky; while for the all around, the music to the film
Die Frau meiner Träume by Franz Grothe.
At the 1975 European Championships, Tourischeva lost the all-around competition, placing third to thirteen-year old
Nadia Comaneci, who also won the vault, bars, and beam apparatus finals.
Tourischeva's teammate, Nellie Kim, placed second and won the floor exercise
competition. Nevertheless, Tourischeva rebounded later that year to sweep the World Cup.
After struggling with a back injury, Tourischeva competed in her third Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976, winning her
third team gold with the Soviet squad. In the all-around she finished third behind Romania's
Nadia Comaneci and her teammate Nellie Kim. Although Tourischeva lost to Kim on
both vault and floor exercise in the event finals, she overcame Comaneci on them and won silver medals, bringing her total
Olympic medal count to four gold, three silver and two bronze.
In 1980, British journalist David Hunn wrote of Tourischeva, "(she) never had the cheek of some of her rivals, but
for serenity she was supreme." Indeed, she was renowned for her cool head in competition. In one of Tourischeva's most
well-known performances, the 1975 World Cup at Wembley Stadium in London, all people were amazed by the loud sound of the
broken metal hook, which held support cables. The uneven bars literally fell apart and crashed to the ground at the end
of her routine, right as she completed her dismount. Tourischeva saluted the judges, and calmly walked off the podium
without even turning around to look at the remains of the apparatus. She went on to win the all-around and every single
event final gold. After many years she said, that at that moment she remembered only one thing — she must complete her
routine and "stick it". Her trainer Vladislav Rastorotsky said about her, "Ljudmila would fight to death in any situation."
Tourischeva was also known for her gracious demeanor. At the 1976 Olympics, she walked around the podium to personally
congratulate champion Nadia Comaneci and shake her hand before accepting her own medal.
In 1977, she married the sprinter Valeri Borzov, a two-time Olympic champion in 1972. She was elected to the Women's
Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in 1981. Tourischeva has remained
involved in gymnastics as a coach, an international judge and an official with the Ukrainian gymnastics federation. One of
her proteges was Lilia Podkopayeva, the 1996 Olympic all-around gold medalist.
Tourischeva has received many honors for her contributions to gymnastics, including the Women In Sport trophy by the
International Olympic Committee. In 1998 she was inducted into the
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
For more information, visit her
profile page on the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique website.
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