Latynina, Larissa (1934–)

views updated

Latynina, Larissa (1934–)

Soviet gymnast. Name variations: Larisa Latynina. Born Larissa Semyonovna Latynina, Dec 27, 1934, in Kherson, Ukraine, USSR.

Won gold medals at World championships in all-around (1958, 1962), balance beam (1958), vault (1958), and floor exercises (1962); won European championships (1957, 1961); at Melbourne Olympics, won gold medals in indiv. all-around, vault, floor exercises, and team al-around, a silver medal for uneven bars and a bronze medal for teams all-around, portable apparatus (1956); at Rome Olympics, won gold medals for indiv. all-around, floor exercises, and team all-around, silver medals for uneven bars and balance beam and a bronze medal for vault (1960); at Tokyo Olympics, won bronze medals for balance beam and uneven bars, silver medals in indiv. all-around and vault, and gold medals in floor exercises and team all-around (1964); became a coach for Soviet national team. Inducted into International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (1985).