Polina Astakhova

Polina Grigoryevna Astakhova (Russian:?????? ??????????? ????????) (October 30, 1936, in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR - August 5, 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine) was a Soviet/Ukrainian gymnast who won 10 medals (5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 3 bronze medals) at the Summer Olympics, where she participated as a member of the USSR team in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

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Astakhova became interested in gymnastics at age 13, after she had watched the gymnastics championships in Donetsk, a city, where their family moved a short time before. She trained in the gymnastics sports club Shakhtyor in Donetsk. Her trainer was the Honoured Trainer of the USSR Vladimir Aleksandrovich Smirnov.

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In 1954 Astakhova participated in the USSR championship for the first time and in a year she was included to the USSR National team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. She earned a nickname The Russian Birch in Western countries and at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she was even called Madonna by the Italian journalists. Between 1956 and 1966 Astakhova was on top of many international and national competitions especially on the uneven bars apparatus event.

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After she finished her career she worked as the USSR State Trainer for Ukrainian SSR for some time. Astakhova spent the last years of her life in Kiev, Ukraine before her death at age 68 from undisclosed causes.

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Russian: Russian can mean:...

October 30: October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining....

1936: 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar)....