Sofia Muratova

Sofia Muratova
— Gymnast —
File:Stamp of USSR 1921.jpg 1956 Soviet stamp, depicting Sofia Muratova on the floor.
Personal information
Full name	Sofia Ivanovna Muratova
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1929-07-13)July 13, 1929 Leningrad
Died
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Medal record Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Team 1960 Rome Team 1960 Rome All-Around 1960 Rome Vault 1956 Melbourne Team PA 1956 Melbourne All-Around 1956 Melbourne Uneven Bars 1960 Rome Balance Beam World Championships 1954 Rome Team 1958 Moscow Team 1962 Prague Team 1958 Moscow Vault 1958 Moscow Balance Beam

Sofia Ivanovna Muratova (Russian: Софья Ивановна Муратова) (July 13, 1929 in Leningrad - September 25, 2006) was a Soviet gymnast, who competed in the 1950s and 1960s, training at Dynamo in Moscow, and won eight Olympic medals.

Early life

Muratova's childhood passed in Leningrad during the Siege, her mother died there. In 1941 Muratova was evacuated from the city, but due to the war, she had not the ability to go to school regularly. Meanwhile, going in for sports became dominant in her life from the very beginning. She began artistic gymnastics in 1943, entering a children's sports school, and just three months later she competed in the Russian SFSR Championships for girls. In 1944 Muratova went to Moscow, where she continued training sessions at the Young Pioneers Stadium. Her trainer was Igor Zhuravlev.

First successes

In 1945 Muratova won her first major competition, the USSR Junior Championships, and four years later enjoyed the first international success, winning in the team competition event at the Hungary vs USSR Dual Meet in Budapest. She became one of the strongest Soviet gymnasts, and finally became the only one to win five all-around titles in the USSR Championships. At the same time, she was sometimes fatally unlucky in the major international events.

World Championships and Olympics

Muratova missed the 1952 Summer Olympics due to injury, but one of the most disappointing was her injury at the 1954 World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics. Muratova won gold in the Team Competition event and was a leader on all apparatus in the all-around, but had broken her arm during the warming-up and was out. Her husband Valentin Muratov, who competed in the men's competition, swore to win a gold medal for her and had kept his word, becoming the all-around champion. She debuted at the 1956 Summer Olympics, winning the Team gold and two bronze medals in the all-around and on the uneven bars. At the rather unsuccessful 1958 World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics in Moscow Muratova won the team gold and two bronzes on vault and on the balance beam. Injuries haunted her on the way to the 1960 Summer Olympics, and many people didn't believe her participation there. But with the help from the professor Zoya Mironova (ru:Миронова, Зоя Сергеевна), who operated Muratova just three months before the Olympics, she managed to compete there and even won three medals — the team gold, all-around silver and bronze on the beam. She presented her gold medal to Zoya Mironova as a token of gratitude. Her two all-around medals (1956, 1960) in the sport was a rare feat - only 6 other woman gymnasts have accomplished this.

She also successfully competed in the Nationals, where she won seven all-around titles, including the 1955 USSR Cup, held for the first time. Sofia Muratova finished her competitive career in 1965 and worked as a coach for 34 years. She was awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1957.

Muratova died on September 25, 2006, her husband Valentin Muratov died on October 6 of the same year.

Achievements (non-Olympic)

Year	Event	AA	Team	VT	UB	BB	FX	R
1949	USSR Championships			1st			2nd
1950	USSR Championships			1st		1st	2nd
1951	USSR Championships	3rd
1954	World Championships		1st
	USSR Championships	1st			1st	2nd		2nd
1955	USSR Championships	1st			1st	3rd	1st
	USSR Cup	1st
1956	USSR Championships	2nd			1st	3rd
1957	USSR Championships	1st		1st	1st	1st	2nd
1958	World Championships		1st	2nd		2nd
	USSR Championships	2nd		1st	3rd		3rd
1959	USSR Championships	2nd		1st	2nd
1960	USSR Championships	1st			3rd	1st
1962	World Championships		1st
	USSR Championships	2nd
1963	USSR Championships	1st		3rd	3rd	2nd
	USSR Cup	2nd			2nd	3rd
1964	USSR Championships				2nd	3rd
	USSR Cup	1st

See also

• List of top Olympic gymnastics medalists
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the Soviet Union

External links

• Sofia Muratova at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• Valentin Muratov and Sofia Muratova at Gymn Forum
• (Russian) Biography

This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E.V.Avsenev.