Sofia Muratova

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Olympic medal record
Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Gold	1956 Melbourne/Stockholm	Team competition
Gold	1960 Rome	Team competition
Silver	1960 Rome	All-around
Silver	1960 Rome	Vault
Bronze	1956 Melbourne/Stockholm	Team, portable apparatus
Bronze	1956 Melbourne/Stockholm	All-around
Bronze	1956 Melbourne/Stockholm	Uneven bars
Bronze	1960 Rome	Balance beam

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

Contents 1 Early life 2 First successes 3 World Championships and Olympics 4 Achievements (non-Olympic) 5 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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, 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.

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.

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Sofia Muratova
• 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.