Maria Filatova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Olympic medalist
Maria Filatova
Medal record
Gold	1976 Montreal	Team competition
Gold	1980 Moscow	Team competition
Bronze	1980 Moscow	Uneven bars
World Championships
Gold	1978 Strasbourg	Team competition
Gold	1981 Moscow	Team competition
Silver	1979 Ft. Worth	Team competition
Silver	1981 Moscow	All-around
European Championships
Gold	1977 Prague	Floor exercise
Bronze	1977 Prague	Balance beam

Maria Evgenievna Filatova (Russian:Мария Евгеньевна Филатова) (born July 19, 1961, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Siberia) is a retired Soviet gymnast who competed at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.

Filatova began competing for the USSR junior team in 1974. In 1976 she placed fourth at the USSR National Championships and competed well in various international events.

Filatova was originally named as an alternate to the Soviet team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. However, during podium training, she received such a positive reaction from the crowd that she was added to the team roster. She shared in the team gold medal and was ranked ninth overall after the team competition. Due to the facts that four of her teammates scored higher than she did and only three gymnasts per team were allowed to compete in the all-around, she did not advance to the AA finals in spite of her high placement.

Following the Olympics and the retirements of several high-profile gymnasts, including Ludmilla Tourischeva and Olga Korbut, Filatova emerged as one of the leaders of the Soviet team. She won the World Cup in 1977 and 1978; the USSR Nationals in 1977, and the Riga International meet in 1977 and 1979. At the 1980 Olympics, Filatova served as the lead-off gymnast on several events, contributed to the team's gold medal and won a bronze medal on the floor exercise. She continued to the 1981 World Championships, where she was the silver medalist in the all-around.

British journalist David Hunn referred to Filatova as a "fifteen year old in the Korbut tradition." As Korbut, Filatova was known for her enthusiastic, expressive floor exercise routines and her difficult acrobatic skills. She was one of the first female gymnasts to successfully compete a double back somersault on floor in 1975.

Following her retirement in 1982, Filatova worked for several years with the Irish Gymnastics Federation before moving to the United States.

[edit] Achievements (non-Olympic)

Year	Event	AA	Team	VT	UB	BB	FX
1976	USSR Championships					3rd
1977	World Cup	1st		2nd	2nd		1st
	European Championships					3rd	1st
	USSR Championships	1st				1st	2nd
1978	World Cup	1st					1st
	World Championships		1st
	USSR Championships					1st	1st
	USSR Cup	1st
1979	World Championships		2nd
	Universiade	2nd	1st	1st	1st		1st
	USSR Championships	2nd				2nd
1980	World Cup					2nd
1981	World Championships	2nd	1st
1981	Universiade		2nd