Larissa Loukianenko

Larissa Loukianenko
Country represented  Belarus
Born August 7, 1973 (1973-08-07) (age 38)
Krasnoyarsk
Discipline Rhythmic gymnastics

Larissa Loukianenko Russian: Лариса Лукьяненко Larisa Luk'yanenko (born August 7, 1973 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia) was a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast.

Larissa started rhythmic gymnastics in 1980 at age 7, and was coached by Galina Krylenko at Club Dynamo in Minsk.

A mature and expressive gymnast, Larissa merged as a top class competitor at the 1992 World Championships in Brussels, Belgium. Unfortunately she could not take part in the 1993 World Championships due to a very serious injury (broken ankle) and it took her nearly a year to recover. She made an impressive come-back at the 1994 European Championships.

Larisa was a great crowd favourite and she described herself as a "serious and responsible personality". Her best apparatus was Rope (she was three times World Champion on this apparatus). She was always expected to win the AA title but somehow always has passed by the chance.

She participated at the 1996 Olympic Games, and ranked 5th in the AA semi-finals and 7th in the AA finals. She retired at age 23 in 1996. Larissa is currently a coach and judge for the Belarusian Gymnastics Federation, she and her former team mate, Tatiana Ogrizko, are currently coaching rising star Melitina Staniouta.

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