Natalia Godunko

Nataliya Godunko
— Gymnast —
Personal information
Country represented	Ukraine
Born	(1984-12-05) December 5, 1984 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team	1998-2010
Retired	2010
Medal record Competitor for  Ukraine Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 2002 New Orleans 5 ribbons 2001 Madrid Team 2005 Baku Team 2003 Budapest Team 2005 Baku Ribbon European Championships 2005 Moscow Ribbon 2007 Baku Team 2005 Moscow Team 2004 Kiev Team 2002 Granada Team 2001 Géneve 5 clubs World Cup Final 2006 Mie Rope 2006 Mie Ribbon 2008 Benidorm Hoop 2006 Mie Clubs Grand Prix Final 2005 Berlin Ribbon 2004 Deventer All-around 2004 Deventer Ball 2004 Deventer Ribbon 2004 Deventer Clubs 2004 Deventer Hoop 2003 Innsbruck Ribbon 2006 Berlin Ball 2006 Berlin Clubs 2006 Berlin Ribbon 2005 Berlin Rope 2003 Innsbruck All-around 2003 Innsbruck Clubs World Games 2005 Duisburg Ribbon 2005 Duisburg Rope 2005 Duisburg Clubs Summer Universiade 2005 Izmir Ribbon 2007 Bangkok Ball 2005 Izmir Ball 2005 Izmir Clubs 2005 Izmir Rope 2007 Bangkok Rope 2005 Izmir All-around

Natalia Godunko (Ukrainian: Наталія Олександрівна Годунко; Russian: Наталья Александровна Годунко, born 5 December 1984) is a Ukrainian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2004 Grand Prix Final All-around champion and the 2003 Grand Prix Final All-around bronze medalist.

Personal life

Godunko was born in Kiev, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (in present day Ukraine).

Godunko online auctioned her Team All-Around gold medal won in the 2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships to support the Ukrainian army who at the time was fighting a war in Donbass.^[1][2]

Career

Godunko started training in rhythmic gymnastics in 1990 at age six. She trained in Kiev under the mother/daughter coaching team of Albina and Irina Deriugina. Her coaches did not notice her for a while—she was not tall with long legs, which was preferred by the Deriugins School—but her speed and technique with apparatus and on elements eventually attracted their attention.

In 1998, Godunko became a member of the Ukrainian national team and competed as a junior at the World Youth Games in Moscow, placing sixth.

As a senior, Godunko competed as part of the Ukrainian group for several years, as well as occasionally competing in individual events with little success. She was the third-ranked gymnast in Ukraine for a while. She began her breakthrough at the 2002 Ukrainian Nationals, winning bronze in all-round and all gold medals in the finals. In 2003, she competed in ball at her first Grand Prix, the Deriugina Cup, and then competed in hoop and ribbon at the Holon Grand Prix and in ribbon at the Berlin Grand Prix. She won the bronze all-around medal at the 2003 Grand Prix Final in Innsbruck, Austria.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Godunko qualified in fourth with a score of 102.750. In the final, she scored: Ribbon 26.125, Clubs 26.375, Ball 25.800, Hoop 25.500, and finished fifth overall behind Kazakh gymnast Aliya Yussupova.^[3] She won the 2004 Grand Prix Final in all-around and won two more gold medals in ball and ribbon.

In 2005, Godunko was a rival to Anna Bessonova for the position of Ukraine's top gymnast. In front of a home audience, Godunko won the Deriugina Cup title. She was the only Ukrainian to win a gold medal, in ribbon, at the 2005 European Championships.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Godunko finished seventh in the All-around finals with an overall score of 68.850 points. She briefly returned to competition in 2010.

Routine music information

Detailed Olympic results

References

External links

• Natalia Godunko at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique