Skip to main content

Stella Zakharova calls for unity in Ukraine

By
Stella Zakharova today, courtesy of her Facebook page

1980 gold medal Olympian and 1979 and 1980 World Cup all around champion Stella Zakharova has contributed to a round table of Ukrainian artists and athletes on the Ukraine crisis. Other participants are Nina Matvienko (artist) and Evgen Nischchuk (Ukrainian minister of culture). 'Let us work together to raise Ukraine', says Stella.
 
Stella says a video of athletes and artists speaking about Ukraine is in preparation.

Since retiring from big time gymnastics in 1980, Stella has married and is the mother of two children.  She is an outspoken supporter of Ukrainian gymnastics, and has her own annual international competition, the Stella Zakharova Cup, currently in its thirteenth year.  The competition regularly attracts top gymnasts and is sanctioned by the FIG, but has had to be postponed this year because of the current troubles.

Stella Zakharova on beam at the Moscow News competition in 1980 (gold all around)


Stella comes from Odessa, Ukraine, the same home town as 1992 all around Olympic champion Tatiana Gutsu.  Today, she lives in Kiev.  As a gymnast Stella was athletic and strong, producing impressive work on all apparatus and especially on floor and vault.  Her powerful tumbling was memorable and ground breaking for the era.  Stella's training is recorded in this 1978 Soviet TV documentary, 'You in Gymnastics', where you can find her practicing her floor choreography at about five minutes in, with choreographer Lidia Sokolova, and coaches Vladimir Zaglada and Gennady Korshunov.  She was a wonderful gymnast. 

Updated 8th March

Just found this 1979 floor routine by Stella which is much more expressive and intense, exactly how I remember her.  http://youtu.be/9_Kuvl4fQM4

I know that all readers of this blog will wish Stella and her Ukrainian and Russian friends all the luck in the world in finding their peace.
 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Viktoria Komova - back pain has forced me to step down

By
I awoke this morning to a very simple statement from Viktoria Komova, on her vk.com site, which Papa Liukin has translated (via the IG forum): 'Dear friends, fans, and gymnastics lovers. Unfortunately back pain isn't allowing me to train to my full potential and get ready for competitions. I've made the very difficult decision to stop training and take care of my health. I want to thank everyone for their support! Without your love and warmth it would've been more difficult to go all the way. Thanks everyone and see you soon! Love and kisses.' Well, first of all, good wishes and best of luck to Viktoria, who has struggled since 2012 to re-establish herself fully as a competitive gymnast, whose talent was so great that she secured gold on bars at two different World Championships, four years apart, whose career was littered with controversy, who must be allowed to live her life as she wishes.   I know that the 'gymternet' will now be overflowing...
43 comments
Read more

Aliya Mustafina - 'I'm just trying to stay healthy'

By
A brief interview with the World and Olympic Champion from All Sport is summarised below. Russian national gymnastics continues to prepare for the World Championships, which will be held October 3-12 in Nanning (China). Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina told Mary Staroverova about her health and about preparations for the competition. - In June, I went to Germany to solve the problem with my ankle.  I had a small operation to clean the joints of a build-up of bone particles.  Nothing serious was evident, and the operation went well.  Now I have to tumble.  But there is still some discomfort, a slight pain at full load, and I can not tumble at full force.  For the time being, I try to go easy on my legs.  After the Russia Cup I will have to fully prepare for Worlds. That is just one month.   Even if I'm not tumbling, I will keep myself in good shape, and that should suffice (smiles). - I can't say if it is a different pain to before Europeans, because at...
48 comments
Read more

Olga Mostepanova - from beautiful daydream to World Champion

By
Young Olga in her white leotard and orange hair bows, at her first international competition in Wembley, 1980 I had only been in the Olympiski Stadium, Moscow, for a few moments when it happened: I found myself surrounded by a little army of tiny children, excitedly chattering away in Russian, a language I don't speak.   I strained my ears and heard the names : Aliya, Nastia, Ksenia; I was swept along by this blizzard of pigtails, giggles and pretty eyes; and suddenly I lost myself, and started looking for Olga Mostepanova amongst them.  She might have been there, but (now in her forties) it is more likely that she was hard at work in her own gym, helping a young gymnast learn how to do a walkover on beam. Mostepanova was always like that, even as a child: her gymnastics appeared like a beautiful daydream, but the reality was infinitely more prosaic.  The exquisite plasticity that made her a Champion, the beautiful line for which she is famous, were the product ...
5 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more