Svetlana Grozdova Explained

Svetlana Grozdova
Birth Date:29 January 1959
Birth Place:Rostov on Don, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Discipline:WAG

Svetlana Khristoforovna Grozdova (Russian: Светлана Христофоровна Гроздова, born 29 January 1959 in Rostov on Don[1]) is a retired Soviet Russian gymnast.

She started training in gymnastics at age 8 and was coached by Russian gymnastics coach Ruslan Lavrov in a gym in Rostov-on-Don. She was a member of the Soviet Union's 1976 Olympics Gold medal-winning gymnastics team alongside Maria Filatova, Nellie Kim, Elvira Saadi, Ludmilla Tourischeva and Olga Korbut.

In 1974 and 1976, she was the Moscow News All Around champion. She was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1976.[2] In 1980 she left the world of competitive gymnastics and took up sports acrobatics and was competing in it by the mid-1980s.

Her best event was the balance beam. Despite not winning any Olympic medals in this event, she was a pro at wowing the crowds at USSR gymnastics exhibitions around the world with her tremendous flexibility and mesmerising balance on her hands. She had an unusually flexible, rubber-like spine which allowed her to perform walkovers along the 4" (10 cm) width of the balance beam, and to do a split handstand at the very end of the beam and touching the beam with her foot behind her head.

Competition History

YearEventwidth=30pxAAwidth=30pxTeamwidth=30pxVTwidth=30pxUBwidth=30pxBBwidth=30pxFX
1973align=left GDR-USSR Dual Meet
align=left Druzhba4 7
align=left Riga International6
align=left USSR-GDR-CSSR-HUN Meet
1974align=left Moscow News
align=left Antibes International
align=left Golden Sands International
align=left USSR Championships44
align=left USSR Cup5
1976align=left Moscow News
align=left Chunichi Cup5
align=left Tokyo Cup
align=left USSR Championships4
align=left USSR Cup9
align=left USSR-CSSR Dual Meet
align=left Olympic Games
1977align=left Army Club Championships
1978align=left FRA-USSR-BUL Meet
align=left USSR Championships18 77
align=left USSR Cup12
1979align=left Istanbul International
align=left University Games4
[3] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Profile at Gymnast.ru
  2. Book: All about Olympic Games.. Boris Khavin. Fizkultura i sport. 2nd. 1979. Moscow. Russian. 542.
  3. https://themedalcount.com/svetlana-grozdova/
  4. https://www.gymn-forum.net/bios/women/grozdova.html