Anna Pavlova

Anna Anatolyevna Pavlova (; born 6 September 1987) is a Russian-born artistic gymnast who won two bronze medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and represented Russia in other international competitions. In 2002 she won the Russian National Championships.

Pavlova competed for Azerbaijan from 2013, winning silver at the 2014 European Championships on vault. She was well known for her balletic style and clean technique. Pavlova retired in 2015 at the age of 28.

Career 2000–2002 Pavlova first emerged on the international gymnastics scene in 2000, winning a gold medal on the uneven bars at the Junior European Championships. Although she was too young to compete as a senior at the World Championships in 2001, she was allowed to participate in the Goodwill Games, where she earned a silver medal on the balance beam.

In 2002, still too young to compete internationally as a senior, Pavlova won the Russian National Championships.

2003 Pavlova competed at the 2003 World Championships during her first year as a senior gymnast, and the Russian team finished sixth. Pavlova did not earn an individual medal; she had qualified for the individual all-around, vault and floor finals, but mistakes prevented her from placing among the top three.

2004 In 2004, Pavlova competed in the European Championships team competition. She fell from the uneven bars, which she was a favorite to win, and did not qualify for the all-around. Later that year, Pavlova claimed the Russian national title and made the Russian Olympic team.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Pavlova had her best performance to date. The Russian team fought their way back onto the medal podium, finishing third behind Romania and the United States. In the individual all-around, she placed fourth and missed the bronze medal by a fraction, 0.025, behind China's Zhang Nan. Pavlova won an individual bronze medal on the vault during the event finals, narrowly missing silver, whilst a mistake in beam finals cost her a medal. She finished fourth behind Romania's Alexandra Georgiana Eremia. Her floor music at the Olympics was "Winter" by Bond.

2005–2006 Pavlova is one of the few Russian gymnasts from the 2004 Olympic team who chose to continue competing; she won silver all-around at the 2005 European Championships. She also competed in the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, where she qualified to the all-around final, as well as the vault and beam apparatus finals. The following year, Pavlova competed at the 2006 World Championships, where she won a bronze medal with the Russian team. She once again qualified to the all-around, vault and beam finals.

2008 Pavlova was named to the Russian Olympic team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. On 10 August 2008, in the preliminary round, she performed her floor routine to "Exodus" by Maksim. She qualified fifth for the all-around final and also made the finals on vault, beam and floor. In the team final, Russia finished fourth; Romania won the bronze. In the vault final, Pavlova scored 0 on her second vault because she started before the green light was lit. In the floor final, she was still unsettled from the vault competition and did not perform well. Two days later, she finished fourth in the balance beam final, 0.050 behind China's Cheng Fei.thumb

In November 2008, Pavlova tore two ligaments in her knee during her beam dismount at the DTB World Cup event in Stuttgart. Surgery was required to reattach the ligaments. Pavlova told a Russian sports website, "I hope, of course, that I'll be able to return to gymnastics, but I don't have full confidence in that yet."

Before her injury, Pavlova had placed third on vault in Stuttgart. At the time of the injury, she was ranked third in the world on beam and vault.

2009–2010 In August 2009, Pavlova resumed training.

Pavlova appeared at the 2010 Russian Nationals in March with a heavily bandaged knee. Although she did not compete full-difficulty routines, she placed a respectable 10th in the individual all-around, and she won the gold medal with her team, the Central Federal District. She posted the highest score on vault to qualify for the event final, where she finished 5th.

2011 In 2011, Pavlova competed in the 2011 Trnava Cup, finishing second behind Romanian Larisa Iordache. Later that year, she competed in the Voronin Cup, finishing 5th in the all-around. She finished third in vault finals, despite a fall on her second vault, a layout Podkopayeva (Yurchenko 1/2 turn on, layout front somersault 1/2).

Nationality change

Pavlova began to compete for Azerbaijan in November 2013, saying that Russian gymnastics did not give her sufficient scope. She said that she had always been interested in international competition, and Russian gymnastics did not give her the opportunities she wanted. She has expressed desire to continue in the sport, as a gymnastics coach with her mother.

Floor music 2008–2010: "Exodus" by Maksim Mrvica 2006–2007: "Juno and Avos" by Alexei Rybnikov 2006: "Allegretto" by Bond 2004–2005: "Wintersun" by Bond 2003: "Korobushka" by Bond 2000: "Smuglyanka" by Shvedov

Competitive history

Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2014 World Championships Nanning Team 30 196.328 All-Around 70 51.098 Vault 27 12.699 Uneven Bars 82 12.933 Balance Beam 123 12.166 Floor Exercise 48 13.166 European Championships Sofia Team 16 147.729 Vault 2 14.583 2 14.516 Uneven Bars 41 12.800 Balance Beam 39 12.566 Floor Exercise 40 12.733

Competitor for Russia

Year Competition Description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2008 Olympic Games Beijing Team 4 180.625 3 244.400 All-Around 7 60.825 5 60.900 Vault 8 7.812 5 15.275 Uneven Bars 35 14.600 Balance Beam 4 15.900 6 15.825 Floor Exercise 8 14.125 7 15.125 European Championships Clermont-Ferrand Team 2 179.475 2 176.425 Vault 5 14.337 3 14.712 Balance Beam 13 14.750 Floor Exercise 5 14.875 7 14.875 2006 World Cup Final São Paulo Vault 4 14.725 Balance Beam 4 15.150 World Championships Aarhus Team 3 177.325 4 234.800 All-Around 19 57.625 15 58.425 Vault 5 14.975 7 14.700 Uneven Bars 36 14.350 Balance Beam 4 15.275 5 15.525 Floor Exercise 69 13.700 2005 World Championships Melbourne All-Around 7 36.387 8 36.174 Vault 5 9.237 5 9.312 Uneven Bars 47 8.362 Balance Beam 6 8.762 4 9.350 Floor Exercise 14 9.125 European Championships Debrecen All-Around 2 37.074 8 35.586 Vault 2 9.312 1 9.356 Uneven Bars 38 8.312 Balance Beam 3 9.325 2 9.287 Floor Exercise 14 8.600 2004 World Cup Final Birmingham Vault 3 9.418 Balance Beam 8 8.850 Olympic Games Athens Team 3 113.235 4 149.420 All-Around 4 38.024 7 37.711 Vault 3 9.475 5 9.437 Uneven Bars 46 9.237 Balance Beam 4 9.587 4 9.637 Floor Exercise 19 9.400 European Championships Amsterdam Team 3 110.423 All-Around 11 35.875 Vault 2 9.381 3 9.450 Uneven Bars 50 8.225 Balance Beam 12 8.950 Floor Exercise 9 9.200 2003 World Championships Anaheim Team 6 108.985 5 145.572 All-Around 10 36.736 6 36.812 Vault 5 9.356 3 9.431 Uneven Bars 76 8.712 Balance Beam 13 9.325 Floor Exercise 7 9.237 8 9.350