Larisa Latynina

Early life She was born as Larisa Semyonovna Diriy in Kherson, Ukrainian SSR. Young Diriy-Latynina survived the occupation of Ukraine by Nazi Germany in 1940s.

She first practiced ballet, but turned to gymnastics after her choreographer moved out of Kherson. Her first gymnastics coach was Mykhailo Sotnychenko. In 1950 young Diriy-Latynina received her first sports degree (rozriad) and became a member of the Ukrainian students team at the All-Union gymnastics' competitions in Kazan. Her first Olympic gold medal Latynina gifted to her first coach Sotnychenko who kept it until his death. In the all-around event, she led the Soviet Union to take the first four places, thereby also securing a win in the team competition by a margin of nine points. Latynina defended her floor title, took silver medals in the balance beam and uneven bars events, and bronze in the vault competition.

Latynina won all-around titles at the 1962 World Championships, beating Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia. Still the defending World Champion at the 1964 Summer Olympics, she was beaten by Čáslavská in the all-around competition. Latynina added two more gold medals to her tally, winning the team event and the floor event both for the third time in a row. A silver medal and two bronzes in the other apparatus events brought her total of Olympic medals to eighteen—nine gold medals, five silver, and four bronze. She won a medal in every event in which she competed, except for the 1956 balance beam where she came in fourth.

Latynina's nine gold medals make her tied for third on the list of most Olympic gold medalists. She held the distinction of having more Olympic medals (either individually or with a team) than anybody, from 1964 until 2012. She and American swimmer Katie Ledecky are the only women to have won nine gold medals. She is also the only female athlete who at some point has held the record for most Olympic gold medals. Additionally, within the sport of gymnastics, she is the only woman who has won an all-around medal in more than two Olympiads, the only woman who has won an individual event (floor exercise) in more than two Olympiads, and one of only three women who have won every individual event at either the World Championship or Olympic level. She is the first female gymnast to have twice won team gold, all-around gold, and an event final gold at the same Olympics, having done so in 1956 and four years later, in 1960.

Family She was born to Pelageya Anisimovna Barabamyuk (1902–1975) and Semyon Andreevich Diriy (1906–1943), who died in the Battle of Stalingrad. Larisa was married three times.

She holds Russian citizenship and lives in Moscow. Latynina has received numerous Soviet and Russian state accolades.

In 2023, she spoke out against Russian athletes competing under a neutral flag at the Olympics due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it "unpatriotic".

Awards and honors 1989: Olympic Order (silver), International Olympic Committee 1998: Inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Competitive history YearEventTeamVTUBBBFX 1954 USSR Championships 16 4 World Championships 14 5 1955 USSR Championships USSR Cup 4 Warsaw International 1956 Liberation Day International USSR Championships 4 USSR Cup Olympic Games 4 1957 USSR Championships 4 5 USSR Cup 5 European Championships Moscow Summer Sports Games 1958 USSR Championships 5 World Championships 1959 GDR-USSR Dual Meet USSR Championships 4 5 1960 USSR Championships 5 USSR Cup Olympic Games 1961 USA-USSR Dual Meet USSR-USA Dual Meet European Championships 4 USSR Championships USSR Cup 1962 USSR Championships 6 USSR Cup World Championships 1963 USSR Championships 5 1964 SWE-USSR Dual Meet 4 USSR Championships 4 USSR Cup Olympic Games 1965 USSR Championships 7 European Championships 1966 USSR Championships USSR Cup 5 USSR World Trials 6 World Championships 11