Ludmila Ezhova

Ludmila Ezhova Grebenkova ( (Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova), born 4 March 1982) is a Russian former competitive gymnast. She won bronze in the team event at the 2004 Summer Olympics and four medals at the World Championships.

Career Ezhova was a mainstay of the Russian team from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. She also represented Russia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where she competed only balance beam. She was particularly noted for her work on balance beam where she was a four (4) time world and European medalist, including a gold medal. Her balance beam routines were characterized by a wide array of difficult acrobatic skills connected in immediate, unusual sequencing.

In 1997, Ezhova placed 8th in the all-around at Russian Championships. The following year she placed 10th in the all-around at the Russian Cup. In the Spring of 1998, she competed on uneven bars and balance beam in the team final at European Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Individually, she earned a bronze medal on balance beam, tying with Romanian Simona Amânar. At the 1999 Russian Cup, Ezhova placed 9th in the all-around. Ezhova was not named to the World Team for Russia. In 2000, she was not named to the Russian team for European Championships or the Olympic Games.

Ezhova made the team for the 2001 World Championships in Ghent, Belgium. She competed on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise in the team final and helped earn the silver medal. Individually she earned a silver medal on balance beam. At the 2002 European Championships in Patras, Greece, she helped the Russian team earn the gold medal by competing on uneven bars and balance beam. Individually she won the gold medal on balance beam and placed 7th on the uneven bars. That same year she made her second World Championships team. There was no team competition at the 2002 World Championships but she earned a bronze medal on uneven bars and placed 6th place on balance beam. In 2003, Ezhova placed 13th at the Russian Championships. At the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, California, the Russian team of which Ezhova was a member, greatly faltered and placed 6th in the team competition. Individually, however, she earned a bronze medal on balance beam. Ezhova did not compete on the European Championships team. Later that year she made the team for the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. At the Olympics, Ezhova competed on uneven bars and balance beam in both qualifications and the team final. The Russian team earned a bronze medal in the team competition. Individually, Ezhova did not advance to any individual finals.

In 2008 Grebenkova returned to gymnastics to compete at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Here she competed for the team on balance beam. The Russian team placed 4th in the team final.

Eponymous skill Ezhova has one eponymous skill listed in the Code of Points. ApparatusNameDescriptionDifficultyUneven bars Ejova Swing backward release and ½ turn (180°) in flight between the bars to catch low bar in hang D (0.4)

Post-retirement Ezhova-Grebenkova was a team and rec coach at Southeastern Gymnastics in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with her husband Georgy Grebenkov, also a former Olympic gymnast. Up until early 2018 she was a gymnastics coach at WOGA Gymnastics.

As of spring of 2018 she and her husband own and coach at Golden Grip Gymnastics in Plano, Texas.

Competitive history Year EventTeamAAVTUBBBFX1998 European Championships 2001 World Championships 26 6 2002 European Championships 7 World Championships 6 2003 World Championships 6 2004 Olympic Games World Cup Final 6 5 2006World Cup Final 8 8 2008 Olympic Games 4

Year Competition description Location Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying 2008 Olympic Games Beijing Team 4 180.625 3 244.400 Balance beam 37 14.600 2006 World Cup Final São Paulo Uneven bars 8 9.950 Balance beam 8 14.200 2004 World Cup Final Birmingham Uneven bars 6 9.350 Balance beam 5 9.437 Olympic Games Athens Team 3 113.235 4 149.420 Uneven bars 23 9.475 Balance beam 15 9.462 2003 World Championships Anaheim Team 6 108.985 5 145.572 Uneven bars 94 8.537 Balance beam 3 9.550 6 9.425 2002 World Championships Debrecen Uneven bars 3 9.375 Uneven bars (Semi-final) 3 9.512 Uneven bars (Qualification) 3 9.575 Balance beam 6 8.975 Balance beam (Semi-final) 2 9.612 Balance beam (Qualification) 2 9.562 European Championships Patras Team 1 111.833 Uneven bars 7 8.700 3 9.437 Balance beam 1 9.562 1 9.625 2001 World Championships Ghent Team 2 109.023 4 144.134 All-around 26 34.774 10 36.011 Vault 91 8.612 Uneven bars 6 8.625 4 9.300 Balance beam 2 9.650 1 9.612 Floor exercise 67 8.487 1998 European Championships Saint Petersburg Team 2 112.720 Uneven bars 23 9.250 Balance beam 3 9.662 4 9.687