Sofia Muratova

Sofia Ivanovna Muratova (, 13 July 1929 – 27 September 2006) was a Soviet gymnast. She competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won eight medals.

Early life

Muratova grew up in Leningrad and lost her mother during its siege. Muratova herself was evacuated from the city in 1941. During the war she could not regularly attend school, but tried to train every day. She took up artistic gymnastics in 1943, entering a children's sports school, and just three months later competed in the Russian Championships for girls. In 1944 she moved to Moscow, where she trained under Ivan Zhuravlyov.

First successes In 1945 Muratova won her first major competition, the USSR Junior Championships. She soon became one of the strongest Soviet gymnasts, the only one to win five Soviet all-around titles, yet she was often unlucky at major international events.

World championships and Olympics

Muratova missed the 1952 Summer Olympics due to injury. Two years later, at the 1954 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won a gold medal in the team competition and led the all-around contest, but broke her arm during a warm-up and had to withdraw from the championship. Her husband Valentin Muratov swore to win a gold medal for her and became the all-around champion.