Dominika Červenková (born May 18, 1988 in
České Budějovice
České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše.
České Budějovice is t ...
) is a
rhythmic gymnast
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...
from
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, who participated in
2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Biography
Červenková started gymnastics at the age of four. Since her earliest years she has made a great impression on the Czech rhythmic gymnastics, which had failed to qualify at least one other athlete for the 2000 Olympics.
Under the guidance of coach Ivana Pokorná, she joined the senior national team in 2003. She finished second all-around in the national championships to
Kateřina Kopáčová and won her first senior title with ball. She however beat the Czech number one in the
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
World Championships that served as the qualification event for the 2004 Olympics. Červenková finished 18th in the qualification round and slipped down to 25th in the final all-around, but it was enough to secure the Czech Republic one Olympic spot.
In 2004 Červenková won her first all-around national title and confirmed herself as the third gymnast to represent the Czech Republic (first one since
Lenka Oulehlová and
Andrea Šebestová finished 22nd and 28th respectively in the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
). Being only 16 years old, Červenková was the youngest member of the Czech Olympic team for Athens, as well as the tiniest one (only 1.60m tall). Struggling with her last hoop routine she finished 20th in the all-around qualification, but was warmly applauded by the audience.
In
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
, Červenková competed again in the
world championships in 2005, 16th all-around final. She also took participation in the
2005 World Games in
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
, the individual apparatus substitute event to the Olympic Games recording the best result of ninth place with ribbon, only 0.05 pts out of final.
In 2006, Červenková had planned to take full advantage of her past results, particularly in the European Championships, though due to injury, had to withdraw from a large part of the season in favour of intensive rehabilitation. She thus missed the major part of the season, including the Europeans. In January 2007 the Czech Rhythmic Gymnastics Union board decided to discard Červenková from the national team following advice from the sport-medicine consultants.
Proceedings
of the Czech Rhythmic Gymnastics Union board meeting, January 19, 2007. - (in Czech)
Červenková is known for her tender and dynamic routines, nice body lines and appropriate flexibility balance, but she lacks the courage to risk and sometimes makes major mistakes. Fans love her for her charming and friendly character and smile.
Trivia
Anna Bessonova
Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova ( uk, Ганна Володимирівна Безсонова/Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova; born 29 July 1984) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian former individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most ...
of Ukraine is her favorite gymnast while javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
er and three-time Olympic champion Jan Železný
Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of . Widely considered to be the greatest javelin thrower ...
is her favorite non-gymnastics athlete.
Achievements
*2003 World Championships: 16th team, 25th A-A
*2004 European Championships: 18th A-A
*2004 Olympic Games: 20th A-A
*2005 European Championships: 11th team, 15th A-A
*2005 World Championships: 16th A-A, 14th rope, 17th ribbon, 19th ball, 21st clubs
*2005 World Games: 9th ribbon, 12th ball and rope, 14th clubs
External links
International Federation of Gymnastics' profile on Dominika Červenková
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervenkova, Dominika
1988 births
Living people
Czech rhythmic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic gymnasts of the Czech Republic
Sportspeople from České Budějovice