Galina Beloglazova (russian: Галина Павловна Белоглазова; born June 10, 1967

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

) is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

individual

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 co ...

. She was the 1983 World All-around silver medalist and the 1984 European All-around champion.

Career

Beloglazova began training at just 5 years old under Ludmila Tichomirova, who would coach the talented gymnast throughout her career. she emerged onto the scene on the international stage at the traditional Intervision Cup in Cottbus GDR, 1980 where as a junior, she took the 1st place. As a senior, she was chosen as the alternate to the Soviet team at the 1982 European Championships, but her performance in practice so impressed her coaches that they put the 15-year-old in the competition lineup. She wound up 7th in the all-around and qualified to two event finals. Beloglazova would soon become among leading Soviet gymnast of the 1980s along (with Marina Lobatch,

Tatiana Druchinina Tatiana Rudolfovna Druchinina (russian: Татьяна Рудольфовна Дручинина; born April 18, 1969) is a Russian former rhythmic gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. She is the 1987 World champion in ribbon and the 1986 ...

, and

Dalia Kutkaitė Dalia Kutkaitė (born 11 February 1965 in Vilnius, Lithuania) is retired Lithuanian rhythmic gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. She is the 1982 European all-around champion and the 1983 World Cup Final all-around silver medalist. She is ...

In 1983, Beloglazova gave the Bulgarian team an upset by nearly winning the 1983 World Championship title. If not for a drop on the very last note of her clubs exercise, Beloglazova would have defeated Bulgarian gymnast Diliana Guerguieva. Instead she tied for silver and won three more medals in apparatus finals (gold with ball and ribbon and silver with hoop). Most impressively, she counted four perfect 10s in the event competition. At the 1984 Europeans, Beloglazova won the all-around gold medal. She also won medals on each of the 4 apparatus, gold with ribbon, silver with ball, and bronze with hoop and clubs. Her performance at the 1986 Europeans also earned her the all-around bronze medal, as well as a pair of golds for ribbon and ball and a bronze for clubs in the event finals. Beloglazova would perform in her last major competition, at the

1986 Goodwill Games The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Ga ...

. She finished 3rd all-around, 2nd with clubs, and 1st with ball. She also won the prize for the title of "Miss Goodwill Games." The day after the Games ended,

Personal life

Beloglazova was formerly married to Estonian basketball player

Heino Enden Heino Enden (born 13 December 1959 in Tallinn) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player who played mostly at the shooting guard position. Basketball career His most notable achievements include winning the World Championship as a me ...

, with whom she has a son Anthony Enden (born 1987). Beloglazova has degrees in English and German languages.V. Atkinson. Beloglazova is remarried and has been living in the United States since October 2012.

References

* Catalano, Robin
Gymnastics Greats
, ''Galina Beloglazova (URS)'', October 29, 1999.

External links

* Soviet rhythmic gymnasts Russian rhythmic gymnasts 1967 births Living people Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Goodwill Games medalists in gymnastics Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Sportspeople from Astrakhan {{Russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-bio-stub