Galina Yakovlevna Shamray (russian: Гали́на Я́ковлевна Шамра́й) (also known as ''Galina Rudko'', ''Galina Ilyina'' after marriages; October 5, 1931 – February 12, 2022) was a retired

Soviet 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, ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. In 1954, she became the first women's all-around World Champion from the USSR.

Personal life

Shamrai was born on October 5, 1931, in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

USSR 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 nationa ...

. She graduated from the Lenin Pedagogical Institute of the Moscow Region. She married

Anatoli Ilyin Anatoli Mikhaylovich Ilyin (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Ильин; 27 June 1931 – 10 February 2016) was a Soviet Russian footballer. Honours * Olympic champion: 1956. * Soviet Top League winner: 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 196 ...

, who played for Spartak and became an Olympic champion in football at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Career

Shamrai trained at the Iskra club and later at the Burevestnik sports society in Moscow. She began competing at the USSR Championships in 1950, where she placed eighth in the all-around. She was added to the team roster for the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, which was the first Olympic performance for Soviet athletes. Shamrai did not compete in the event finals, but was 8th in the all-around, contributing to the team's gold. She also won the team's silver in the portable apparatus event. In December of the same year, Shamrai earned the silver medal on the floor exercise at the USSR Championships. She placed fourth in the all-around at the Nationals in 1953. At the 1954 World Championships she won the all-around title, a gold medal in the team competition, a silver on bars and the team's silver in the portable apparatus. She earned one more gold medal on the balance beam, at the 1955 Nationals, and retired in 1956. In 1957, Shamrai was awarded the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

. She worked as a coach at the Spartak club in Moscow and began judging at international gymnastics events in 1975.

Achievements (non-Olympic)

References

External links

Galina Shamrai
at the

International Federation of Gymnastics The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...

List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamrai, Galina 1931 births 2022 deaths Uzbekistani female artistic gymnasts Soviet female artistic gymnasts Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts of the Soviet Union Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Burevestnik (sports society) athletes World champion gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Sportspeople from Tashkent Olympic medalists in gymnastics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics