Olga Gontar ( be, Вольга Гонтарь; russian: Ольга Гонтарь, born January 11, 1979, in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

) is a

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

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 coordi ...

. She is the 1995 Grand Prix Final all-around bronze medalist and the 1993 European Junior all-around champion.

Career

Gontar started competitive rhythmic gymnastics at 4 years old. In 1991, at age 12, she won the first of three consecutive all-around titles at the Schmiden International. She then took the all-around gold at the 1993 European Junior Championships, and also came in first on both ball and ribbon and was second with rope. Gontar debuted as a senior in the 1994 season. 1995 was her last and busiest year in rhythmic. She won bronze in the all-around at the 1995 Grand Prix Final, in the event finals; she won gold in rope (tied with

Olena Vitrychenko Olena Ihorivna Vitrychenko ( uk, Олена Ігорівна Вітриченко, russian: Елена Игоревна Витриченко; born 25 November 1976), also known as Elena Vitrichenko, is an Individual Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnast. Sh ...

and Yanina Batyrchina) and bronze in ribbon. Before she could compete at the World Championships, reports surfaced that a back injury was forcing her out and would be the deciding factor in her early retirement from the sport at the atypically young age of 16. After she completed her career in rhythmic gymnastics, Gontar briefly made a modeling career appearing in print ads and magazine covers for European luxury brands in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

External links

* 1979 births Living people Belarusian rhythmic gymnasts Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Gymnasts from Minsk 20th-century Belarusian women {{Belarus-rhythmic-gymnastics-bio-stub