Uliana Vyacheslavovna Donskova (russian: Ульяна Вячеславовна Донскова; born 24 August 1992) is a Russian group

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

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Group All-around champion, the 2011 World Group All-around silver medalist, the 2010 World Group All-around bronze medalist, the 2012 European Group All-around gold medalist and the 2010 European Group All-around gold medalist.

Career

Donskova started training in gymnastics when she was five years old. She started competing with the Russian Group in 2007. They won gold medal in 10 Clubs Final at the 2007 European Championships 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 ...

. She competed in her first World Championship on August 12, 2009 in Japan, in Mie. There she together with the other Russian group received a gold medal and two bronze medals. She was again part of the Russian Group at the European Championships in Bremen and at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. She won the gold medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the group all-around event together with other group members (

Ksenia Dudkina Ksenia Pavlovna Dudkina (russian: Ксения Павловна Дудкина; born 25 February 1995) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast from Omsk, Russia. She is the 2012 Olympics Group All-around champion, the 2011 World Group All-around ...

Anastasia Bliznyuk Anastasia Ilyinichna Bliznyuk ( rus, Анастасия Ильинична Близнюк, , ɐnəstɐˈsʲiɪ̯ə blʲɪˈzʲnʲuk; born 28 June 1994) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

Alina Makarenko Alina Andreevna Makarenko (russian: Алина Андреевна Макаренко; born 14 January 1995) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympics Group All-around champion, the 2011 World Group All-around silver medalist, ...

Anastasia Nazarenko Anastasia Konstantinovna Nazarenko (russian: Анастасия Константиновна Назаренко; born 17 January 1993) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympics Group All-around champion, the 2011 World Gro ...

Karolina Sevastyanova Karolina Andreyevna Sevastyanova (russian: Каролина Андреевна Севастьянова; born 25 April 1995) is a Russian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympics Group All-around champion, 2012 European Group All-around c ...

). Donskova admitted the group believed they would win gold in London "It was a long time with hard work. We believed in our victory, but we didn't allow ourselves to relax. We didn't think about the medal". It was Russia's 4th consecutive win in the Group since the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Donskova said: "We had no idea that we were going for four in a row." When asked to explain the secret of Russia's success in rhythmic gymnastics, she added: "We're born as rhythmic gymnasts." For six months leading up to the Olympic Games, the Russian gymnasts ate only buckwheat. Donskova retired from rhythmic gymnastics after the 2012 Olympics.

Personal life

Donskova is a student at the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Culture, Sport & Health in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. On June 25, 2014, Donskova married former

CSKA Moskva CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big Sov ...

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player Ruben Begunts. The couple had their first child in August 2015.

Detailed Olympic results

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donskova, Uliana 1992 births Living people People from Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Russian rhythmic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of Russia Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Sportspeople from Rostov Oblast 21st-century Russian women