Valentyna Ksenofontivna Rastvorova (Валентина Ксенофонтовна Растворова; 17 July 1933 – 24 August 2018) was a Ukrainian who was a Soviet fencer who competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics in the individual foil and team foil events. She won an individual

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

and team

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in 1960, and a team silver medal in 1964. She also won six gold and two silver medals at the world championships of 1956–67.

Biography

Personal life

She was born in

Odesa, Ukraine Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern sho ...

. In 1956 Rastvorova graduated from the

Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism (SCOLIPE) (russian: Российский государственный университет физической культуры, спорта, молодёжи и тур ...

. She was married to

Boris Grishin Boris Dmitriyevich Grishin (russian: Борис Дмитриевич Гришин, born 4 January 1938 in Moscow) is a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1964 and the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was married to champi ...

, an Olympic

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player. Their son, Yevgeny Grishin, is an Olympic champion in water polo. Her daughter,

Yelena Grishina Yelena Borisovna Grishina (russian: Елена Борисовна Гришина; born 6 November 1968) is a Soviet fencer. She competed in the women's team foil events at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. She is also a member of Match TV, th ...

, made it to the finals of the Olympics in foil in 1992 and 1988. Her grandson,

Sergey Bida Sergey Olegovich Bida ( rus, Сергей Олегович Бида, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈbʲidə; born 13 February 1993; nicknamed Bidon) is a Russian left-handed épée fencer, three-time European épée team champion, and 2021 Olympic épée ...

, is a world champion

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

fencer. He made his Olympic debut in Tokyo, winning a silver medal. He was ranked #1 in the world in 2020. He is also a three-time European épée team champion. He moved to the United States in 2023 after the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, along with his wife, Olympic épée fencer Violetta Khrapina Bida.

Fencing career

She competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics in the individual foil and team foil events. She won an individual

and team

in 1960, and a team silver medal in 1964. At the 1956 Olympics, she came in fifth in individual women's foil. She also won six gold and two silver medals at the world championships of 1956–67, mostly in team foil (1956 London gold: foil team; 1958 Philadelphia gold: foil and foil team; 1961 Torino gold: foil team, bronze: foil; 1962 Buenos Aires silver: foil team; 1965 Paris gold: foil team; 1966 Moscow gold: foil team; 1967 Montréal silver: foil team). After retiring from competition, she worked as a fencing coach at her club Dynamo Moscow.

References

1933 births 2018 deaths Russian female foil fencers Ukrainian female foil fencers Soviet female foil fencers Olympic fencers for the Soviet Union Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Odesa {{USSR-fencing-bio-stub