Dalia Kutkaitė (born 11 February 1965 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

) is retired Lithuanian rhythmic gymnast who competed for the

Soviet Union 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 is the 1982 European all-around champion and the 1983 World Cup Final all-around silver medalist. She is the most successful Lithuanian rhythmic gymnast to date.

Career

Kutkaitė started rhythmic gymnastics at age 7 years old under the advice of a kindergarten teacher to her mother, her first coach was Aldona Giryunine. She started out in the sport as sickly, frail, lacked musicality and dynamism under Vaida Kubiliene's tutelage. After feeling being left behind by other gymnasts, Kutkaitė improved significantly and carefully examining the mistakes of others, she would become one of the leading Soviet gymnast of the 1980s along (with

Marina Lobatch Marina Vikentyevna Lobatch ( be, Марына Вікенцьеўна Лобач, russian: Марина Викентьевна Лобач; born 26 June 1970) is a former Soviet Individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 1988 Olympic champion, 1987 ...

Galina Beloglazova Galina Beloglazova (russian: Галина Павловна Белоглазова; born June 10, 1967 Astrakhan, Soviet Union) is a Soviet individual rhythmic gymnast. She was the 1983 World All-around silver medalist and the 1984 European A ...

, and Tatiana Druchinina). The 1980s marked the golden age of the Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts, yet Kutkaitė was amongst the leading gymnasts who defended for the medals of the

. Kutkaitė's first Worlds was at the 1981 World Championships where she finished 5h in all-around, At the 1982 European Championships, she was competing against a strong Bulgarian Team yet Kutkaitė won with her complex, original and fast routines with calm like style. She defeated

Lilia Ignatova Lilia Ignatova ( bg, Лилия Павлова Игнатова; born 17 May 1965) is a Bulgarian modern rhythmic gymnast. She was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria who dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the 1980s. Personal life Ignatova was b ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, winning gold in (all-around, clubs, ribbon) and silver medals in (ball, hoop). She won bronze medals in hoop and clubs at the 1983 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

. The culmination of the first World Cup Final held in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

in 1983, Kutkaitė won the all-around silver medal behind Bulgarian

, Kutkaitė won gold in ribbon. From 1978 to 1983 she won 15 titles in Lithuanian Championships.Kutkaitė Dalia
Lithuanian Sport Encyclopedia After her retirement, she completed her University degree. Many years until 2015 she lived and worked as a trainer in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. An annual international competition, the Dalia Kutkaite Cup is held in

References

External links

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Rhythmic Gymnastics Results
1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Vilnius Lithuanian rhythmic gymnasts Soviet rhythmic gymnasts Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Lithuanian gymnastics coaches 20th-century Lithuanian women 21st-century Lithuanian women Friendship Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnastics coaches Lithuanian sports coaches Female sports coaches Lithuanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain {{Lithuania-sport-bio-stub