Elena Alekseevna Karpukhina (russian: Елена Алексеевна Карпухина; born 21 March 1951 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) is a retired

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 co ...

who competed for the

Soviet Union 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, ...

. She is the 1967 World All-around champion and 1971 World All-around silver medalist.

Personal life

Karpukhina was born in

Butyrka prison Butyrskaya prison ( rus, Бутырская тюрьма, r= Butýrskaya tyurmá), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it ...

, in

where her mother Ludmila Bulatova was serving a sentence after being convicted in the late 1940s. She spent the first two years of her childhood living in prison with her mother, who was pardoned in 1953.

Career

Karpukhina took up ballet at nine years of age and started rhythmic gymnastics training in 1962. She was coached by Tamara Vartanova and Maria Lisitzian who also coached other Soviet stars such as Ludmila Savinkova and

Tatiana Kravtchenko Tatiana Viktorovna Kravtchenko (russian: Татьяна Викторовна Кравченко; 1936 or 13 June 1940 – 25 May 2016) was a Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. She was a two-time (1963 World ...

. She won the 1967 World Championships in All-around at 16 years of age and became the second soviet RG to win the All-around, she won the silver medal in hoop and rope. In the 1967-1973, she repeatedly won USSR Cup and International RG Tournaments. She returned at the 1971 World Championships and won the silver medal in All-around behind

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

star

Maria Gigova Maria Gigova ( bg, Мария Гигова; born 24 April 1947) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is a three-time (1969, 1971, 1973) World All-around champion. Biography She was the first gymnast to become a triple world champion in rhyth ...

, she also won silver in ribbon and bronze in rope. At her very last competition, the Moscow RG Cup, Karpukhina was pregnant with her daughter Nadezda. In 1972 she graduated from the State Central Order of Lenin Institute of Physical Culture as a rhythmic gymnastics instructor and physical therapist. In 1976, she became a coach in a number of sports associations of the USSR. In 1982-1995, she took up physical therapy at the Institute of Rheumatology and boarding schools for orphans and children with disabilities. Since 1995 she began teaching in additional education in the secondary school number 397 in Moscow. She became a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

of the Russian Federation in 1998. She later ran as a candidate in the Moscow City Duma. The Communist Party submitted her name as a candidate for deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 2003. April 12, 2011 Karpukhina transferred all her medals to the Butyrka museum Karpukhina Interview
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Achievements

* She levels with

Alina Kabaeva Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...

as one of the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win the All-around

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

at 16 years of age until

Yana Kudryavtseva Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva (russian: Я́на Алексе́евна Кудря́вцева; born 30 September 1997) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic All-around silver medalist, three-time World Champ ...

of the Russian Federation broke the record winning the All-around 2013 World Championships at 15 years of age.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karpukhina, Elena 1951 births Russian rhythmic gymnasts Soviet rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts from Moscow Living people Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships