Natalia Oleksandrivna Godunko ( uk, Наталія Олександрівна Годунко; russian: Наталья Александровна Годунко, born 5 December 1984) is a Ukrainian former

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 2001 team all-around world champion, 2005 European ribbon champion and the 2004 Grand Prix Final all-around champion.

Personal life

Godunko was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

of 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 national ...

(in present-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). Godunko

online auction An online auction (also electronic auction, e-auction, virtual auction, or eAuction) is an auction held over the internet and accessed by internet connected devices. Similar to in-person auctions, online auctions come in a variety of types, with d ...

ed her Team All-Around gold medal won in the

2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships XXIV World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Madrid, the capital of Spain, October 18–21, 2001 The Russian Team (Alina Kabaeva and Irina Tchachina) were stripped of their medals in individual and group results after tested positiv ...

to support the

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They we ...

who at the time was fighting a

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

.Ukraine crisis timeline

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

Career

Junior

Godunko started training in rhythmic gymnastics in 1990 at age six. She trained in

under the mother/daughter coaching team of Albina and

Irina Deriugina Irina Ivanivna Deriugina ( uk, Іри́на Іва́нівна Дерю́ґіна; born 11 January 1958) is a former Soviet individual rhythmic gymnast from Ukraine and Ukrainian coach in rhythmic gymnastics. She is the only Soviet rhythmic gymn ...

. Her coaches did not notice her for a while—she was not tall with long legs, which was preferred by the

Deriugins School The Deriugina School, also known as the Deriugins' School is a rhythmic gymnastics club in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is run by the mother and daughter team of Albina Deriugina, who is the head coach, and Irina Deriugina, who acts as the assistant coach. Iri ...

—but her speed and technique with apparatus and on elements eventually attracted their attention. In 1998, Godunko became a member of the Ukrainian national team and competed as a junior at the World Youth Games in Moscow, placing sixth.

Senior

As a senior, Godunko competed as part of the Ukrainian group for several years, as well as occasionally competing in individual events with little success. With the Ukrainian group, she won the 2001 World Championship team all-around and the five ribbons gold medal at the 2022 World Championships. She was the third-ranked gymnast in Ukraine for a while. She began her breakthrough at the 2002 Ukrainian Nationals, winning bronze in all-round and all gold medals in the finals. In 2003, she competed in ball at her first Grand Prix, the Deriugina Cup, and then competed in hoop and ribbon at the Holon Grand Prix and in ribbon at the Berlin Grand Prix. She won the bronze all-around medal at the 2003 Grand Prix Final in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, Austria. At the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Godunko qualified in fourth with a score of 102.750. In the final, she scored: ribbon 26.125, clubs 26.375, ball 25.800, hoop 25.500, and finished fifth overall behind Kazakh gymnast

Aliya Yussupova Aliya Yussupova ( kk, Әлия Мақсұтқызы Жүсіпова, ''Äliia Maqsūtqyzy Jüsıpova''; born May 15, 1984) is a retired individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast who competed for Kazakhstan, coached by Irina Viner. Perso ...

. She won the 2004 Grand Prix Final in all-around and won two more gold medals in ball and ribbon. In 2005, Godunko was a rival to

Anna Bessonova Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova ( uk, Ганна Володимирівна Безсонова/Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova; born 29 July 1984) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian former individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most ...

for the position of Ukraine's top gymnast. In front of a home audience, Godunko won the Deriugina Cup title. She was the only Ukrainian to win a gold medal, in ribbon, at the 2005 European Championships. At the 2005 World Championships, Godunko won team silver and ribbon bronze. In 2006, Godunko won gold in rope, silver in ribbon and bronze in clubs at the Mie World Cup. She won bronze in hoop at the Benidorm World Cup. At the Berlin Grand Prix she won bronzes in ball, clubs and ribbon. In 2007, she won team silver at the European Championships, as well as ball silver and rope bronze at the Summer Universiade. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Godunko finished seventh in the all-around finals with an overall score of 68.850 points. She briefly returned to competition in 2010, competing at the 2010 World Championships where she finished 18th all-around.

Routine music information

Detailed Olympic results

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godunko, Natalia 1984 births Living people Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Deriugins Gymnasts Gymnasts from Kyiv Olympic gymnasts of Ukraine Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships World Games silver medalists World Games bronze medalists Universiade medalists in gymnastics Competitors at the 2005 World Games Universiade gold medalists for Ukraine Universiade silver medalists for Ukraine Universiade bronze medalists for Ukraine