Alexandra Alexandrovna Timoshenko, or Olexandra Olexandrivna Tymoshenko, ( uk, Олександра Олександрівна Тимошенко; born 18 February 1972) is a former Ukrainian individual

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 ...

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 national ...

. She is the 1992 Olympics champion, 1988 Olympics bronze medalist, 1989 World all-around champion, 1991 World all-around silver medalist and two time (1988, 1990)

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

all-around champion. Along with

Tatiana Gutsu Tatiana Gutsu, rarely Tetiana Hutsu, ( uk, Тетяна Костянтинівна Ґуцу, ro, Tatiana Guțu; born 5 September 1976, in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast from the Soviet Union and the winner of the ...

, and Oleh Kucherenko, Oleksandra Tymoshenko also was among the first Olympians in honor of which at the 1992 Olympics was raised the Ukrainian flag and played the

Ukrainian anthem "" ( uk, Ще не вмерла України і слава, і воля, , lit=The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished), also known by its official title of "State Anthem of Ukraine" (, ') or by its shortened form "" (, ), is the ...

.When had actually at first sounded the Ukrainian anthem at Olympics (Коли насправді вперше пролунав Гімн України на Олімпіаді )
Espreso.tv. 28 July 2015

Career

When Tymoshenko was seven, her father (a construction engineer) was invited to work in

Kiev 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 ...

. She started training in gymnastics in 1980 at age eight at the Deriugins School, coached by the mother/daughter combination 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 ...

. She placed seventh at the 1987 European Junior Championships, her first major international result. At age 14, she became the Soviet junior champion and, shortly after, collected three medals at a European championships: a gold for the

Rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

, a silver for the Hoop and a bronze for the

Ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

. At a Soviet competition, she placed second behind the top Soviet competition, Marina Lobach of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, and so won the right to go to the 1988 European championships. At the 1988 European Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Tymoshenko shared the All-Around title with two

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 Macedon ...

ns, Elizabeth Koleva and Adriana Dunavska. There she also won three golds - Hoop,

Clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and Rope. Several months later she won the All-Around bronze at the Seoul Olympics, and after that she became the

USSR 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 ...

All-Around champion for the first time. Tymoshenko continued her rise in 1989, taking five out of six golds at the Sarajevo World Championships. Her streak would continue through numerous other international competitions, although she started to feel the pressure from up-and-coming teammates. She would grab her second European title in 1990, but spent the rest of the year struggling against the steadily rising

Oksana Skaldina Oksana Valentinovna Skaldina ( uk, Оксана Валентинівна Скалдіна; russian: Оксана Валентиновна Скалдина) is a retired Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast and current coach. She is the 1992 Ol ...

. In 1991, Timoshenko seemed poised to earn her second World title after a very strong early season. However, in Athens Timoshenko's difficulty level could not match Skaldina's and the former World champion had to settle for silver. At the event finals she was able to sweep the gold medals on all four apparatus. The ex-USSR countries competed as the Unified Team at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain. Tymoshenko won the gold medal in All-around ahead of Skaldina.

Retirement

Although the Ukrainian Federation tried to persuade her to continue after the 1992 Olympics, Timoshenko opted to retire from the sport at the age of 20. She enrolled in the Goethe Institute to study

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

, while simultaneously completing her studies at the Kyiv University of Physical Culture and Sports. She spent some time coaching in Germany before getting married and making a permanent move to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria.

Detailed Olympic results

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timoshenko, Alexandra 1972 births Living people People from Bohuslav Soviet rhythmic gymnasts Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1988 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts of the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts of the Unified Team Deriugins Gymnasts Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Sportspeople from Kyiv Oblast