Olga Korbut - Belarusian Women, Family and Childhood
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Olga Korbut is a former Soviet gymnast who won six Olympic medals for her country and earned the title of ‘The Sparrow from Minsk’
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | May 16, 1955 |
| Nationality | Belarusian |
| Famous | Sportspersons, Gymnasts, Belarusian Women |
| Nick names | Sparrow from Minsk |
| Spouses | Alex Voinich, Leonid Bortkevich |
| Known as | Olga Valentinovna Korbut |
| Childrens | Richard Bortkevich |
| Birth Place | Grodno |
| Born Country | Belarus |
| Height | 152 |
| Gender | Female |
| Father | Valentin Korbut |
| Mother | Valentina Korbut |
| Sun Sign | Taurus |
| Born in | Grodno |
| Famous as | Gymnast |
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Olga Korbut's photo
Who is Olga Korbut?
Olga Valentinovna Korbut is a former Soviet gymnast who won six Olympic medals for her country and earned the title of ‘The Sparrow from Minsk’. During period of the Cold War, she also served as an unofficial goodwill liaison between the Soviet Union and the United States. Born in Belarus, she started her training as a gymnast at a very young age. After becoming skilled in back flips and somersaults, she first displayed her talent at an event in USSR and received much appreciation for her skills. A year after that, the rising gymnast took home a gold medal at a national meet and went on to attend her first international championship. She performed exceptionally in her first Olympic Games (1972 Munich Olympics), winning three gold medals and a silver medal for her country. Her superlative performance made her an overnight star and brought her much fame across the globe. In the next few years, she continued her success runs and earned numerous medals in championships around the world. Even though her medal tally and skill level alone are eternally inspiring, she is most respected for her originality and charm that caused a worldwide surge in the sport's popularity. She brought qualities to Olympic gymnastics that few had seen before and to this day, the ‘Korbutsalto’ and ‘Korbut Flip’ remain quite popular in international gymnastics.
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Childhood & Early Life
She was born on May 16, 1955, in Grodna, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union, to Valentin Korbut, an engineer and his wife, Valentina Korbut, a cook. She was the youngest child in her family with three elder sisters.
At the age of eight, she started training in gymnastics and the following year, she entered a Belarusian sports school headed by Coach Renald Knysh. Under his guidance, she learned a difficult backward somersault on the balance beam.
Career
In 1969, she debuted her backward somersault at a competition in the USSR. The same year, she completed a backflip-to-catch on the uneven bars; this was the first backward release move ever performed by a woman on bars.
She took part in her first USSR championship in 1969 where she was allowed to compete as an underage 15 year old. She was placed fifth all-around in the championship. The following year, she won a gold medal in the vault.
Her first big success came in 1970 when she became a champion of the USSR and joined the USSR national team. But due to illness and injury, she was unable to compete in many of the competitions before the 1972 Summer Olympic Games.
In 1972, she participated in the Olympic Games held at Munich, where she demonstrated innovative gymnastic moves and became a favorite of the audience, winning three gold medals and a silver medal. She won two individual gold medals in Balance Beam and Floor Exercise, and the third one in the team all-around competition. She won silver medal in the Uneven Bars
In 1974, she competed in the World Championships at Varna, where she won six medals. She won the gold medal on Vault and team all-round competition, and silver medals on Uneven Bars, All-Around, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise.
She made her last appearance in international gymnastics at the 1976 Olympic Games held in Montreal. In the 1976 Olympics, she won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal for the Balance Beam.
She retired from competitive gymnastics after the 1976 Olympics. The following year, she graduated from the ‘Grodno Pedagogical Institute’ and became a teacher.
In 1991, her family immigrated to the United States where she started teaching gymnastics.
In 2000, she moved to Arizona and was appointed the Head Coach at Scottsdale Gymnastics and Cheerleading.
Awards & Achievements
In 1972, she was named ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ by the Associated Press and ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The same year, she also earned ABC's Wide World of Sports title ‘Athlete of the Year’.
In 1975, the United Nations named her ‘Woman of the Year’ and awarded her with the ‘Gold Tuning Fork’ for her ability to bring the world together.
In 1988, she became the first gymnast to be inducted into the ‘International Gymnastics Hall of Fame’.
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1978, she married Leonid Bortkevich, famous singer of the Belarusian folk band ‘Pesniary’ and gave birth to their son, Richard. In 2000, the couple got divorced. Later she became a naturalized U.S. citizen and got married to Alex Voinich.
In 1999, she publicly accused Renald Knysh, her former coach, of abuse and rape while she was under his training.
She has also been actively involved in charitable work, most notably on behalf of victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant contamination.
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Olga Korbut biography timelines
- // 16th May 1955She was born on May 16, 1955, in Grodna, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union, to Valentin Korbut, an engineer and his wife, Valentina Korbut, a cook. She was the youngest child in her family with three elder sisters.
- // 1969In 1969, she debuted her backward somersault at a competition in the USSR. The same year, she completed a backflip-to-catch on the uneven bars; this was the first backward release move ever performed by a woman on bars.
- // 1969She took part in her first USSR championship in 1969 where she was allowed to compete as an underage 15 year old. She was placed fifth all-around in the championship. The following year, she won a gold medal in the vault.
- // 1970 To 1972Her first big success came in 1970 when she became a champion of the USSR and joined the USSR national team. But due to illness and injury, she was unable to compete in many of the competitions before the 1972 Summer Olympic Games.
- // 1972In 1972, she participated in the Olympic Games held at Munich, where she demonstrated innovative gymnastic moves and became a favorite of the audience, winning three gold medals and a silver medal. She won two individual gold medals in Balance Beam and Floor Exercise, and the third one in the team all-around competition. She won silver medal in the Uneven Bars
- // 1972In 1972, she was named ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ by the Associated Press and ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The same year, she also earned ABC's Wide World of Sports title ‘Athlete of the Year’.
- // 1974In 1974, she competed in the World Championships at Varna, where she won six medals. She won the gold medal on Vault and team all-round competition, and silver medals on Uneven Bars, All-Around, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise.
- // 1975In 1975, the United Nations named her ‘Woman of the Year’ and awarded her with the ‘Gold Tuning Fork’ for her ability to bring the world together.
- // 1976She made her last appearance in international gymnastics at the 1976 Olympic Games held in Montreal. In the 1976 Olympics, she won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal for the Balance Beam.
- // 1976She retired from competitive gymnastics after the 1976 Olympics. The following year, she graduated from the ‘Grodno Pedagogical Institute’ and became a teacher.
- // 1978 To 2000In 1978, she married Leonid Bortkevich, famous singer of the Belarusian folk band ‘Pesniary’ and gave birth to their son, Richard. In 2000, the couple got divorced. Later she became a naturalized U.S. citizen and got married to Alex Voinich.
- // 1986She has also been actively involved in charitable work, most notably on behalf of victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant contamination.
- // 1988In 1988, she became the first gymnast to be inducted into the ‘International Gymnastics Hall of Fame’.
- // 1991In 1991, her family immigrated to the United States where she started teaching gymnastics.
- // 1999In 1999, she publicly accused Renald Knysh, her former coach, of abuse and rape while she was under his training.
- // 2000In 2000, she moved to Arizona and was appointed the Head Coach at Scottsdale Gymnastics and Cheerleading.
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Olga Korbut's FAQ
What is Olga Korbut birthday?
Olga Korbut was born at 1955-05-16
Where is Olga Korbut's birth place?
Olga Korbut was born in Grodno
What is Olga Korbut nationalities?
Olga Korbut's nationalities is Belarusian
What is Olga Korbut nick names?
Olga Korbut's nickNames is Sparrow from Minsk
Who is Olga Korbut spouses?
Olga Korbut's spouses is Alex Voinich, Leonid Bortkevich
Who is Olga Korbut childrens?
Olga Korbut's childrens is Richard Bortkevich
How tall is Olga Korbut?
Olga Korbut's height is 152
Who is Olga Korbut's father?
Olga Korbut's father is Valentin Korbut
Who is Olga Korbut's mother?
Olga Korbut's mother is Valentina Korbut
What is Olga Korbut's sun sign?
Olga Korbut is Taurus
How famous is Olga Korbut?
Olga Korbut is famouse as Gymnast