Latynina, Larisa

Larisa Latynina, in full Larisa Semyonovna Latynina, (born December 27, 1934, Kherson, Ukraine, U.S.S.R.), Soviet gymnast who was the first woman athlete to win nine Olympic gold medals and was one of the most decorated competitors in the history of the Games.

At the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, Latynina, who was educated at the Kiev State Institute of Physical Culture, won the women’s competition in the all-around (combined exercises), the vault, and the floor exercise (in which she tied for first place). At the 1960 Olympics in Rome she again placed first in the all-around and the floor exercise, and in Tokyo in 1964 she captured her third consecutive gold medal in the floor exercise.

Latynina also won gold medals as a member of the Soviet Union’s six-member women’s gymnastics team in 1956, 1960, and 1964. In addition, she was awarded five silver and four bronze medals in those three Games. Her record of 18 career Olympic medals stood until 2012, when it was surpassed by American swimmer Michael Phelps. After she retired from competition, Latynina was a teacher and national senior coach and was active in the planning of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.