Sofia Muratova

Sofia Ivanovna Muratova (Russian: Софья Ивановна Муратова, 13 July 1929 – 25 September 2006) was a Soviet gymnast. She competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won eight medals.

Sofia Muratova
Muratova at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameSofia Ivanovna Muratova
Country represented Soviet Union
Born(1929-07-13)13 July 1929
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died25 September 2006(2006-09-25) (aged 77)
Moscow, Russia
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubDynamo Moscow
Medal record
Olympic Games
1956 MelbourneTeam
1960 RomeTeam
1960 RomeAll-Around
1960 RomeVault
1956 MelbourneTeam PA
1956 MelbourneAll-Around
1956 MelbourneUneven Bars
1960 RomeBalance Beam
World Championships
1954 RomeTeam
1958 MoscowTeam
1962 PragueTeam
1958 MoscowVault
1958 MoscowBalance Beam

Early life

Muratova grew up in Leningrad and lost her mother during its siege. Muratova herself was evacuated from the city in 1941. During the war she could not regularly attend school, but tried to train every day. She took up artistic gymnastics in 1943, entering a children's sports school, and just three months later competed in the Russian Championships for girls. In 1944 she moved to Moscow, where she trained under Igor Zhuravlev.

First successes

In 1945 Muratova won her first major competition, the USSR Junior Championships. She soon became one of the strongest Soviet gymnasts, the only one to win five Soviet all-around titles, yet she was often unlucky at major international events.

World championships and Olympics
1956 Soviet stamp, depicting Sofia Muratova on the floor.

Muratova missed the 1952 Summer Olympics due to injury. Two years later, at the 1954 World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics, she won a gold medal in the team competition and led the all-around contest, but broke her arm during a warm-up and had to withdraw from the championship. Her husband Valentin Muratov swore to win a gold medal for her and became the all-around champion.[1] She debuted at the 1956 Summer Olympics, winning the team gold and two bronze medals, all-around and on the uneven bars. At the rather unsuccessful 1958 World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics in Moscow Muratova won the team gold and two bronzes on vault and balance beam. Injuries haunted her on the way to the 1960 Summer Olympics, but with the help from Zoya Mironova, who operated Muratova just three months before the Olympics, she managed to recover and even win three medals — the team gold, all-around silver and bronze on the balance beam. She presented her gold medal to Mironova as a token of gratitude.[2] Her two Olympic all-around medals (1956, 1960) were a rare feat accomplished by only eight other women gymnasts.[3][4]

Muratova won seven all-around national titles, including the inaugural 1955 USSR Cup. She retired in 1965 and worked as a coach for 34 years. She was the head coach of the Soviet women's gymnastics team at the 1968 Olympics.[4] Earlier in 1957 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. Muratova died on 25 September 2006. Her husband Valentin Muratov died on 6 October of the same year.[3][1]

Achievements (non-Olympic)
Year Event AA Team VT UB BB FX R
1949USSR Championships1st2nd
1950USSR Championships1st1st2nd
1951USSR Championships3rd
1954World Championships1st
USSR Championships1st1st2nd2nd
1955USSR Championships1st1st3rd1st
USSR Cup1st
1956USSR Championships2nd1st3rd
1957USSR Championships1st1st1st1st2nd
1958World Championships1st2nd2nd
USSR Championships2nd1st3rd3rd
1959USSR Championships2nd1st2nd
1960USSR Championships1st3rd1st
1962World Championships1st
USSR Championships2nd
1963USSR Championships1st3rd3rd2nd
USSR Cup2nd2nd3rd
1964USSR Championships2nd3rd
USSR Cup1st

References
  1. Valentin Muratov. sports-reference.com
  2. Elakazova, Nina (2013). "Эпохи Зои Мироновой". 2 (59). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Sofiya Muratova. sports-reference.com
  4. Муратова Софья Ивановна. Great Soviet Encyclopedia

This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E. V. Avsenev.

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