Zinaida Voronina

Zinaida Voronina, born Zinaida Borisovna Druzhinina (also Druginina), (Russian: Зинаида Борисовна Дружинина Воронина; 10 December 1947, in Yoshkar-Ola, Mari ASSR – 17 March 2001) was a Soviet gymnast who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid-1960s to early 1970s.[1]

Zinaida Voronina
Zinaida Voronina in 1967
Personal information
Country represented Soviet Union
Born(1947-12-10)10 December 1947
Yoshkar-Ola, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died17 March 2001(2001-03-17) (aged 53)
Balashikha, Moskva, Russia
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubDynamo Moscow
Retired1972
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
1968 Mexico CityTeam
1968 Mexico CityAll-Around
1968 Mexico CityVault
1968 Mexico CityUneven bars
World Championships
1970 LjubljanaTeam
1966 DortmundTeam
1966 DortmundFloor Exercise
1970 LjubljanaAll-around
1970 LjubljanaUneven Bars
1970 LjubljanaFloor Exercise
European Championships
1967 AmsterdamAll-Around
1967 AmsterdamBalance Beam
1967 AmsterdamFloor Exercise

Voronina's major debut came at the 1966 World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. There she won a bronze medal on the floor exercise, receiving the highest individual score of any gymnast at those games (9.933).[2] She trained with Vladimir Shelkovnikov.[3]

She went on to win several individual medals over the next four years, most notably at the 1968 Summer Olympics where she won the individual all-around silver behind Věra Čáslavská. At the same games, she became Olympic champion in the team competition.[2]

Around the time of the 1968 games, she married Olympic gymnast Mikhail Voronin. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son, Dmitry, and came back to further successes at the 1970 World Championships, among other games.[3] She attempted to make the Soviet team for the 1972 Olympics, but faced a strong competition and only placed 10th in the individual all-around at the national championships.[2]

The same year she retired and started working as a gymnastics coach together with her husband. Saddled with her professional life and a difficult childhood (alcoholic mother, father she never met) she struggled with alcoholism. In 1980, she was divorced from her husband, who received custody of their son (he later became a competitive gymnast). Subsequently, she was sent out of Moscow for "anti-social behavior".[3] She spent the remainder of her years working in a factory in Balashikha, Russia, dying in March 2001 at the age of 53.[2]

In 1969, she was awarded the "Order of the Badge of Honor".

References
  1. "Воронина (Дружинина) Зинаида Борисовна". Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2008.CS1 maint: unfit url (link). gymnast.ru
  2. Zinaida Voronina. sports-reference.com
  3. Чесалин, Михаил (17 March 2016). "Трагическая история советской гимнастки Зинаиды Ворониной - Чемпионат" (in Russian). Chempionat. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

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