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Tatiana
Groshkova : A Small Tribute
Born in
Moscow in December of 1973, Tatiana Groshkova began gymnastics at
the age of 5, training under former Olympian Elvria Saadi at CSKA
Moscow. At twelve years old, she began competing
internationally for the Soviet Union. Groshkova
was a beautiful dancer with skills and routines that were far ahead of her time. She competed a Comaneci and full-in
dismount on bars, as well as a back handspring to layout full and full-in
dismount on beam. Her floor routine, choreographed to the music
"Miller's Dance" by Manuel de Falla, was nothing short
of a masterpiece. Groshkova combined her artistic talent with
incredible tumbling: double back + punch front, double
layout, whip back to double pike, whip back to full-in, and even a
double full-in back-out!
If it
weren't for the incredible depth of the Soviet team, perhaps
Groshkova would have competed in more major international events.
Due to inconsistency, her only real fault as a gymnast, Groshkova
was never named to any World or Olympic teams. Nevertheless, she
won various titles throughout her career: 1989 Tokyo Cup Floor
Champion, 1990 Avignon International Champion, 1990 European
Championship Floor Silver Medallist, 1990 Moscow News Floor
Champion, 1990 Trophée Massilia Champion, 1990 USSR Cup Beam
Champion, 1990 USSR vs. the World Champion.
Groshkova
abruptly quit gymnastics in 1991 after her coach moved to Canada.
After a few years in the circus, Groshkova returned to the sport
under Boris Orlov in Holland. Unfortunately, her papers to allow
her to compete internationally never went through, and Groshkova
soon retired for a second and final time. Though it may not have
been a long gymnastics career filled with fame and glory, Tatiana
Groshkova left a mark on the sport and its fans that can never be
forgotten.
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1990 USA vs.
USSR Beam (9.45 MB)
1990 USA vs. USSR Floor
(6.13 MB)
1990 European Championships Bars
(2.71 MB)
1990 European Championships Floor
(4.72 MB)
1990
USSR vs. the World Beam (6.01 MB)
1991 USSR
Championships Floor (3.33 MB)
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Website credits:
Photos were taken by OEFC at the 1989
Chunichi Cup. I am not sure
where the original videos came from, so if you made any of them,
please email me so I can give you proper credit.
Fore more information: GymForum
biography & results, OEFC
Gallery, Tribute
to Russian Former Soviet Gymnasts, Whatever
Happened To...? profile.
Webmaster: Email
/ Guestbook
/ Website
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