Athletistic / Olympic Games. Russia inherited many problems from the USSR, but also many things that, even in the most difficult times, make our country a name all over the world. One of these things is sports. If in some disciplines, after the collapse of the Union, Russians suffered a lot, then in rhythmic gymnastics no country could compete in greatness with Russia.

Our country has always had a large number of talented gymnasts, but even among the greatest, Evgenia Kanaeva stands out. She became the first gymnast in history to win Olympic gold in the individual all-around competition at two Olympic Games.

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Evgenia Kanaeva was born on April 2, 1990 in Omsk. Her mother, Svetlana Kanaeva, is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics. But it was not she who brought Evgenia to this sport, but her grandmother. At the age of 12, Kanaeva was invited to a training camp in Moscow. There, her programs attracted the attention of Amina Zaripova, the coach responsible for training Russian juniors. Evgenia was invited to train at the Olympic reserve school. A year later, Irina Viner took Kanaeva under her wing, after which her ascent to Olympus began.

Kanaeva joined the Russian national team a year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. An accident helped her in this: before the European Championships in Baku, Alina Kabaeva was seriously injured, and the head coach of the Russian national team, Irina Viner, chose Kanaeva to replace her. Evgenia did not let her coaches and fans down and won gold in the ribbon exercises and in the team competition at the 2007 European Championships. A few months later, Kanaeva, in the team competition, helped Russia win gold at the World Championships in Greece.

Photo source: All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation

Evgenia Kanaeva began the 2008 Olympic season in the shadow of Olga Kapranova, Vera Sesina and the current world champion Anna Bessonova. However, in April, Kanaeva managed to win the absolute championship at all stages of the FIG Grand Prix and World Cup, and also become the absolute champion of Russia. At the 2008 European Championships in Turin (Italy), Kanaeva confidently overtook Bessonova and Kapranova, becoming the champion of the continent for the first time. After that, Irina Viner announced that Russia would be represented at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Kanaeva and Kapranova.

The youngest among all the finalists of the Olympic tournament in the individual all-around competition in rhythmic gymnastics was Evgenia Kanaeva. As a result, in the capital of the Celestial Empire, for four types of programs, Kanaeva received 75.5 points from the judges and, with a 3.5 point lead over her closest pursuer, Belarusian Inna Zhukova, became the Olympic champion. At that time, Evgenia was only 18 (!) years old.

Between the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, Evgenia Kanaeva won 16 gold medals at the World Championships, 10 at the European Championships and 10 at the Universiade. She was the absolute flagship of world rhythmic gymnastics and was aiming for a previously unbeaten peak: the second Olympic gold medal in the individual all-around competition.

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But in London, not everything went as smoothly as many had hoped. The fact is that the Russian team brought Darya Dmitrieva with Kanaeva to the 2012 Olympics. It was the 19-year-old Russian who won the qualification for the Olympic tournament, ahead of Kanaeva by 0.175 points. It smelled like a sensation.

The final part of the competition began with hoop exercises. Kanaeva was the first to present her program and perform it perfectly. Evgeniya received an incredible 29.350 points from the judges. She won by more than one point against her closest pursuer, Daria Dmitrieva!

In exercises with a ball and clubs, Evgenia Kanaeva exceeded the 29-point mark, continuing to increase her lead over Dmitrieva. After three types of programs, Kanaeva’s advantage over her compatriot was 2,600 points. The competition ended with exercises with a ribbon.

Kanaeva was the first to step onto the gymnastics mat. Her program was set to the music of Chopin. For the first time at the final of the 2012 Olympics, Evgenia failed to reach 29 points, receiving 28,900 points from the judges. But already at that moment it became clear that she had become a two-time Olympic champion.

Photo source: IOC

Daria Dmitrieva closed the Olympics with her flagship program “Revolution”. Having already lost her chances of winning, she really “lit up” and was able to score 29,100 points. As a result, Dmitrieva, losing 2,400 points to Kanaeva, became the silver medalist. Evgenia and Daria won gold and silver at the Olympics, repeating Russia’s success at the 2004 Games in Athens (Greece), when Alina Kabaeva and Irina Chashchina climbed to the top steps of the podium.

— At the first Olympics, everything was new. Four years ago, I myself wanted to feel the spirit of the Games. And in London, I was determined to play first and foremost for the audience. It was almost the first time I saw so many people in the stands! And the fans in Russia literally bombarded me with calls and messages. Of course, I had trained a lot before Beijing, but now I had a goal in front of me. A summit that I had already conquered and that I wanted to conquer again.“, Kanaeva said after her victory in London.

Evgenia Kanaeva managed to surpass the results of the legendary Alina Kabaeva. In many ways, she was helped by chance: if Kabaeva had not suffered a serious injury in 2007, she might have become the first two-time Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics in the individual all-around competition, and Kanaeva would not have reached the Beijing Olympics in 2008. However, fate decreed that it is Evgenia who is now considered the greatest representative of her sport.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic



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