A trip down memory lane. It was the Clinton era, I was in middle & high school, and this was the first decade I began to follow gymnastics. From the 1996 Olympics, which I watched and re-watched religiously, one of my favorites was Dina Kochetkova.
I loved her skinny, svelte body, and her lovely fluid movements, particularly her Kochetkova (full-twisting back handspring on beam) and her Shaposhnikova to immediate uprise on uneven bars, and her pencil-straight handstands.
Look how straight she is!
I must however, get on my platform and note that part of what gave her such a great line was a, uh, minimal backside. She was quite tiny. I do tend to prefer skinny gymnasts....they do tend to have better lines. And Kochetkova was surprisingly powerful despite being skinny. Although, I remember in the 1996 Olympic floor event finals, the Tim & Elfi said that she was barely making 3 of her 4 her tumbling passes. And she really could have medaled in the all-around had it not been for her disastrous vaults. Poor thing.
And her 1996 Worlds balance beam gold medal was well-deserved. She has not a wobble in the routine, is fluid and confident. Seriously, they couldn't give her a 9.9 for this?
Dina retired in 1997 and made an appearance at the 1997 Worlds, looking cute as a bug.
And now she is working as a trainer in Russia. I have to admit, the mullet is somewhat cute.
1 comment:
This is so interesting to me, during the same time i was in highschool skipping classes to watch olympics and when i saw her i fell in love with her. I wrote her a letter with the address dina kochetkova olympic gymnast russia, one month later i got a reply from her with her picture, god i miss those simple days
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