Larisa Latynina

Larisa Latynina is a former Soviet gymnast who had won 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964. Latynina practiced ballet, but turned to gymnastics when her choreographer moved out of Kherson. At 19 years old, Latynina debuted internationally at the 1954 Rome World Championships, where she won the gold medal in the team competition. Latynina competed in the 1956 Olympics where she competed with Agnes Keleti and became the most successful gymnast of the Olympics. Latynina participated in the 1958 World Championships and was very successful. During the 1960 Summer Olympics, Latynina was the favorite. She led the Soviet Union to take the first four places in the All-Around event. She also won All-Around titles at the 1962 World Championships and she was beaten at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Latynina’s nine gold medals makes her the second on the list of most Olympic Gold medalists, behind Michael Phelps who beat her record in 2012. She is the only woman to have won nine gold medals. Latynina retired from gymnastics after the 1966 World Championship and she became a coach for the Soviet national gymnastics team until 1977.