Ludmilla Tourischeva

Ludmilla Tourischeva, born Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva on 7 October 1952, is a former Russian gymnast and Ukrainian gymnastics coach who won the Olympic all-around title and nine Olympic medals for the Soviet Union. She began gymnastics at thirteen in 1965, coached by Vladislav Rastorotsky, and went to the 1968 Games just after her sixteenth birthday, winning team gold. From 1970 to 1974 she dominated almost every major international competition, taking the World Championships all-around in 1970 and 1974. At the 1972 Munich Games she won the all-around but was overshadowed by her younger teammate Olga Korbut, and she also won a silver and a bronze there. After a back injury she won a third team gold at Montreal in 1976, finishing third in the all-around behind Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim, which brought her Olympic total to four golds, three silvers and two bronzes. She was known for her calm demeanor in competition.