| Maria Filatova | |
|---|---|
 Filatova at the 1980 Olympic Games | |
|
Full name |
Maria Evgenievna Filatova |
|
Country represented |
|
|
Born |
July 19 1961 |
|
Years on National Team |
1974-1982 |
|
Current status |
Retired |
Maria Evgenievna Filatova (Russian: Мария Евгеньевна Филатова) (born July 19, 1961, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Siberia) is a retired Soviet gymnast who competed at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.
Featured Gymnast for July 2015
Career[]
Filatova began competing for the USSR junior team in 1974. In 1976 she placed fourth at the USSR National Championships and competed well in various international events.
Filatova was originally named as an alternate to the Soviet team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. However, during podium training, she received such a positive reaction from the crowd that she was added to the team roster. She shared in the team gold medal and was ranked ninth overall after the team competition. Because four of her teammates scored higher than she did and only three gymnasts per team were allowed to compete in the all-around, she did not advance to the AA finals in spite of her high placement.
Following the Olympics and the retirements of several high-profile gymnasts, including Ludmilla Tourischeva and Olga Korbut, Filatova emerged as one of the leaders of the Soviet team. She won the World Cup in 1977 and 1978; the USSR Nationals in 1977, and the Riga International meet in 1977 and 1979. At the 1980 Olympics, Filatova served as the lead-off gymnast on several events, contributed to the team's gold medal. She continued to the 1981 World Championships, where she was the silver medalist in the all-around.
British journalist David Hunn referred to Filatova as a "fifteen year old in the Korbut tradition." As Korbut, Filatova was known for her enthusiastic, expressive floor exercise routines and her difficult acrobatic skills. She was one of the first female gymnasts to successfully compete a double back somersault on floor in 1975.
Following her retirement in 1982, Filatova worked for several years with the Irish Gymnastics Federation before moving to the United States.
Medal Count[]
| Year | Event | TF | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Chunichi Cup | 5 | |||||
| 1976 | Junior USSR Championships | 3rd | 1st | ||||
| USSR Championships | 2nd | 4 | 1st | ||||
| USSR Cup | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3rd | |||
| Riga International | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | ||||
| Moscow News | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | ||
| Montreal Olympic Games | 1st | ||||||
| 1977 | Prague European Championships | 3rd | |||||
| Oveido World Cup Final | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |||
| USSR Championships | 1st | 1st | |||||
| Riga International | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |||
| USSR Cup | 4 | 6 | 1st | 2nd | |||
| Moscow News | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | ||
| 1978 | Strasbourg World Championships | 1st | |||||
| São Paulo World Cup Final | 1st | 1st | |||||
| USSR Cup | 1st | 5 | 6 | 1st | 1st | ||
| USSR Championships | 1st | 2nd | 4 | 2nd | |||
| Moscow News | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |||
| 1979 | Fort Worth World Championships | 2nd | |||||
| Riga Inernational | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
| 1980 | Moscow Olympic Games | 1st | 3rd | ||||
| Toronto World Cup Final | 2nd | ||||||
| USSR Cup | 5 | ||||||
| Riga International | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | ||||
| 1981 | Antibes International | 2nd | |||||
| Moscow World Championships | 1st | 2nd |
Floor Music[]
1976 - "Alexander's Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin
1980 - "Songs My Mother Taught Me" by Dvorak