Natalia Lipkovskaya (; born 26 April 1979) is a Russian retired individual

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

. She is the 1997 World All-around silver medalist and the 1997 Grand Prix Final All-around champion. She was coached by Olga Buyanova.

Personal life

Lipkovskaya holds a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. She now works as a psychologist working for the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

Career

Lipkovskaya began gymnastics training in 1983. She trained at the Dynamo Krasnoyarsk club, coached by Olga Buyanova. She was second in the national championship in 1993 and 1995. Lipkovskaya made her first international appearance at the 1995 tournament in

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture buildin ...

, ranking 7th. At the 1995 World championship in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, she was included on the 1995 Russian team. Although Lipkovskaya won a team gold medal, she did not yet win an individual medal as opposed to her more experienced and recognized teammates Amina Zaripova and

Yanina Batyrchina Yanina "Yana" Farkhadovna Batyrshina (; born 7 October 1979) is a former individual rhythmic gymnast who competed for Russia. She is the 1996 Olympics all-around silver medalist, two time (1995,1997) World all-around bronze medalist, two-time ...

. In 1996, Lipkovskaya won an international tournament in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and a bronze in one event at the

European championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, but missed the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in favor of her higher-ranking teammates. The Russian national team head coach,

Irina Viner Irina Alexandrovna Viner (; born July 30, 1948), formerly Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova (), is a Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach, former head coach of the Russian national team, former president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federatio ...

, opted to send then-Russian number one and number two Batyrchina and Zaripova to the Olympic competition in Atlanta. In 1997, following the injury of Amina Zaripova, Lipkovskaya led the Russian national team at the 1997 World championship in Berlin, scoring two gold (hoop and team), three silver (All-around, rope, ribbon) and one bronze (in clubs). She was ranked second in the All-around finals behind Ukrainian

Olena Vitrychenko Olena Ihorivna Vitrychenko (, ; born 25 November 1976), also known as Elena Vitrichenko, is an Individual Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnast. She is the 1996 Olympics bronze medalist, the 1997 World All-around champion and 1997 European All-around cha ...

. Lipkovskaya then became the 1997 Grand Prix Final champion in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, Netherlands and in the event finals, she won gold in (rope, hoop); silvers in (clubs, ribbon). Early in 1998, she began her first in a series of treatments for a recurring back injury. After several hospital stays and a short-lived return to the gym, she decided to end her career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipkovskaya, Natalia Russian rhythmic gymnasts 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Irkutsk Sportspeople from Krasnoyarsk Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 20th-century Russian women 20th-century Russian sportswomen