Elizabeth's Exhilarating Gymnastics Page!

Dina Kochetkova (Russia)
Just watch Dina and you'll see why I like her so much- it's hard not to. She began gymnastics at the age of 5, and she nearly made the 1992 Olympic team, but came back to make it to the 1996 Olympics. Dina debuted internationally in 1990. You'd never guess she was destined to become the world champion she has become. She did not begin to be noticed until 1993, where she finished 2nd at the Moscow stars of the World. She was on a roll in 1994 at the Goodwill Games, where she took the all-around gold, which I believe was the first defeat of Shannon Miller since Barcelona (Go Dina!!). Also, she had a successful Worlds that year, medaling in the all-around, bars, and GOLD on floor (sweet, Dina). She struggled in 1995, which was an inconsistent year, but in 1996, she would come back to win the WORLD BEAM TITLE (yes, she was the best). Unfortunately, she had, in my mind, a very disappointing Olympics. She performed well, but I thought her scores were a bit low. And, on a bad note, she had to have 2 knee surgeries this year (1997)(ouch!!). I do hope that we see some more of "Denka" though. She has a lot to offer.

Some Dina facts:
Born: July 27, 1977
Ht. and Wt.: 4 feet 10 inches/82 lbs.
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Coach: Leonid Arkaev
Began gymnastics: 1982
Favorite Events: FX and UB
Hobbies: Music, reading science fiction
Mother is a nurse; Father is an engineer; she's an only child


Best Competition Results:
1992 European Championships: 12th AA
1994 European Championships: 2nd team, 2nd AA, 3rd FX
1994 Worlds: Gold FX, 3rd AA, 3rd UB, 6th V (her weakest event)
1995 Worlds: 4th team, 6th UB, 6th BB, 8th AA
1996 European Championships: 5th AA, 2nd team, 3rd FX, 4th V, 7th BB
1996 Worlds: Gold BB
1996 Olympic Games: Silver team, 4th BB, 5th UB, 5th FX, 6th AA


Dina's 1996 Olympic Routines:
FX: double layout; front-full, front layout; Rudi, back handspring; double back (9.787)
UB: wrong-way Tchatchev; Pak Salto, Shaposhnikova, double Layout (9.787)
BB: planche; full-twisting ff, ff, layout; switch leap, rulfova; RO, double back (9.825)
V: 1 � twisting Yurchenko.not the event to watch to see Dina's greatness L (9.581)


To write to Dina: (Sorry, there no guarantees; I wrote to her twice and I'm still waiting, but, hey, if I were as good as she is, I'd be busy, too. ;)
Dina Kochetkova
c/o Russian Gymnastics Federation
Lujnetskaya Nabereynaya 8Moscow 119.270, Russia