Anna Kotchneva
| Anna Kotchneva-Liukin | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kotchneva in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 25, 1970 | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||
| Former countries represented | Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Natalia Karpushenko | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Anna Liukin, née Kotchneva (Russian: Анна Кочнева; born 25 January, 1970) is a former Russian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 1987 World clubs gold medalist.
Career
Kotchneva began rhythmic gymnastics at nine, later than is typical, after trying figure skating and artistic gymnastics.[2]
She is the 1987 World champion in clubs (tied with Bianka Panova), the 1987 World bronze medalist with hoop, and the 1987 World co-bronze medalist in the rope final with Marina Lobatch.[3] Kotchneva won her clubs medal after failing to win the hoop final; she described becoming angry with herself and feeling a personal connection to her clubs choreography for the first time, which strengthened the expressiveness of her performance.[2]
She intended to attempt to make the 1988 Summer Olympic team, but she missed qualifying after became ill with bouts of chickenpox and measles.[1]
Personal life
Kotchneva is married to former artistic gymnast and Olympic gold medallist, Valeri Liukin, who she met on tour in 1987. They moved to the United States in 1992. Their daughter, Nastia Liukin, is a retired United States artistic gymnast who won 5 medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including the all-around gold.[1]
Kotchneva has Crohn's disease.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Hairopoulos, Kate (15 August 2008). "Parents' support, coaching and great DNA helped make gymnast Nastia Liukin an Olympian". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Anna Kotchneva: Young Soviet hoping to top the Bulgarians". International Gymnast. Vol. 30, no. 1. January 1988. pp. 48–49.
- ^ "13. World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria (17.-20. September 1987)". www.rsg.net. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
External links