3. Viktoria Komova, Russia
Viktoria Aleksandrovna Komova was born on 30th January 1995. She is a Russian artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 Youth Olympics All Around Champion, Uneven Bars Champion, Vault Champion, and Floor Exercise bronze medalist, the 2011 World Uneven Bars Champion and All Around silver medalist, and the 2012 Olympics All Around silver medalist.Viktoria Komova was born on 30 January 1995 in Voronezh, Russia to Vera Kolesnikova and Alexander Komov. Her mother is the 1986 Goodwill Games All Around Champion and her father was also a gymnast. She has an older brother, Alexander, who is nicknamed Sasha.
Komova began gymnastics when she was four years old. She said, “My mother was my coach during the first three years after I started artistic gymnastics.” When she was seven years old, Gennady Yelfimov became her coach. “Now gymnastics is my life,” Komova said in 2010. “I can’t imagine my life without it. I want to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and maybe for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Komova with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and medalists of the Russian team that participated in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics on 30 August 2010.At the end of April, Komova competed at the 2010 European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She contributed an all around score of 57.050 toward the Russian team’s first place finish. Individually, she won the all around final with a score of 58.375. In event finals, she placed first on vault scoring 14.425 and second on balance beam scoring 14.625.
In August, Komova competed at the Youth Olympics Games in Singapore. Before the competitions she said, “It is a big responsibility being the only Russian gymnast competing. There is a lot of pressure on my shoulders because I won the European Junior Championships. I hope I will earn a medal either in the all around or on an apparatus and hopefully it will be Gold.” She won the all around competition with a score of 61.250. In event finals, she placed first on vault scoring 15.312, first on uneven bars scoring 14.525, seventh on balance beam scoring 12.000, and third on floor scoring 14.175.
In November, Komova competed at the “Freddy Cup” Italian Grand Prix in Cagliari, Sardinia. She placed first on uneven bars scoring 15.500 and second on balance beam scoring 14.600.
In December, Komova sprained her ankle while walking through the gym. Russian head coach, Andrei Rodionenko said, “This injury had no relation to training. The gymnast was just moving through the gym. She will begin rehabilitation shortly. The recovery time is still unclear, according to the doctors. Now everything is in the hands of medicine.”
At the end of the year, Komova told International Gymnast Magazine, “The best moment in 2010 was my birthday present, a Shih tzu puppy (named Kutya). And, of course, I have very bright and cheerful memories of my performances at the European championships and the first Youth Olympic Games. New Year’s Eve for us is a family holiday and we always celebrate at home. Since we all love pizza, and my mom makes it very tasty, we help her prepare it along with other food for the New Year — all kinds of salads, meat dishes, side dishes. At midnight, it’s our tradition to pop open the champagne, wish each other ‘Happy New Year,’ give presents and watch the fireworks, which are organized in each city. Then we go out and get together with the neighbors for more fireworks and various amusements. In the New Year I really want to quickly recover from my injury and prepare for the Russian championships, to perform successfully at the European and world championships, as well as pass my school exams.”
In February, Komova re-injured her ankle at the Russian Championships.In May, Komova had arthroscopic surgery on her right ankle at the Sporthopaedicum Clinic in Germany to tighten the loose ligaments in her ankle. Her coach Alexander Alexandrov said, “The (Russian) doctors had different opinions. Some recommended an operation, the others insisted no operation was needed. And so that whole story dragged out until the examination in Germany. There the doctors said right away that an operation was needed, since if one were not done, she could keep getting re-injured over and over.”
In July, Komova resumed training. Alexandrov said, “Vika is training now, but not quite at full strength. She does the general part with everyone, and then has an individual plan. We are hoping that she can compete at the world championships.”
In September, Komova competed at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup event in Ghent, Belgium. She placed first on uneven bars with a score of 15.650.
Later in September, Komova competed at the Dinamo Cup in Penza, Russia. She won the all around competition with a score of 58.350. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 15.667, first on balance beam scoring 15.134, and fifth on floor scoring 13.567.
In October, Komova competed at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She contributed an all around score of 58.265 towards the Russian team’s second place finish. In the all around final, Komova placed second with a score of 59.349. Komova said, “My vault was not as fully ready as it should have been. On beam I had mistakes and my bars were not very well done. My floor routine was mediocre. Today, on a beam I did not make some connections, therefore, that’s why the lower score. So (this ranking is) deserved. But the Olympics are ahead.” In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 15.500 and eighth on balance beam scoring 13.766.
In May, Komova competed at the European Championships in Brussels, Belgium. She contributed scores of 15.508 on uneven bars and 14.916 on balance beam toward the Russian team’s second place finish. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars with a score of 15.666 and sixth on balance beam with a score of 13.100
In June, Komova competed at the Russian Cup in Penza, Russia. She won the all around competition with a score of 60.767. In event finals, she placed third on uneven bars scoring 15.100, first on balance beam scoring 15.325, and second on floor scoring 14.300.
At the end of July, Komova competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. She qualified in first place for the all around final with a score of 60.632,third for the uneven bars final with a score of 15.833, and second for the balance beam final with a score of 15.266. In the team final, she contributed scores of 15.833 on vault, 15.766 on uneven bars, and 15.033 on balance beam towards the Russian team’s second place finish.
In the all around final, she placed second with a score of 15.466 on vault, 15.966 on the uneven bars, 15.441 on the balance beam, and 15.100 on the floor exercise giving her an all around score of 61.973. In the uneven bars final she placed 5th with a score of 15.666 after hitting her feet on the low bar incurring a deduction of 0.500. Had she not hit her feet on the low bar she would have placed first with a score of 16.166, beating her team mate Aliya Mustafina by 0.033.
In the balance beam final she placed 8th with a score of 13.166 after falling on her front tuck and sitting down her double arabian dismount. Komova said, “I am proud about what I’ve done today although I am a bit disappointed because I wanted to win the Gold. I think I did well, the vault was not very successful but overall I did well.” In event finals, she placed fifth on uneven bars scoring of 15.666 and eighth on balance beam scoring 13.166. Komova said, “I was not very lucky at these Olympics. I failed them 100 percent. I don’t know if I will continue sports. I will go back home take some time off and think through the situation. My parents say everything is okay, but I don’t feel that.”