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Zinaida Voronina: why the most beautiful gymnast of the USSR died an alcoholic beggar

'01.08.2020'

Source: Lenta.ru

The most beautiful gymnast in the Soviet Union was called a style icon. Why she died in poverty and oblivion, says Lenta.ru.

Screenshot: Classic Gymnastics / YouTube

Zinaida Voronina (nee Druzhinina) was one of the most popular Soviet gymnasts of the late 1960s. She won gold at the Mexico City Olympics and six world championship medals. The athlete was called the most beautiful gymnast of the Union, she was considered a style icon. But when Zinaida left the sport, her husband left her, and then she was expelled from Moscow for the 101st kilometer.

“Strong. Strong-willed. The real winner "

Zinaida Druzhinina was born in Yoshkar-Ola in a dysfunctional family. She was raised by her mother, according to friends, who abused alcohol. The girl spent her free time in various sections, in one of which she was noticed by the artistic gymnastics coach Antonina Levshevich.

“Very jumpy. Strong. Strong-willed. A real champion. I grabbed everything on the fly, ”she recalled.

Druzhinina quickly began to win at regional tournaments and, at the age of 14, went to the first big start - the All-Union Youth Competition. After the victory, Zina decided to quit gymnastics, saying that she was already stronger than any rivals. The coach managed to cope with the star disease of the ward, thanks to which the gymnast was noticed in Moscow and she was invited to the Dynamo sports society.

In 1966, 18-year-old Zinaida won silver in floor exercises at the USSR Championship, behind only five-time Olympic champion Polina Astakhova. Druzhinina qualified for the national team and went to the World Cup in Dortmund.

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At that time, the Soviet team was undergoing perestroika: of the experienced athletes, only Astakhova and the nine-time Olympic champion Larisa Latynina went to the world championship. For the rest, the championship was the first in their careers. In the team competition, the Soviet gymnasts became the second, losing to the representatives of Czechoslovakia. Druzhinina managed to win personal “bronze” in floor exercises.

"There was no end to the fans"

From this began the glory of Druzhinina. The athlete was called the most beautiful gymnast of the Union and was considered a style icon. At the 1967 European Championships in Amsterdam, she won three medals: silver in the all-around, bronze in the balance beam and floor exercises.

A year later, Zinaida went to the Olympics in Mexico City. She became the champion in the team competition, took “silver” in the overall championship, “bronze” in the vault and floor exercises. The gymnast was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor and was given the title of Honored Master of Sports. A video filmed in memory of Zinaida can be found here.

According to the recollections of the absolute world champion in rhythmic gymnastics Elena Karpukhina, Druzhinina was not only a talented athlete, but also a spectacular woman, had impeccable taste, was well-read, could support any conversation.

“If the women's competitions were judged by men, Druzhinina would always be the world champion,” said Swiss coach Jacques Gunthardt about her.

God did not deprive Zina of either intelligence or beauty. It is sometimes said that athletes lack intelligence. So this did not apply to Zina. She was developed in all areas, so there was no end of the fans.

Elena Karpukhina

Druzhinin was surrounded by crowds of fans, but the most persistent was his teammate - the best gymnast of those years, two-time Olympic champion Mikhail Voronin.

“They were called the most beautiful couple in the sports world. It was crazy love. Mishka loved Zina madly! He dedicated poetry to her, beautifully looked after her. I have never seen anything like this, ”said Lydia Ivanova, a friend of the Voronin family, a member of the USSR national rowing team.

The star couple was very popular at home: more than a hundred athletes of the national teams of the country were invited to the wedding, the young spouses received an apartment and a cash payment from Goskomsport.

In 1969, the Voronins had a son, Dima. A year later, Zinaida withdrew from the decree, returned to her previous form and went to the World Championships in Ljubljana. There she won gold in the team championship and three more bronze medals in individual shells. She became one of the few gymnasts of those years who won the world championship after the birth of a child.

"Zina went from hand to hand"

This was the end of Voronina's sporting successes. By the early 1970s, the women's team had rejuvenated. Zinaida was losing the competition, she lacked perseverance and desire to train. The athlete was often noticed drunk.

Voronina made friends with her teammate Tamara Lazakovich, who also abused alcohol (she died at 38 in poverty). Together they made noisy spree and treated their colleagues to alcohol.

According to the coach of the national team Lidia Ivanova, it was impossible to help them: “If you start bringing up such a person, he will send you to hell. I do not believe that when athletes drink too much, it is inevitable. Everyone himself is able to avoid this misfortune. "

When Zinaida retired in 1970, alcohol problems worsened. She did not take care of her family, was not interested in her son and more and more often disappeared in dubious companies.

A friend of Mikhail Voronin, sports journalist Vladimir Golubev, said that even then it was noticeable that something was wrong with the athlete

“It was enough to see how she grabbed the bottle. A pernicious passion devoured Zina. She gave up training. I forgot to pick up my son from kindergarten, ”Golubev recalled.

Mikhail filed for divorce and received full custody of his son. He continued to play for the national team, then remarried and became a coach. Zinaida also tried to train, but problems with alcohol did not allow her to continue working in sports.

According to Golubev, after the divorce, Voronina refused to communicate with both her husband and son. “There was talk that I went from hand to hand. She did not want to know or see Dima. Bear raised him himself. Great guy!" - says the journalist.

Former partners of Zinaida on the national team do not agree with the opinion of Voronin's friend, believing that she did not want to injure the child.

“It's hard for me to judge what kind of mother Zina was,” said Elena Karpukhina. “But I don’t believe she wasn’t looking for a meeting with her son. She understood that it would be better with Misha Dimka. I understood, knowing about my illness. "

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Before the Olympics-80, all unreliable persons, including those who were not working and leading a riotous lifestyle, began to be expelled from Moscow for the 101st kilometer so that marginal subjects would not spoil the impression on the guests of the sports festival. Voronina was among them.

Then the Olympic champion committed a petty theft and ended up in the Mozhaisk colony. On this her trace is lost.

"Her life did not work out"

New information about Voronina appeared in 1986. The former gymnast worked as a farmer at a foundry and mechanical plant in Balashikha. Most of her colleagues did not know about Zinaida's sports past, and she did not talk about her achievements. Zinaida was in good standing, but she did not stop drinking.

“She was a good woman. She worked here for a long time and well. Sometimes, however, she drank. Life did not work out for her, ”said Nikolai, a plant worker.

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According to his recollections, Voronina was looked after by colleagues, but she did not build a relationship with anyone.

“Apparently, she loved her first husband very much. Although I am a stranger, it is difficult for me to condemn her. I read that at first Zinaida's husband drank, and she - with him. Mikhail pulled himself together, but Zinaida could not, ”he reasoned.

Voronina left the factory in 1992 and continued to drink. Once I came to Yoshkar-Ola to see my sister and found myself in the spotlight. At home, the gymnast was remembered and honored for her achievements. Zinaida went to the local museum of sports glory, where she stood for a long time at the stand dedicated to her.

She died alone nine years later. There was no one to bury the former athlete. In Yoshkar-Ola, they learned about the death of the famous countrywoman and found money to transport her body home and arrange a farewell ceremony for the Olympic champion. Moreover, local residents have achieved the opening of a specialized children's and youth sports school of the Olympic reserve named after Voronina.

The gymnast's son Dmitry, who had not communicated with his mother all these years, came to the funeral. He, like his parents, became a gymnast. Voronina's ex-husband did not want to say goodbye to Zinaida.

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