Galina Shamrai

Galina Shamrai
Galina Shamrai
Full name	Galina Yakovlevna Shamrai
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	October 5, 1931; Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Olympic Games
World Championships

Galina Yakovlevna Shamray (Russian: Гали́на Я́ковлевна Шамра́й) (also known as Galina Rudko, Galina Ilyina after marriages; born October 5, 1931) is a retired Soviet gymnast. In 1954, she became the first women's all-around World Champion from the USSR.

Personal life

Shamrai was born on October 5, 1931, Tashkent, USSR. She graduated from the Lenin Pedagogical Institute of the Moscow Region. She married Anatoly Ilyin, who played for Spartak and became an Olympic champion in football at the 1956 Summer Olympics. The couple had a daughter, Elena, in 1958.

She lives in Moscow.

Career

Shamrai trained at the Iskra club and later at the Burevestnik sports society in Moscow. She began competing at the USSR Championships in 1950, where she placed eighth in the all-around. She was added to the team roster for the 1952 Summer Olympics, which were the first Olympic performance for Soviet athletes. Shamrai did not compete in the event finals, but was 8th in the all-around, contributing to the team's gold. She also won the team's silver in the portable apparatus event. In December of the same year, Shamrai earned the silver medal on the floor exercise at the USSR Championships. She continued a progressive movement upwards in 1953, placing fourth in the all-around at the Nationals.

The 1954 World Championships were the culmination of her competitive career. She won the all-around title, a gold medal in the team competition, a silver on bars and the team's silver in the portable apparatus. She earned one more gold medal on the balance beam, at the 1955 Nationals, and retired in 1956.

In 1957, Shamrai was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor. She worked as a coach at the Spartak club in Moscow and began judging at international gymnastics events in 1975.

Achievements (non-Olympic)

Year	Event	AA	Team	Team PA	UB	BB	FX	R
1952	USSR Championships						2nd
1954	World Championships	1st	1st	2nd	2nd
1954	USSR Championships	3rd						3rd
1955	USSR Championships					1st
1956	USSR Championships					2nd

External links

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