Dina Kotchetkova

Dina Kochetkova
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1977-07-27) July 27, 1977 (age 39)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Eponymous skills	Balance Beam
Retired	1996
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 0 World Championships 2 0 3 European Championships 0 3 2 Representing  Russia Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team World Championships 1994 Brisbane Floor Exercise 1996 Puerto Rico Balance Beam 1994 Dortmund Team 1994 Brisbane All-Around 1994 Brisbane Uneven Bars European Championships 1994 Stockholm Team 1994 Stockholm All-Around 1996 Birmingham Team 1994 Stockholm Floor Exercise 1996 Birmingham Floor Exercise

Dina Anatolyevna Kochetkova (Russian: Дина Анатольевна Кочеткова, born 27 July 1977 in Moscow, Russian SFSR) is a Russian gymnast who competed at the 1996 Olympics. Stylistically, she was considered by many to be the "last of the Soviets," performing difficult skills with elegant, clean technique. An element she pioneered, a full-twisting back handspring on beam, remains in the Code of Points as "the Kochetkova".

Kochetkova was a member of the Soviet national team from the early 1990s. She won four medals at the 1991 Junior European Championships, placing second on the floor exercise and third in the all-around, vault and balance beam. She continued to succeed in minor international meets; however, she would not come to prominence as a key member of the Russian team for several more years.

1994 was Kochetkova's breakthrough year. She won the Russian National Championships, the Goodwill Games all-around, and three individual medals at the World Gymnastics Championships in Brisbane: bronze in the all-around, behind Shannon Miller and Lavinia Miloșovici; gold on the floor exercise and another bronze on the uneven bars. Many people felt she was robbed of the 1994 World AA title due to a lack of reputation. Her rise escalated when she ended the two-year winning streak of Shannon Miller in AA competition by defeating her for the AA title at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersbourgh. Kochetkova won three more medals (silver AA and team; bronze FX) at the European Championships and shared in the team bronze medal at the World Team Championships in Dortmund. However, by the Team World Championships she was suddenly finding herself outshone by rising teammate Svetlana Khorkina. Khorkina was even placed after her in the lineup on every event in Team Finals.

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