LILIA PODKAPAYEVA - A TRIBUTE TO LILIA
Lilia Podkapayeva or (Lily Pod) as her friends call her is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time!
She was born in Donetsk, Ukraine on 15th August 1978. She began Gymnastics in 1983 and was coached by Galina Lossinskaya at Dynamo Donetsk She quickly excelled and her special talent shone through.
From European Championships to the Olympics Lily Pod has won them all. Her first major competition was at the 1993 European Cup where she placed 2nd in the All around. Her first title was becoming the 1994 European Champion. She carried on throughout 94 and 95 competing in the World Team Championships and the European Cup. She became World Champion in 1995 and went onto become Olympic All Around Champion at Atlanta in 1996, where she also won Silver on Beam.
Lilia is well known for her grace, artistry and poise which is especially demonstrated in her floor routines. Her gold medal wining floor routine in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics was by far the crowd favourite. Lilia is still the only female gymnast in the world to have competed handspring, flyspring, double front with half twist as their tumble run.
Not only was Lilia outstanding on floor, her handspring piked front with a half vault was exceptional. Lilia brought her own unique style to every piece including bars when she demonstrated fantastic stalders and a flip flop Chen on beam, and her floor routine ending with full in tucked somersaults. Lily Pod’s career ended in 1997 where she competed for the final time in the European Gymnastics Masters. The team came third and Lilia performed brilliantly.
European, Olympic and World Champion, Lilia has always been a crowd pleaser. She has entertained and danced her way to our hearts and we thank her for her tremendous contribution to the sport.
Competition Results
1993
European Cup: 2nd AA, 2nd Vault, 3rd Beam
French International: 3rd Vault, 3rd Floor
Hungarian International: 1st Vault, 1st Bars, 2nd AA
International Championships of Romania: 4th AA
USA-BLR-UKR Tri-Meet: 5th AA
World Championships: 8th Vault, 16th AA (prelims)
1994
American Cup: 5th AA
DTB Cup: 1st V, 2nd Floor, 4th B
European Championships: 1st Floor , 2nd Beam, 3rd Team, 3rd Vault, 5th AA, 6th Bars
Goodwill Games: 1st Vault, 3rd Floor, 3rd Team, 4th AA
International Mixed Pairs: 3rd Team
Soapberry World Challenge: 2nd AA, 2nd Vault, 2nd Beam, 2nd Bars, 3rd Floor
Swiss Cup: 5th Beam
World Championships (Brisbane): 2nd Beam, 5th Bars, 6th AA, 8th Vault
World Championships (Dortmund): 5th Team
1995
Cottbus Grand Prix: 1st Vault, 1st Floor , 7th Bars, 7th Beam
DTB Cup: 1st Beam, 3rd Vault, 5th Bars, 6th Floor
European Cup: 1st Bars, 1st Beam, 2nd Vault 3rd Floor, 4th AA
French International: 2nd Vault, 2nd Beam, 10th AA
Gymnix International: 1st AA
Kosice International: 1st AA, 6th Vault
Subway World Gymnastics Challenge: 1st AA
World Championships: 1st AA, 1st V, 2nd Bars, 2nd Beam, 5th Team, 7th Floor
1996
European Championships: 1st AA, 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 3rd Vault
Grand Prix of Rome: 1st AA
French International: 1st Bars, 2nd Beam, 2nd Floor
Kiev International: 1st Team
Olympic Games: 1st AA, 1st Floor, 2nd Beam, 5th Bars, 5th Team
1997
European Gymnastic Masters: 3rd Team
TRIBUTE BY NATASHA SUMMERFIELD
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