Background
Elena Volchetskaya was born on December 4, 1944 in Grodno, at that time Belarusian SSR.
2013
Grodno, Belarus
Elena Volchetskaya celebrating her 70th anniversary
Elena Volchetskaya among Soviet gymnasts
Elena Volchetskaya training
Elena Volchetskaya and Olga Korbut
Elena Volchetskaya among Soviet gymnasts
Elena Volchetskaya was born on December 4, 1944 in Grodno, at that time Belarusian SSR.
She studied at the secondary school No 8 in Grodno. In 1965, Volchetskaya graduated from Grodno Pedagogical Institute (today's Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno).
Elena's potential was noticed by her teacher of physical education Nikolai Tretyak at the secondary school No 8 in Grodno. He brought the girl to a famous coach in artistic gymnastics Renald Knysh, who admitted her to his group. Soon, she became champion of the Republic, and when she was 15 - master of sports of the USSR. Renald Knysh gradually complicated the program, preparing Elena Volchetskaya to conquer the highest sports peaks. At one of the country's championships, she was the first to perform the basic jump with a 360-degree turn, which became her favorite strong point of the gymnastics program.
She competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won a gold medal in the team all around competition. Individually her best results were fifth place in the vault and eighth all around.
During her career she won five national titles: three in the vault (1961, 1962, 1965) and two on the balance beam (1963, 1964). In 1966 she broke her ankle. The same year she married, changing her last name to Tyunenkova, and next year gave birth to her first daughter, effectively retiring from sport.
After her graduation from Grodno Pedagogical Institute in 1965, she began working as a coach, and for some 30 years trained gymnasts in her native Grodno. She was the first coach of Olga Korbut, but after one and half years passed her to Renald Knysh, who previously raised Volchetskaya. In 1968, Elena Volchetskaya began working at the Technical College of Physical Culture. Soon, the college joined Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno as a Faculty of physical culture, and Volchetskaya continued training students there.
Between 1998 and 2006, she worked as a coach in Minneapolis, United States, together with Nikolai Miligulo and Olga Gotsmanova. In 2006, she returned to Grodno to her family.
In 1966 she got married. She has 2 daughters Tatyana and Irina.