Background
Kuchinskaya was born on March 8, 1949 in Leningrad and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten.
Kuchinskaya was born on March 8, 1949 in Leningrad and was selected for a gymnastics class while still in kindergarten.
She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina, who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favorite gymnasts. At the 1966 World Championships, after winning her second Nationals title, the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Cup and the World Trials, she established herself as one of the stars of the Soviet team, winning gold medals in three of the four event finals (balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise), a bronze on vault, and silvers in the all-around and team events. She was dubbed "The Bride of Mexico" and "the Sweetheart of Mexico" by the admiring press and was serenaded with a folk song, "Natalie," during her stay in Mexico City.
The Olympics was Kuchinskaya"s final competition.
At the time, her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness. In an interview in the late 90s Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport.
Following her retirement, Kuchinskaya coached in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, Japan and the United States. She has been married since 1980 to optician Alexander Kotliar and currently lives and coaches in the United States of America, running her own gymnastics club in Illinois.
In 1999 she appeared on the "Soviet Sport War" episode of the Public Broadcasting Service documentary The Red Files discussing her experiences in gymnastics.
In 2006 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
She won four medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics. By 1965, at age 16, Kuchinskaya was the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics national champion. Kuchinskaya continued her winning streak in 1967, when she won the pre-Olympic test event in Mexico City and swept the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Nationals, walking away with the all-around title and every single event final gold medal. She placed third in the all-around, behind Věra Čáslavská and her teammate Zinaida Voronina. She also shared in the team gold medal and won the balance beam title and a bronze on the floor exercise.
At the 1968 Olympics, Kuchinskaya was arguably the most popular member of the Soviet team
