Rhythmic gymnastics veterans. Russia’s Honored Coach Lyudmila Tikhomirova

Soviet athlete and coach. USSR’s Honored Rhythmic gymnastics coach. Russia’s Honored coach. Honorary citizen of Astrakhan.

On January 2, 1929, a girl named Lyuda, was born into a simple Astrakhan family, by the last name of Vasiliev. (Tikhomirova was her husband’s name). Could anyone then think that she would grow up to be an inspiration for the development of rhythmic gymnastics and a famous coach? 

Lyuda was a very active child, she loved to run and therefore began to be involved in sports. She was naturally very flexible, but did not get involved in gymnastic on purpose. It was only at the age of 19, that Vasilieva came under the wing of rhythmic gymnastics coach Nadezhda Kruglikova. She was sent from Moscow to Astrakhan and gathered bright-eyed athletes. A few months later, the Astrakhan team, which included Lyudmila, went to the Soviet Union Championship in Leningrad and achieved incredible success, a silver medal right away! By that time, Vasilieva had been doing rhythmic gymnastics for only a year. At the same time, she studied at a paramedic-midwife school and worked as a nurse.

However, Vasilieva’s further sports career did not pan out. Almost immediately she decided to take up coaching. Nadezhda Kruglikova returned to Moscow and her student decided to continue her work, to develop rhythmic gymnastics in Astrakhan. Now the former gymnast was called Lyudmila Alexandrovna, she went to an education institute and began to lead an athletic club at the Trud sports society.

Tikhomirova turned out to have truly outstanding coaching abilities. By the early 1970s, thanks to her work, Children's Youth Sports School No. 5 was opened. By this time, Lyudmila had already become one of the leading coaches in the country, and her students were the first in Astrakhan to fulfill the standards of masters of sports. In general, many successful gymnasts owe their achievements to Coach Tikhomirova. For example, Alla Zasukhina became the USSR champion in 1972 and the world champion in group exercises in 1973, and Galina Beloglazova won gold medals at the World and European Championships in the 1980s.

In 1978, Lyudmila was awarded the title of Honored Coach of the USSR, and Children's and Youth Sports School No. 5 became the Olympic Reserve Athletic School. So, Tikhomirova could be called the person who set up the traditions of the Astrakhan school of gymnastics. For example, 2000 Olympic champion Elena Shalamova came out of it. 

The famous coach’s family is also talented. Her husband Nikolai is a Leningrad champion in artistic gymnastics. One of their sons, Nikolai, was the premier of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater, and their granddaughter Anna is a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater ballet.

In 2005, Lyudmila Tikhomirova was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Astrakhan. The Honored coach died on November 21, 2007. A building in Astrakhan has her memorial plaque.