Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games: Spotlight on Anna Bessonova

Monday, August 11, 2008

Spotlight on Anna Bessonova

Spotlight on Anna Bessonova
Athens Rhythmic Gymnastics bronze medalist Anna Bessonova (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Anna Bessonova (Photo credit: Getty Images)

(BEIJING, July 8) -- Many eyes will be on Athens Rhythmic Gymnastics bronze medalist Anna Bessonova as she prepares to compete in the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Bessanova was born into a family of sports on July 29, 1984, in Kiev, Ukraine. Her father, Vladimir Bessonov, played for Dynamo Kiev and made it to the FIFA World Cup Final in 1982, 1986 and 1990. Her mother, Viktoria, was a group rhythmic gymnast and won the World Championships twice. It was she who introduced the young Anna to the world of rhythmic gymnastics.

Anna began training when she was five years old. Instructed by Alina Deriugina and her daughter Irina Deriugina, a two time world champion, Anna benefited a lot from excellent coaching and showed great talent at a young age.

With years of hard training, Bessanova showed incredible flexibility and made her first international appearance at age 10.

In 1999, Anna competed in group gymnastics and finished third in the FIG World Championship in Osaka, Japan. Two years later, she clinched the bronze medal in the Individual All-round competition at the 2001 FIG World Championship in Madrid, Spain.

After winning more titles at the World and European Championships, the rising star went to Athens, where she performed impressively to earn the Olympic bronze medal with a total of 106.700 points.

She was finally awarded a long-waited gold medal in the 2007 FIG World Championship in Patras and most recently executed a gold-medal routine at LA Lights 2008.

As the Olympic Games draw near, enthusiastic fans eagerly anticipate Bessonova's graceful and breathtaking performance in Beijing.