Galina Kulakova: biography, year of birth, photo

Galina Kulakova is a skier, who is considered one of the most titled sportswomen in the history of the USSR. She was remembered also by the fact that almost all of her victories fall to quite an adult age. And this is especially noticeable in the pictures from the competition, which depicts Galina Kulakova. Photos from numerous races suggest that she almost always competed with a much younger generation of skiers and, despite this, won awards. Until now, sports fans proudly recall the Olympics in Saporro. Then, in 1972, Galina Kulakova won all the gold medals in her sport.

Biography

Almost all lovers of sport know this young village girl today. The year of Galina Kulakova's birth - 1942 - came at a time when the war raged in the country. She was born into a large family in the village of Logachi, Votkinsk district, in Udmurtia. The girl had two brothers and seven sisters. The hardships of life she learned in early childhood, when her father died at the front. Already in her youth she began to help her mother, getting a job as a milkmaid in a state farm. Even then, the girl showed incredible stamina and diligence - character traits, which are so necessary for athletes. Galina Kulakova, whose biography at first did not have anything to do with skis, nevertheless knew how to ride on them, because the school from her house was distant for three kilometers, and in the winter it was otherwise impossible to get into it otherwise. But despite her physical endurance, the girl did not think about sports career at all, as she needed to help her mother raise brothers and sisters. And when she graduated from school, then, having decided to relate her life to teaching, she entered the pedagogical school.

Youth

It was at this time that Galina Kulakova again after a long break gets on the skis. And after some time, when she is seriously beginning to engage in cross-country skiing, the girl decides to connect her life with this sport. In 1962 she graduated from Izhevsk Pedagogical College. After a while, Kulakova entered the Prokopyevsk physical culture school and began to train seriously under the guidance of the talented and very strict trainer Peter Naimushin.

First success

Until 1967, she performs only in city or regional tournaments, but in the same year in her life is a very important event. The girl gets to the national team of the country and in a few months, in 1968, goes to her first Olympics in Grenoble. There Galina Kulakova receives her first international award - silver at a distance of five kilometers, and a day later - bronze for the baton. Experts believe that Kulakova could become an Olympic champion back in Grenoble, but she just was not lucky, and fortune smiled Swede Gustafsson. Our athlete, winning a five-kilometer race, literally "flew" to the finish, ahead of the opponent in time. But for five hundred meters on the descent she was thrown out of the trail. Galina fell, which she lost a little more than ten seconds. The coach says that the girl did not have enough experience and vigilance. Later it turns out that for gold it was not enough for only three seconds. A year later at the championship of the Soviet Union the first place was taken by Galina Kulakova - skier, whose biography as a famous athlete was just beginning.

Failure and victory

Before the world championship, which took place in the High Tatras in 1970, the girl in advance "gave" all the gold, but ... There was an unforeseen. From the ski track of the USSR Cup, Galina was sent to Sverdlovsk hospital, where she underwent surgery. The girl could not stand up for a long time. And when she came to, she had to learn how to walk again. Of course, about getting on skis, there could be no question. As a rule, after such an operation, patients need to lie for several months, gaining strength. But Galina, who by her nature could not wait that long, did her best to return as quickly as possible. Contrary to all predictions of doctors, she, having risen after a few weeks, immediately began to train and this ineffably surprised all the medical personnel, including the Aesculapius luminaries. When she won a five-kilometer race at the world championship in Czechoslovakia, on a track in the Tatras, few guessed what it cost this fantastic victory.

Dizzying success

In 1972, Galina Kulakova again took part in the Olympics. It was in Saporro that she showed truly incredible results. Even despite her age, and at that time she was already thirty years old, the skier became the owner of three first awards at once. Two years after this dizzying Olympiad, Galina performs well at the World Championships, after which three more gold medals were added to her collection. It is believed that the period from 1972 to 1976 is the peak of the achievements of this amazing athlete in international competitions. In subsequent years she managed to win only one gold at the Olympic Games, all the awards were either bronze or silver. One can not ignore the fact that it was Galina Kulakova who managed to win at the first World Cup, a tournament that took place in 1978, when this Soviet skier was already thirty-six years old. However, despite such an impressive age for the athlete, she managed to win.

It is interesting

Galina Kulakova is a skier whose biography is worthy of imitation. In 1976, during the Winter Olympics, she was accused of using dope. This happened after the Soviet skier won bronze at a ten-kilometer distance. It turned out that the positive doping test was due to the fact that literally on the eve of the competition Galina used drops from the cold. Repeatedly Kulakova surprised doctors with her phenomenal health. After all, despite the hungry and difficult childhood years, this woman, in addition to a mild cold, never anything else hurted. In 2013, the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative coin depicting Kulakova GA. It was made of silver and is now stored in the personal museum of this great skier.

Awards

Considering the fact that the Soviet skier G. Kulakova managed to achieve incredible heights, her achievements could not be overlooked by the state. In 1972, right after the Olympics, she was awarded the Order of Lenin. In her collection, Galina has a medal "For Labor Distinction" and immediately three Badges of Honor. She is an honorary citizen of both Udmurtia and Izhevsk. Even after the collapse of the Union, the new government has repeatedly marked the champion. In 1997, for example, she was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, and in 2008 she became a well-deserved worker of physical culture.

Not only Russian, but also foreign organizations noted the achievements of Galina Kulakova. In 1982, Juan Samaranch himself gave the athlete the Olympic Order, which is awarded only to those who make a special contribution to the Olympic movement.