Irina Deriugina won USSR Cup 1978 that took place in Riga (1^st in ball routine, 2^nd – in ribbon and rope). Ludmila Yevtushenko was 3^rd in all-round and in rope routine.

Galina Shugurova was the European Champion of 1978 in Madrid. Irina Deriugina was 2^nd in all-round, ribbon and rope routines, while she won ball. USSR team won the group competition (O.Shegoleva, O.Plohova, V.Serikh were in team from Ukraine).

At the international competition “Golden hoop” in Sverdlovsk in August of 1978 Irina Deriugina was 1^st in all-round, rope, ball and ribbon routine. L. Yevtushenko was 3^rd in all-round, in ball, ribbon and rope routine, O. Schegoleva took 4^th place.

At the 15^th Soviet School-students Spartakiada in Tashkent (September of 1978) the team of the Ukrainian republic became 3^rd. Viktoria Serikh won the competition (1^st place – ball, ribbon, 2^nd place – without apparatus routine), S. Valiyannikova was 6^th, Savchenko – 13^th, I. Matveyeva – 24^th, T.Miroshnichenko – 27^th.

Irina Deriugina won both USSR Championship and Cup and also 7^th Summer Spartakiada of the USSR (2^nd place in routines without apparatus, with ball and ribbon). L. Berezhnaya was 4^th (3^rd in without apparatus routine). Ukrainian group, consisting of O. Plohova, O. Schegoleva, V. Serikh, S. Valiyannikova. L. Berezhnaya, O. Matuhina won 2^nd place in group event.

Irina Deriugina won also World Championships in London (1^st place in clubs routine, 2^nd with ribbon, 3^rd with ball). USSR group also won gold. In the group there were 3 gymnasts from ukraine : L. Yevtushenko, O. Schegoleva, V. Serikh.

 At the junior USSR Championship in Leningrad V. Serikh was 3^rd, I. Kozharina (Kiev) – 15^th, Y.Kovalik (Zaporojie) – 16^th, O. Radionova (Zaporohie) – 26^th, O.Prohorova (Odessa) – 33^rd.

S. Valiyannikova from Kiev won the Ukrainian championship in 1980. E.Tomas from Volgograd became the all-round USSR Championship. Irina Devina from Jukovsky won the USSR Cup in Tbilisi. Irina Deriugina was only 9^th as she was competing after an injury. The team of Ukrainian republic won bronze medal

At the European Championship 1980 in Amsterdam I. Raeva from Bulgaria won.

Irina Deriugina again becomes a champion of Ukraine in 1981. At the USSR Championship she was third. The team of Ukraine, consisting of Irina Deriugina, O.Matuhina, V.Serikh, O.Radionova, S.Valiyannikova, I.Kojarina was 2^nd in team event. The USSR Cup (18-20 September, Tallin) was won by Daliya Kutkaite from Vilnus. Irina Deriugina was 4^th, I. Kojarina was 21^st, I.Shapovalova was on 25^th place.

At the 16^th Soviet School-students Spartakiada (July of 1981, Vilnus) the team of Ukraine was only 6^th. At individual event the places were as follows : V.Serikh – 2^nd, O. Radioiva – 23^rd, T. Yankovskaya – 49^th, E. Skirtach – 53^rd, I.Kojarina – 59^th, S. Valiyannikova – 60^th.

At the World Championship 1981 (21-24 October, Muhin) Anelia Ralenkova from Bulgarian won. Irina Deriugina was 9^th (4^th in hoop routine, 6^th in rope routine). Viktoria Serikh and Olga Radionova from Zaporojie won 2^nd place in group of USSR)

Ukrainian Championship of 1982 was won by N.Mescheriakova, student of KPFK from Lermontov. At the USSR Championship (18-21 March, Tallin) won D. Kutkaite. Ukrainian gymnasts had the following positions : O. Radionova – 17^th, E.Skirtach – 19^th, V. Serikh – 29^th. USSR Cup (18-19 September, Leningrad) was won by Irina Devina. At the 3^rd Soviet Sports Youth Games (Moscow, 14-17 of July) Ukrainian team was 5^th : Olga Radionova – 4^th (1^st in clubs, 3^rd in hoop). E.Skirtach – 10^th, O. Zaitseva – 20^th, I.Kojarina and T.Miroshnichenko – 23^rd, I.Shapovalova – 26^th, I.Grechishnikova – 32rd.

The title of all-round European Champion was shared by D.Kutkaite (USSR) and A.Ralenkova (BNR). O. Radionova which was in USSR team in group event also became a champion.

N. Mescheriakova was 1^st, O Zaitseva 2^nd and E.Skirtach 3^rd (all – Kiev) at the Ukrainian Cup in Cherkassy in 1983. At the 8^th Spartakiada of Ukraine N.Mescheriakova won 1^st place, among juniors – V. Tarasova. The Cup “Youth” (October of 1983, Kerch) was won by I. Shapovalova in senior programme and V. Tarasova in junior programme (both – Kiev)

The USSR Championship of 1983 was won by D. Kutkaite (27-29^th May, Alma Ata). Ukraine was 4^th in team event, 7^th in group exercises. Irina Shapovalova was 13^th and B.Tarasova 15^th in individual routine. B Tarasova was 4^th in clubs routine.

D. Kutkaite was the winner of the 8^th Spartakiada of the USSR. The team of Ukraine was only 9^th. Olga Radionova – 10^th, I. Grechishnikova – 22^nd, 26^th – Irina Shapovalova, 20^th – N. Mescheriakova.

D. Georgieva became the World Champion of 1983 (October, Strasbourg). USSR group was 2^nd (Olga Radionova from Zaporojie was in it)

B. Tarasova was the all-round Ukrainian Champion of 1984. The USSR Cup that took place in Astrahan was won by both D. Kutkaite and G. Beloglazova. Ukrainian gymnasts were in such positions : B. Tarasova – 2^nd, V. Tkachiova – 18^th, T.Miroshnichenko – 20^th, I. Shapovalova – 24^th.

At the USSR Championship of 1984 the team of “Spartak” won 1^st place. N.Mescheriakova, I. Kojarina, O.Zaitseva, I.Grechishnikova, I.Shapovalova.

A.Ralenkova and G.Beloglazova became World Champions of 1984 (16-18 November, Vienna). In group event USSR team was 2^nd. I. Kojarina from Kiev was competing in the team. I.Grechishnikova was reserve.

At the Intervision Cup in Czechoslovakia (1-2 December 1984) B.Tarasova from Kiev won 1^st place in the junior category.

Since 1983 by the decision of the 83^rd IOC session rhythmic gymnastics was included into the programme of the Olympic Games. 33 gymnasts from 20 countries took part in the first Olympics in Los Angeles. Gymnasts performed 4 routines – with hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Gymnasts from the Soviet Union didn’t take part in those Games

In 1988 Games in Seul 24 gymnasts from 15 countries were present, performing routines with rope, hoop, clubs and ribbon. It was a starting point for Aleksandra Timoshenko. She was young and promissing. Just in 1987 she took part in European Junior Championship and year after she was to represent a huge USSR country at the Olympics. A mistake with a club didn’t allow Aleksandra to be 1^st, but she was 3^rd and it was a success either!

From 1988 till 1992 Ukrainian gymnasts Timoshenko and her teammate Oksana Skaldina didn’t leave the podium. At the Olympics Games 1992 Aleksandra Timoshenko won the gold medal, while Oksana Skaldina had the bronze

Ever since then Ukrainian gymnastics school was dominating in this sport, followed by magnificent Elena Vitrichenko and Ekaterina Serebrianskaya, who once more occupied the Olympic podium. In 1996 Ekaterina was the Champion, while Elena became 3^rd.

From Ekaterina Serebrianskaya's interview about her feelings on podium : Tiredness and emptiness inside. This busy marathon has been since my childhood. Then I dreamed about that and on the question what I want to be, I surely answered : "Olimpic Champion!". The gold medal I hold more or less confident. The only thing, which stod besides that medal was unbelieverable work and physycal tiredness, because in 18 it was really hard not to give up after political scandals in gymnastics. Even now I don't understand that I'm Olimpic Champion. When I got my medal, I felt confident, because my childhood dream has come true. Now I put new aim.

The change of generations is always a difficult period. On 2000 Olympic in Sydney Tamara Yerofeeva and again Elena Vitrichenko competed, but no medal positions were achieved

In 2001 the World Championship in rhythmic gymnastics was held in Madrid, which the fans of ukrainian gymnastics will never forget. In All-round event Tamara Yerofeeva occupied the 3^rd position, having moved the bulgarian Simona Peycheva with huge efforts to the 4^th position. With great pressure were we watching the struggle between these 2 gymnasts. Only on the homestretch after the increadibly succesfully performed rope routine under the soundtrack from the movie “Mask of Zorro”, Tamara managed to outflank her rival.Who knew then that it was the battle for the title of all-round world champion? When it became clear that world champion and silver medal winner Alina Kabaeva and Irina Tschaschina used the forbidden medicine furosemide, their results were annullated. Tamara Yerofeeva received the gold medal, and Anna Bessonova, another Ukrainian, got the bronze. And perharps it is a fair decision because despite the great respect for certainly talented Russians, Yerofeeva and Bessonova are not worse than they are. As Albina Deriugina said : “Miracles should be done fairly, “

From Tamara Yerofeeva's interview : You know, I felt a bit sorry for them because I saw myself in them. So many girls worked hard in not just the year leading up to the World Championships, but for a lot of years before. Because of this doping scandal, everything was so messed up. I felt so much sad for all their lost hours. Everybody would be happy to be me, because a world championship gold medal is not given to everyone. But, whatever happens, I have to say I feel this gold medal is a hollow one.

The Ukrainian team is famous for its’ experiments and innovations. So before the 2002 World Championships in New Orleans (USA), coaches of the Ukrainian group made a decision to include into the group the leaders of the national team at that moment – Tamara Yerofeeva, Anna Bessonova, Natalia Godunko and Elena Dzoubchuk. Intuition combined with experience didn’t let Irina and Albina Deriugina down and brought the results at the end. Having under their belts the 2001 team world champions, the Ukrainian team had nothing to do but to repeat the medal success at the European Championships 2001 in Geneve. The young but prospective group from Ukraine created a furore with its’ 10 clubs routine to the music from the movie “Gladiator”, having received a silver medal in this final. 

Musical accompaniment of routines for the 2002 World Championships was chosen very precisely. “Swan Lake” from Petr Tchaikovsky was the verdict for the 5 ribbons routine. Irina Deriugina, irreplaceable head choreographer of the National team’s routines had listened to 20 (!)  immortal ballet’s orchestral versions of the Russian classical master’s music till she chose the one that could not leave any spectator or judge indifferent. Such stars of world gymnastics as Yerofeeva and Bessonova gave this routine an indescribable colouring, a victorious spirit that spilled into “gold” of the championship.

After the final chord was heard, Anna Bessonova, Tamara Yerofeeva, Elizaveta Karabash, Elena Dzoubchuk frozen in the incomparable attitudes, as well as the captain of the team Natalia Godunko, who had to collect the cross of  black ribbons, could not even imagine that in 20 minutes the anthem of Ukraine will be played in their honour. In the final in the routine with 5 ribbons these 5 gymnasts were competing just before the menacing teams from Greece and Russia, which were the only to come in this final, but the name of Ukraine did not go down from the 1^st place on the score screen till the very end. It is impossible to describe the happiness of the coaches and gymnasts as it was the first big victory of Ukrainian gymnastics in group routines, and as we hope it was not the last one.

The year of 2003 passed in practically domination of the Ukrainian school of Rhythmic Gymnastics. And the appearance of Anna Bessonova on the top place of the award podium has already lost the status of a sensation, what’s more – it has become an unwritten rule. Anya, having overscored her teammate Tamara Yerofeeva in the december of 2002 on the World Cup Final in Stuttgart, has become the leader of the team. And in 2003 she practically won the European Championship in Germany. Out of 4 gold medals being awarded at this competition Bessonova won 3. The predominance of Ukraine in rhythmic gymnastics was brightly shown by the results of the prestigious Grand Prix serie. Bessonova became the winner in all routines, having lost the 1^st place only in ribbon to the Russian Vera Sesina.

In autumn the World Championship was taking place in Hungary. The first impression when you enter the competition hall is that the championship should have taken place in Ukraine. The modern hall of Budapest was decorated with the Ukrainian flags  around the periphery, the spectator’s tribunes were also full of blue and yellow colours. And it was not only because Ukraine brought it’s fans, but also because practically all fans from other countries were cheering only a “dream team” as Bessonova, Godunko and Yerofeeva are called abroad. Frantic support of the tribunes, certainly, helped ukrainian athletes to cope with all the difficulties of the Championship.

Bessonova has found a “victorious melody” in herself. After the quallification she was comfortably leading the competition, all coaches and gymnasts were coming to watch her perform. Anna was shining with an oustanding energy, great self-reliance and self-control. She was confident that she will not lose this time. In all-round Bessonova was the last to compete. On her first apparatus she made a fatal mistake : dropped the ball at the very end of the routine. It’s interesting to know how the results would be if Bessonova did not let the ball slip out of her knees? And the reality was that after 2 perfect performance and an unsurpassed performance of the hoop routine, after which the spectators stood from it’s seats to applaud Anna, judges gave her 2^nd place. 

Unfortunately, other Ukrainian gymnasts did not earn top places. All the fans of rhythmic gymnastics and Tamara Yerofeeva as well were in perplexity with Tamara’s 14^th place in the all-round. Having performed her last routine, Toma did not wait for her score and demonstratively left the competition hall. It is certainly a very diffcult thing to get over! As a result Tamara was thinking about the retirement. However, her fighting character helped Tamara to return to trainings with a new breath and to compete on the European Championship 2004.

On the World Championship Natalia Godunko was competing both in individual and in group events. The world hasn’t seen such a “universal” gymnast yet. On the podium training Natasha trained 4 individual routines and while other Ukrainian individual gymnasts went to rest, she had to cheer up her teammates in group event.

2004 year can be surely called the year of rhythmic gymnastics in Ukraine. And we hope it will be the rivaval of this wonderful kind of sport in world format. Thanks to the titanic efforts of Ihor Korobchinsky, president of Ukrainian gymnastics Federation, as well as Irina and Albina Deriugina, Ukraine managed to be in front of Russia and Bulgaria in the dispute of the host country of the European Championship 2004. It was the last official competition before the Olympic Games in Athens. That is why it is difficult to undervalue the meaning of such an event.

The preparation for the European Championship has been started 2 years before the competition, the venue, Palace of Sports, was modernised specially to the competition. The posters of the championship were hanging all around the Palace, on which Anna Bessonova was frozen in a wonderful leap, symbolizing Ukraine which like a comet burst into new rules of rhythmic gymnastics, having brought something new and different from the others.

Special thanks we would like to tell to all organisers of the competition. They have really created a wonderful holiday. The representatives of the European Gymnastics Union that were present in Ukraine said without any hesitation that this championship was the best among all 20 of the history of rhythmic gymnastics judging by organization. Everything possible was created for the perfect performances of the participants from 28 countries.

Both in team and in all-round the Russian gymnasts were dominating, but Ukrainian gymnasts also did a very good competition. It was a big pleasure to watch the competition of Natalia Godunko. Such purity and stability was not shown by any gymnast during the days of competition. The high rhythm of Natasha’s work can take your breath away. Tamara Yerofeeva performed only 1 routine in team event, but what a routine! Expression, inspiration, technique – everything was by her side. After her performance she could not hold her emotions and started to cry right on the carpet. Anna Bessonova could not show a great stability because of high responsibility which was lying on her tiny shoulders. It is impossible to let your team down, the country which is cheering you. However, even with some apparatus mistakes, her technical benefits were seen very well.

After the European Championship had finished, the complex group of Goscomsport of Ukraine performed a technical analysis of the routines of the best gymnasts based on the all-round performance. It can be still viewed on the official site of the Championship www.ukraine-rg.com

Olympic Games 2004 have surely been the most major event not only of the season but also of the whole Olympic cycle. Despite hard pressure Anna Bessonova and especially Natalia Godunko showed tremendous performances. Anna Bessonova wins the bronze, while Natalia Godunko finished the competition in 5th place

From Natalia Godunko's interview : What I remember from Olympic Games? I remember my good routines and my low scores. Everybody around me thought that I was much underscored.

Natalia Godunko wins 2005 European Champion title. Is it a new era of Ukrainian gymnastics? We’ll see…A hard test is waiting for Bessonova and her collegues. It is world known that to earn the height is much easier than to hold it. And they already have the burden of leaders in rhythmic gymnastics! And if earlier Ukrainian gymnasts were told : “Try it, please”, nowadays you can often hear : “You must”.

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