Margarita Nikolayeva

Born in Ivanovo, Russia, Margarita Nikolayeva moved with her family to Odesa in Ukraine in 1945 and took up gymnastics in 1948. Nikolayeva was on the Soviet national team from 1959-61. Nikolayeva’s only major international tournament was the 1960 Olympics, where she won golds in horse vault and team all-around and was fourth in the individual all-around and on beam. Domestically Nikolayeva never won a Soviet title, her only medals at the Soviet championships being bronzes in horse vault in 1960 and floor exercise in 1965. Nikolayeva also won a bronze in individual all-around at the 1965 Soviet Cup. After finishing her sporting career in 1967, Nikolayeva worked as a gymnastics coach in her hometown of Odesa. She also had some minor movie roles in films directed by Ukrainian born Russian movie actor and director Yevgeny Matveyev.