Tatiana Druchinina

 

Tatiana Druchinina was among Russia's leading gymnasts in the 1980s…

Tatiana Rudolfovna Druchinina (Russian: Татьяна Рудольфовна Дручинина; born April 18, 1969 in Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.) is a Russian former rhythmic gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. She is the 1987 World champion in ribbon and the 1986 World Cup Final all-around silver medalist, Merited Master of Sports in Rhythmic Gymnastics, Honored coach of Russia and figure skating choreographer.

Tatiana Druchinina was among Russia’s leading gymnasts in the 1980s, along with Marina Lobatch, Galina Beloglazova, and Dalia Kutkaitė. Although she never won a World or European all-around medal, Druchinina finished high in the standings.

At the 1984 European Championships, she came in 6th in the all-around. At the 1985 World Championships, she won the bronze medal in clubs, finished 6th in all-around and 4th with rope and ribbon.

Druchinina placed 4th in all-around at the 1986 Europeans (1st on ball, 4th with rope and clubs). She won four gold medals at the 1986 Goodwill Games (all-around, rope, ball, and ribbon). She tied for the all-around silver medal (with teammate Galina Beloglazova) at the 1986 World Cup Final, as well as winning silver in clubs and bronze medals in rope and ball. She finished 6th in all-around at the 1987 World Championships and won gold in ribbon. Druchinina also briefly performed as a member of the Soviet group exercises.

In 1988, Druchinina sustained a back injury and was withdrawn from the Europeans; rising teammate Olexandra Tymoshenko substituted her in the Soviet team and went on to win the 1988 European Championships and the bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Druchinina retired from gymnastics at the end of the 1988 season.

Druchinina lived in the United States from 1993 to 2007. She worked with single skaters, including Sarah Hughes, Sasha Cohen, pair skaters Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov, and even our own founders, ice dancers Kristen Fraser / Igor Lukanin . After returning to Russia, she worked for many years at the Sports Palace "Jubilee" Club in Saint Petersburg with the sports group and pairs of Tamara Moskvina. In 2011, she moved to Moscow, where she briefly coached her son, Artur Dmitriev Jr.. She collaborated with Svetlana Alexeeva's ice dancing students in the 2011–12 season and with Alexander Zhulin's ice dancers.

Tatiana Druchina can currently be found for the last five years working at the United States Figure Skating Association’s Champs Camp which is an invitation-only camp provided for high performance athletes. This performance-based camp is intended to prepare athletes for the Grand Prix Series. Her most sought-after skills are Choroegraphy, Expression and Presentation, and Ballet.

Her former clients include: