Aliya Mustafina

Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (Алия Фархатовна Мустафина) is a Russian former artistic gymnast.

Her father, Farhat Mustafin, a Volga Tatar born in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Mishar village Bolshoye Rybushkino, was a bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and her mother, Yelena Kuznetsova, an ethnic Russian, is a physics teacher.

"The story behind Aliya Mustafina's all-around gold today is that of a revived dynasty; the dominant Soviet women's team of the 1980s and early 1990s—whom many consider to represent the absolute epitome of artistic gymnastics—was dead and now reborn. In addition to leading her teammates to their country's first world title as an independent nation, Mustafina has delivered one of the great performances by a female gymnast ever—capturing the very same artistry, difficulty, and competitive composure that made her Soviet predecessors so beloved and revered. Mustafina's four-event arsenal is so well balanced it's hard to pick a favorite event to watch her on, and a win so convincing and undeniable as hers gives a satisfying sense of closure to a competition. She has established herself and her Russian teammates as the absolute gymnasts to watch over the next two years—and the gymnasts to beat."

In November, Mustafina competed in the Italian Grand Prix in Cagliari, Sardinia.

She placed fourth on uneven bars, scoring 13.570, and first on balance beam, scoring 14.700.

Mustafina competed at the American Cup in Jacksonville, Florida, in March.

She finished in a controversial second to American Jordyn Wieber, with an all-around score of 59.831, after leading for three-quarters of the competition but falling on floor exercise, the last event.

Later that month, she placed second on vault at a World Cup event in Paris, scoring 14.433; first on uneven bars, scoring 15.833; and first on balance beam, scoring 15.333.

Mustafina was born in Yegoryevsk, Russia, on 30 September 1994.

Mustafina's first major international competition was the International Gymnix in Montreal in March 2007.

She placed second in the all-around with a score of 58.825.

The following month, she competed at the Stella Zakharova Cup in Kyiv and placed second in the all-around with a score of 55.150.

In September 2007, Mustafina competed at the Japan Junior International in Yokohama.

She placed second in the all-around with a score of 59.800 and second in all four event finals, scoring 14.750 on vault, 15.250 on uneven bars, 15.450 on balance beam, and 14.100 on floor exercise.

At the 2008 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Mustafina helped the Russian junior team finish in first place and won the silver medal in the individual all-around with a score of 60.300.

In event finals, she placed fourth on uneven bars, scoring 14.475, and fourth on floor, scoring 14.375.

In November, she competed in the senior division at the Massilia Cup in Marseille.

She placed sixth in the all-around with a score of 57.300; fourth on vault, scoring 13.950; and second on floor, scoring 14.925.

Mustafina competed in the senior division at the Russian national championships in Bryansk in March, and won the all-around with a score of 58.550.

She also placed second on uneven bars, scoring 15.300; first on balance beam, scoring 14.950; and third on floor, scoring 14.700.

The new Russian head coach, Alexander Alexandrov, lamented the fact that "girls of that age cannot compete at senior international competitions".

She competed twice over the summer, placing second in the all-around (58.250) at the Japan Cup in Tokyo in July and winning the all-around (59.434) in the senior division at the Russian Cup in Penza in August.

In December, she won the all-around at the Gymnasiade competition in Doha, Qatar, with a score of 57.350, and went on to place second on vault (13.900), first on uneven bars (14.825), first on balance beam (14.175), and first on floor (14.575).

Mustafina was injured during a training session in March and was unable to compete in the Russian national championships.

In April, she competed at an Artistic Gymnastics World Cup event in Paris.

She placed fourth on uneven bars after an error, scoring 14.500, and second on balance beam, scoring 14.175.

She is the 2010 all-around world champion, the 2013 European all around champion, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic uneven bars champion and a seven-time Olympic medalist.

Mustafina has tied with Svetlana Khorkina for the most won by a Russian gymnast (not including Soviet Union women's national artistic gymnastics team).

She was the ninth gymnast to win medals on every event at the World Championship.

At the end of the month, she competed at the 2010 European Championships in Birmingham, where she contributed an all-around score of 58.175 toward the Russian team's first-place finish and placed second on uneven bars, scoring 15.050; second on balance beam, scoring 14.375; and eighth on floor, scoring 13.225.

At the Russian Cup in Chelyabinsk in August, Mustafina won the all-around competition with a score of 62.271.

In event finals, she placed second on vault, scoring 13.963; first on uneven bars, scoring 14.775; third on balance beam, scoring 14.850; and first on floor, scoring 15.300.

In October, she competed at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam and made history by qualifying for the all-around final and all four event finals—the first gymnast to do so since Shannon Miller and Svetlana Khorkina in 1996.

She contributed an all-around score of 60.932 toward the Russian team's first-place finish and won the individual all-around with a score of 61.032.

In event finals, she placed second on vault, scoring 15.066; second on uneven bars, scoring 15.600; seventh on balance beam, scoring 13.766 after a fall; and second on floor, scoring 14.766.

She left Rotterdam with five medals, more than any other artistic gymnast, male or female.

Andy Thornton wrote for Universal Sports:

In April, she competed at the 2011 European Championships in Berlin.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Mustafina won four medals, making her the most decorated gymnast of the competition and the most decorated athlete in any sport except swimming.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she became the first female gymnast since 2000 to win an all-around medal in two consecutive Olympics, and the first since Svetlana Khorkina (also in 2000) to defend her title in an Olympic apparatus final.