There are a lot of varieties of martial arts, but only taekwondo managed to get into the program of the Olympics, which serves as a good incentive to attract athletes to this sport. He gradually begins to enjoy popularity in Russia, and one of the strongest women in his weight category is considered to be the winner of the Taekwondo Olympics Anastasia Baryshnikova.
The beginning of the way
Not all parents are eager to give their daughters to power combats. So Anastasia Baryshnikova did not immediately find herself in taekwondo.
She was born in 1990 in Chelyabinsk, in the most ordinary family. We suck the still small Nastya, my mother took the handle to rhythmic gymnastics. For about three years, the girl has been diligently engaged in one of the most beautiful and feminine sports, laying the foundations of her plastic and stretch marks, which will be useful to her in the future.
However, Nastia had not too many chances to become the second Alina Kabaeva, since she was a bit large for rhythmic gymnastics and stood out noticeably among her miniature friends in the section.
When Anastasia Baryshnikova was ten years old, she abruptly changed her sports specialty and moved to the taekwondo section, where gymnastic training helped her a lot. The first coach of the girl was Mikhail Igorevich Puzikov, with whom she still collaborates.
Instant take off
Taekwondo for Anastasia Baryshnikova has become an ideal sport. She immediately began to make incredible progress. Already at the age of 19, she made it to the semifinals of the World Cup in Copenhagen. Here, the ural girl lost to a more experienced rival, but rehabilitated herself in the match for third place, having won a bronze medal.
A year later, she no longer knew her peers at the European Championships. In the absence of representatives from Korea, China and Japan, which are considered to be the grandees of taekwondo, Anastasia Baryshnikova psychologically freed herself and won in a great style the continental tournament. It was especially pleasant for her that she achieved this victory in her native stands.
In 2011, Anastasia Baryshnikova repeated her success two years ago, again becoming the third. However, the main tournament was ahead, it was necessary to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Bronze London
Even the most titled athlete is not relieved of the obligation to break into the main four-year tournament through a sieve of qualification competitions. A real test for Anastasia Baryshnikova was her first Olympic selection.
The decisive in the series of qualifying competitions was the prestigious rating tournament in Azerbaijan, held in November 2011. Then practically all the strongest athletes arrived in Baku to solve the selection problem for the London Olympics in advance.
Anastasia Baryshnikova confidently coped with not the strongest rivals from Morocco and the Dominican Republic and reached the semifinals, where she was awaited by the strong Frenchwoman Gladys Epange.
The fight turned out to be very stubborn and even, a few seconds before the end Anastasia struck an exact blow to the head of Epange, but the judges did not notice this and awarded the victory to a more experienced opponent. Anastasia was not broken by an unjust defeat, and she beat the Turkish Nur Tatars in the bronze match, having won the coveted ticket to London.
At the Olympics, this story almost repeated. In the semifinals, Anastasia Baryshnikova came out against the Serbian taekwondo player, who had already beaten earlier, but she managed to take revenge. In the battle for third place, everything was decided in extra time, but, having patted the coach’s nerves, the Chelyabinsk athlete was able to deliver a “golden” blow and became the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games.
Last years
The next Olympic cycle was not so successful for Anastasia Baryshnikova. She was left without medals at the world championships, losing at the home tournament was especially offensive. Already in the second round, Anastasia lost to the girl from Korea, Hwan Kyun-soong, and missed a decisive blow at the end of the battle.
Nevertheless, she twice more - in 2012 and 2014 - became the European champion, and in 2015 she won the first European Games held in Baku. After winning the prestigious tournament in Turkey, which had the status of G4, she was able to win an Olympic license.
Anastasia Baryshnikova went to the status of the favorite at the 2016 Olympics, however, she could not repeat the success of London, stopping at the 1/8 final stage.
Personal life
The life of a professional athlete who competes at the highest level consists of endless training and training. In such a frantic rhythm, it is not always possible to find time for personal life, therefore it is not surprising that Anastasia Baryshnikova met her chosen one in the training room. The girl prefers to conduct sparring with male athletes, one of whom was Ivan Toptygin.
The guys were bound for a while by a tender relationship, but at some point it was all over.
Together with Anastasiy Baryshnikova, the taekwondo player Alexei Denisenko also won the bronze medal in London . It was he who became the most important man in her life today. In December 2016, they officially signed, after which Anastasia stayed with her husband in his native Bataisk.