Natalia Ziganshina

Ziganshina was born on 24 December 1985 in Leningrad, where she grew up with her four siblings in a two-bedroom apartment.^[1] Her father is a Tatar.^{[citation needed]} Her younger sister, Gulnara, also competed in gymnastics, appearing at the 2002 Junior European Championships.^[2] She studied at the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health.^[3]

Ziganshina was coached by Viktor Gavrichenkov, the coach of Olympic all-around champion Yelena Shushunova.^[1] She was a member of Russia's gold-medal team at the 2000 Junior European Championships,^[4] where she also won a silver medal on the uneven bars and a bronze medal in the all-around.^[5][6]

At the 2001 Goodwill Games, Ziganshina won a silver medal on the uneven bars.^[7] Prior to the 2001 World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, she fell on the floor exercise and had a concussion, but she still competed.^[1] She helped the Russian team win the silver medal, behind Romania.^[8] She then won an individual silver medal in the all-around competition, behind teammate Svetlana Khorkina.^[1]

At the 2002 European Championships, Ziganshina won a gold medal with the Russian team. She finished fourth in the all-around final after falling off the balance beam and stepping out of bounds on the floor exercise.^[9] She then won a gold medal in the vault final and a silver medal in the floor exercise, behind Ukraine's Alona Kvasha.^[10] She won bronze medals on both the vault and floor exercise at the 2002 Glasgow World Cup.^[11] Then at the Paris World Cup, she won the floor exercise gold medal.^[12] At the 2002 World Championships, she won a silver medal on the vault, behind teammate Elena Zamolodchikova.^[13]

Ziganshina did not compete at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim due to a hip injury.^[14] She tore her meniscus in the spring of 2004 and missed the 2004 European Championships. She was able to return to competition at the 2004 Russian Championships and was named to represent Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[15] During the qualification round, she competed in the all-around but did not advance into any individual finals. She only competed on the uneven bars during the team final and fell, but the Russian team still won the bronze medal.^[16]

Ziganshina announced her retirement from competition in 2007, citing injuries.^[3]

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Russia