Vera Kolesnikova

Kolesnikova was an alternate for the 1983 World Championships team.^[2] She was scheduled to compete at the 1984 American Cup until the Soviet Union withdrew entirely from the competition.^[3]

At the 1985 Australia Games, Kolesnikova won the all-around, vault, and uneven bars gold medals.^[4] She was selected to compete at the 1985 World Championships alongside Irina Baraksanova, Olga Mostepanova, Oksana Omelianchik, Yelena Shushunova, and Natalia Yurchenko, and they won the gold medal in the team competition.^[5]

Kolesnikova helped the Soviet team win a 1986 dual meet against the United States, and she tied for third place in the all-around with Natalia Frolova.^[6] At the 1986 Goodwill Games, she won the individual all-around title in addition to the Soviet Union winning the team competition.^[7] In the event finals, she won a gold medal on the balance beam and a silver medal on the uneven bars behind teammate Yelena Shushunova.^[8]

At the 1987 Summer Universiade, Kolesnikova and the Soviet team won the gold medal. Individually, she won the all-around silver medal behind teammate Yelena Shushunova. She also won silver medals in the uneven bars and floor exercise finals, both behind Shushunova, and placed seventh in the vault final.^[9]

Kolesnikova retired from the sport after not being selected for the 1988 Summer Olympics team.^[2]

After retiring, Kolesnikova began coaching in Voronezh. She married Alexander Komov, another former gymnast, in 1991. They had a son Alexander, and their daughter Viktoria Komova is a two-time World champion and two-time silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[2][10]