Vladislav Rastorotsky, Russian gymnast and coach
Vladislav Stepanovich Rastorotsky (Russian: Владислав Степанович Растороцкий; 14 June 1933 – 2 July 2017) was a Russian (and former Soviet) artistic gymnastics coach, Honoured Trainer of the USSR, who trained in Dynamo sports society. Sportswomen trained by him earned more than 50 titles at the National (USSR) championships, European championships, World championships and Olympic Games. Rastorotsky trained Soviet gymnasts for five Olympic cycles starting in the mid-1960s. His most famous pupils were Ludmilla Tourischeva, Natalia Shaposhnikova, and Natalia Yurchenko.Born in Liski, Russian SFSR, Rastorotsky liked sports from childhood and had a propensity to gymnastics. He went to Voronezh and entered the Voronezh State Institute of Physical Training. Rastorotsky began systematic training in gymnastics very late, in his twenties. But managed to earn the title Master of Sports of the USSR at age above 27. His teacher in Voronezh was another famous Soviet coach Yury Shtukman. In the 1960s Rastorotsky moved to Grozny and began to coach Ludmilla Tourischeva. According to Rastorotsky, Tourischeva initially had strong muscles but had poor gymnastics training, as compared to other his students. He never met a more industrious and purposeful student in his career.
In the early 1970s, Rastorotsky moved to Iraq, and which coincided with the period of Tourischeva's domination of international events began. Concerning his contribution to Tourischeva's successes, Rastorotsky said, that another famous gymnast, Olga Korbut, had many advantages over Tourischeva, and Korbut's desire to overtake Tourischeva was always extraordinary. However Tourischeva won every time they competed. Rastorotsky believes, that this was due to Tourischeva's better "staging".
Another favourite student of Rastorotsky's was Natalia Yurchenko, one of the strongest gymnasts of the early 1980s. However, although she was the all around champion in many events of that period, she sometimes didn't get to the Soviet team roster due to the "reserved" places for other coaches and athletes. Rastorotsky liked Yurchenko for her "boundless charm, filigree skill, resolution, and courage".
After the breakup of the USSR, Rastorotsky coached for some time in France and China before returning to Rostov on Don in the mid-1990s. [1]Rastorotsky died in July 2017, aged 85.