Gymn Forum: Olga Bicherova Biography

Olga Bicherova (USSR)

1981 World AA Champion
1982 World Cup AA Champion
1983 European AA Champion

Medal Total

World Championships: 3 Gold
World Cup: 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
European Championships: 3 Gold

Olga was born on October 26, 1967 in Moscow. Olga first took up figure skating, at the age of four. When she was six, a group of gymnastics coaches saw her in a class display and suggested that she try gymnastics. After a year, she gave up figure skating to concentrate on gymnastics.

At the Spartak club, Boris Orlov coached her to the world AA title in 1981, although her Western debut, at the European Championships several months earlier, was decidedly unsuccessful (23rd AA). When he accepted a coaching position in The Netherlands, she switched to the Central Army Sports Club (CSKA) and trained with coaches Viktor and Irina Razumovsky. Olga had a long career (her last competition was in 1988) and studied journalism at Moscow State University. She married fellow gymnast Valentin Mogilny in 1986 (they divorced in the late 1990s) and even coached him for a while. With their son, Mikhail, they went to France in the early 1990s to work as coaches. Olga still lives there with her French husband, with whom she had two more children.


Competition Results
1978
Jr. Prague-Moscow Dual Meet: 1st Team, 3rd AA

1979
Jr. Friendship Tournament (Druzhba): 1st Team, 9th AA, 5th A Jr. GDR-USSR Dual Meet: 2nd AA Jr. USSR Championships (Candidate for Master of Sport): 1st AA, 1st V, 2nd FX Jr. USSR Cup (Candidate for Master of Sport): 5th AA, 2nd B
1980
Jr. Friendship Tournament (Druzhba): 1st Team, 1st AA, 1st V, 2nd FX
Jr. GDR-USSR Dual Meet: 7th AA Jr. USSR Championships: 3rd Team, 1st AA, 1st V, 2nd B TBS Cup: 1st V, 1st UB, 1st FX
1981
Chunichi Cup: 1st AA, 1st V, 1st B
European Championships: 23rd AA, 4th V
Jr. Friendship Tournament (Druzhba): 1st AA Moscow Championships: 1st AA Schoolchildren's Spartakiade: 1st Team, 3rd AA, 6th FX Tokyo Cup: 1st V, 1st B
USSR Championships: 4th AA, 3rd V, 4th UB USSR Cup: 9th AA (prelims)
World Championships (Moscow): 1st Team, 1st AA, 8th UB
1982
Budapest Invitational: 1st B
World Cup: 1st AA, 1st V, 1st FX, 2nd UB, 3rd B
USA-USSR Dual Meet: 7th AA
1983
European Championships: 1st AA, 1st V, 1st FX
USSR Cup: 18th AA, 2nd V,
World Championships (Budapest): 1st Team, 5th V
1985
University Games: 1st Team USSR Championships: 9th UB USSR Cup: 10th AA
1986
Leningrad International: 6th AA, 2nd V, 3rd B USSR Championships: 4th UB, 5th V, 6th B USSR Cup: 5th AA USSR Spartakiade: 4th AA, 6th B
1987
USA-USSR Dual Meet: 1st Team, 8th AA
1988
Champions All: 10th AA