Yevgeniya Kanayeva

Who is Yevgeniya Kanayeva?

Evgenia Olegovna Kanaeva OMF is a Russian rhythmic gymnast. A gymnast known for her consistency, elegant routines and high level of technical difficulty. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, winning at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she finished an unprecedented 3.75 points ahead of silver medalist Inna Zhukova, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she also became the oldest gymnast to win the Olympic gold. In 4 July 2013, Kanaeva has been a recipient of the International Fair Play Award for "Sport and Life".

Kanaeva holds the record for most World titles with seventeen and thirteen European titles. Kanaeva shares the record for most individual world all-around titles with Maria Petrova and Maria Gigova, and Kanaeva is the only gymnast to have won all three titles without being tied, impossible due to the tie breaking system even though she never was tied for a title.

At the 2009 World Championship in Mie, Japan, Kanaeva became the first rhythmic gymnast to win all six titles. She repeated the feat at the 2011 World Championship in Montpellier, France, equaling her own record.