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Evgeniya Kanaeva
Also known as Evgenia Kanaeva, Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva, The Queen of Rhythmic Gymnastics, Zhenya, Евгения Олеговна Канаева
- Born
- Apr 2, 1990age 36
- height
- 5'8" (or 172 cm)
- nationality
- Russian
Career
Active 2003 – 2012
Biography
About Evgeniya Kanaeva
Russian rhythmic gymnast Evgeniya Kanaeva, born on 2 April 1990 in Omsk, Russian Federation, is a sportswoman who competed from 2003 to 2012. She started around age 13 and was active for nine years. At 5'8" and 110 lbs, she had a tall, slender build for her sport. Kanaeva is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, triumphing at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a 3.75-point margin over silver medalist Inna Zhukova, and again at the 2012 Olympics, where she also became the oldest gymnast to win Olympic gold. On 4 July 2013, she received the International Fair Play Award for 'Sport and Life'.
Her competitive record is extraordinary. She holds the record for most World titles with seventeen and thirteen European titles. She shares the record for most individual world all-around titles with Maria Petrova, Maria Gigova, Yana Kudryavtseva, and Dina Averina. Kanaeva is one of only three gymnasts to have won all three titles without being tied. At the 2009 World Championship in Mie, Japan, she became the first rhythmic gymnast to win all six titles, a feat she repeated at the 2011 World Championship in Montpellier, France. In 2009, she was named Merited Master of Sports in Russia. After the 2012 Olympics, on 15 August, she received the Merit for the Fatherland IV Degree at the Grand Kremlin Palace, presented by President Vladimir Putin.
Kanaeva's technical brilliance included a perfect score under the 30-point judging system, achieved twice: in the 2011 Grand Prix Final in Brno and in the 2012 Grand Prix in Vorarlberg. She is the only gymnast to have done so. Now 36 years old, she follows gymnastics on Instagram with 46k followers.
Record
Profile details
Personal
- Years Active
- 2003-2012 (started around 13 years old; 9 years active)
- Birthplace
- Omsk, Russian Federation
- Ethnicity
- Caucasian
Body
- Weight
- 110 lbs (or 50 kg)
Extra
- Instagram Followers
- 46k (as of May 2026)
Frequently asked
How did Evgeniya Kanaeva's career length compare to her age at retirement?
She competed from 2003 to 2012, which is nine years, and retired at age 22, having started around 13.
What makes Evgeniya Kanaeva's Olympic record unique?
She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, and at the 2012 Games she also became the oldest gymnast to win Olympic gold.
How does Evgeniya Kanaeva's perfect score achievement stand out?
She is the only gymnast to receive a perfect score under the 30-point judging system, and she did it twice, at the 2011 Grand Prix Final and the 2012 Grand Prix.
Did you know
- Kanaeva won the 2008 Olympic gold by a 3.75-point margin, the largest in rhythmic gymnastics all-around history.
- She was the first rhythmic gymnast to win all six available titles at a World Championship, doing so in 2009, and then repeated the feat in 2011.
- Kanaeva's 17 World titles and 13 European titles are records for the sport.
- She received the International Fair Play Award in 2013, and the Merit for the Fatherland IV Degree in 2012.
- At the 2012 Olympics, she became the oldest gymnast to win the Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics.
More Russian Sportswoman: Gymnast profiles
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