{{Short description|Russian rhythmic gymnast}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox gymnast |name= Amina Zaripova |image=Amina Zaripova - 2018 Youth OG.jpg |imagesize= |caption= Zaripova at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. |fullname= |altname= |nickname= |country={{RUS}} |formercountry= |birth_date= {{birth date and age|1976|08|10|df=y}}<ref name=sr>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417215920/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/za/amina-zaripova-1.html Amina Zaripova]. sports-reference.com</ref> |birth_place= Chirchik, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union<ref name=sr/> |hometown= |residence= |death_date= |death_place= |height= 176 cm<ref name=sr/> |discipline=RG |natlteam= |club= |gym= Olympic Village |collegeteam= |headcoach=Irina Viner |assistcoach= |formercoach= |choreographer= |music= |eponymousskills= |retired= Yes |show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalCompetition|International gymnastics competitions}} {{MedalCount |World Championships|5|4|3 |European Championships|3|0|6 |Grand Prix Final|0|0|1 |Summer Universiade|1|2|1 |Goodwill Games|3|1|1 |'''Total'''|'''12'''|'''7'''|'''12''' }} {{MedalCountry | {{RUS}} }} {{MedalSport | Rhythmic Gymnastics}} {{MedalCompetition | World Championships}} {{MedalGold | 1995 Vienna|Ball}} {{MedalGold | 1995 Vienna|Clubs}} {{MedalGold | 1995 Vienna|Team}} {{MedalGold | 1996 Budapest|Clubs}} {{MedalGold | 1997 Berlin|Team}} {{MedalSilver| 1994 Paris|All-around}} {{MedalSilver| 1994 Paris|Ribbon}} {{MedalSilver| 1995 Vienna|Ribbon}} {{MedalSilver| 1996 Budapest|Ball}} {{MedalBronze| 1993 Alicante|All-around}} {{MedalBronze| 1993 Alicante|Team}} {{MedalBronze| 1994 Paris|Clubs}} {{MedalCompetition | European Championships}} {{MedalGold|1994 Thessaloniki|Ball}} {{MedalGold|1994 Thessaloniki|Clubs}} {{MedalGold|1996 Asker|Clubs}} {{MedalBronze|1992 Stuttgart|Team}} {{MedalBronze|1994 Thessaloniki|All-around}} {{MedalBronze|1994 Thessaloniki|Hoop}} {{MedalBronze|1994 Thessaloniki|Ribbon}} {{MedalBronze|1996 Asker|All-around}} {{MedalBronze|1998 Porto|Team}} {{MedalCompetition | Junior European Championships}} {{MedalGold | 1991 Lisbon | Team}} {{MedalBronze | 1991 Lisbon | All-around}} {{MedalBronze | 1991 Lisbon | Clubs}} {{MedalCompetition | European Cup Final}} {{MedalGold|1995 Telford|Ribbon}} {{MedalSilver|1995 Telford|Clubs}} {{MedalBronze|1993 Málaga|Hoop}} {{MedalBronze|1993 Málaga|Clubs}} {{MedalBronze|1995 Telford|Rope}} {{MedalCompetition | Grand Prix Final}} {{MedalBronze|1994 Vienna|All-around}} {{MedalCompetition | Summer Universiade}} {{MedalGold | 1997 Sicily | Clubs}} {{MedalSilver | 1997 Sicily | Rope}} {{MedalSilver | 1997 Sicily | Ribbon}} {{MedalBronze | 1997 Sicily | All-round}} {{MedalCompetition | Goodwill Games}} {{MedalGold|1994 St.Petersburg |All-round}} {{MedalGold|1994 St.Petersburg |Ball}} {{MedalGold|1994 St.Petersburg |Hoop}} {{MedalSilver|1994 St.Petersburg |Clubs}} {{MedalBronze|1994 St.Petersburg |Ribbon}} }}
'''Amina Vasilovna Zaripova''' ({{langx|ru|Амина Василовна Зарипова}}; {{langx|tt-Cyrl|Әминә Васил кызы Зарипова}}, born 10 August 1976) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast who now works as an elite coach. She is the 1994 World all-around silver medalist, 1993 World all-around bronze medalist and a two-time (1996, 1994) European all-around bronze medalist. She finished fourth at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.<ref name=sr/>
==Personal life== Amina Zaripova is of Tatar descent. She is married to Alexei Kortnev, lead singer of ''Neschastny Sluchai'', with whom she has two sons, Arseniy and Afanasiy, and two daughters, Aksiniya and Agafiya.<ref name=bio>[http://r-gymnastics.com/zaripova-amina-vasilovna Amina Zaripova Profile]. r-gymnastics.com</ref> She speaks Russian and English.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-03-02 |title=«Китайцы были в шоке»: бывшая тренер Мамун — о работе в новой стране, профессиональной свободе и скамейке запасных |trans-title="The Chinese were shocked": former coach Mamun on working in a new country, professional freedom and the bench |url=https://www.vestiplanety.ru/kitaicy-byli-v-shoke-byvshaia-trener-mamyn-o-rabote-v-novoi-strane-professionalnoi-svobode-i-skameike-zapasnyh/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Новости в мире |language=ru-RU}}</ref>
==Gymnastics career== Zaripova studied ballet until the age of ten, when she caught the eye of then-Uzbek head coach Irina Viner. When Viner relocated to Moscow to become the Russian head coach, Zaripova followed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Crumlish |first=John |date=March 1996 |title=Amina Zaripova: A Model of Rhythm |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/features/zaripova.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000311045514fw_/http://www.intlgymnast.com/features/zaripova.html |archive-date=2000-03-11 |website=International Gymnast}}</ref> Early in her career, she was called the second Zaripova, as she shares a last name with Viner's first international gymnast, Venera Zaripova.<ref name=bio/>
At the 1991 European Junior Championships, Zaripova won her first set of medals—gold for the team event and bronze in the all-around and clubs final.
After the death of Oxana Kostina, Zaripova became the leader of the Russian national team. Zaripova, along with Julia Rosliakova and Inessa Gizikova, won bronze in the team event at the 1993 World Championships. Individually, she also won bronze in the all-around. The following year, she placed second at Corbeil-Essonnes International and third at the 1994 European Championships. There she earned four medals in the apparatus finals, gold with ball and clubs and bronze with hoop and ribbon. She also won three titles at the 1994 Goodwill Games in the all-around and with hoop and ball, as well as a silver medal (clubs) and a bronze medal (ribbon).
At that year's World Championships, Zaripova placed second in the all-around.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Crumlish |first=John |date=March 1999 |title=Aging Gracefully |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/features/zaripova_2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000613162850fw_/http://www.intlgymnast.com/features/zaripova_2.html |archive-date=2000-06-13 |website=International Gymnast}}</ref> She also came in third with clubs and second with ribbon. She was the lead gymnast going into the final apparatus of the all-around, but a mistake in her final routine cost her the gold medal, which went to the reigning World champion, Maria Petrova.
In the following years, she was overshadowed by rising Russian stars Yanina Batyrchina and Natalia Lipkovskaya. At the 1995 World Championships, Batyrchina won the bronze medal, while Zaripova finished fourth.<ref name=":2" /> Zaripova finished 4th in the all-around at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, narrowly losing to both Ukrainian Olena Vitrychenko and her teammate Yanina Batyrchina, who controversially held on for silver after she made a mistake in her final routine. She finished less than a tenth of a point behind both the silver and bronze medalists.<ref name="sr" />
At the end of 1996, Zaripova underwent surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. She returned to competition in 1997, and her first major competition was the 1997 Summer Universiade, where she won bronze.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Southall |first=Susan |date=October 1997 |title=Miller takes Universiade title; Mink wins Maccabiah games |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/213998960/AFBFFACE0C52479CPQ/6 |access-date=2025-09-09 |magazine=International Gymnast |pages=32-33 |volume=39 |issue=10}}</ref> In October, she won gold in the team event at the 1997 World Championships, and she placed fourth in the all-around qualifications, though she did not enter the final due to the two-per-country rule.<ref name=":2" /> She was also part of the Russian team that won the bronze at the 1998 European Championships.
She retired in the fall of 1998 and returned to training four months later.<ref name=":2" /> Zaripova's final event was the Schmiden International in March 1999, where she won the all-around as well as a gold medal for her ball exercise and silver for hoop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=12. Schmiden International in Schmiden, Germany (6.-7. March 1999) |url=https://rsg.net/cgi-bin/show?events/1999/si_schmiden_99.html |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=rsg.net}}</ref> In an interview around this time, Zaripova mentioned that she thought that "When judges give marks, sometimes the marks aren't true" and the difficulty of competing against younger gymnasts.<ref name=":2" />
== Gymnastics technique == Zaripova was known for her extreme flexibility, which she called a "gift from God" rather than something she had trained to achieve.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />
== Coaching career == Zaripova was invited by the Greek Gymnastics Federation to coach their team. She helped prepare the team for the 1999 World Championships, but she ended up returning to Russia shortly afterwards. In addition to publishing her own rhythmic gymnastics magazine, she worked as a coach in Moscow.<ref name="bio" /> She gave up coaching for a time after the birth of her fourth child to spend more time with her children.<ref name=":1" /> She was the personal coach of Rita Mamun and helped her win gold in the all-around at the 2016 Summer Olympics; Mamun's training leading up to the Olympics, including her relationship with Zaripova, was profiled in the documentary ''Over the Limit.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meyers |first=Dvora |date=2018-07-11 |title=This Is What It Looks Like When A Coach Stops Pretending It's About Anything But Winning |url=https://deadspin.com/this-is-what-it-looks-like-when-a-coach-stops-pretendin-1827491803/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Deadspin |language=en}}</ref>
At the end of 2023, she was asked to coach in China. Zaripova accepted the offer and became the head of the national individual team, on the stipulation that she could take her athletes to compete abroad, as Chinese gymnasts rarely performed either within China or at international competitions.<ref name=":1" /> They offered her a four year contract, but she agreed to stay only for one year.<ref>{{cite web |title=📰Amina Zaripova on working in China: |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DVocDDPAhhW/ |website=Instagram |access-date=9 March 2026 |date=8 March 2026}}</ref>
In December 2025, it was announced that she would join the Fabriano Gymnastics club in Italy to coach, among others, World champion Sofia Raffaeli.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-12 |title=Ancona - FGI e Fabriano presentano l'Insieme Gold e Amina Zaripova, la nuova coach di Sofia Raffaeli |trans-title=Ancona - FGI and Fabriano present Insieme Gold and Amina Zaripova, Sofia Raffaeli's new coach |url=https://www.federginnastica.it/news/29152-ancona-fgi-e-fabriano-presentano.html |access-date=2025-12-12 |website=www.federginnastica.it}}</ref>
'''Notable trainees include:'''
*Margarita Mamun – 2016 Olympic champion, twice all-around World silver medalist and three-time Russian National all-around champion. *Daria Trubnikova – 2018 Youth Olympics Champion, 2018 European Junior clubs champion and 2019 Grand Prix Final all-around gold medalist. *Maria Sergeeva – 2018 Grand Prix Final all-around bronze medalist and 2016 European Junior hoop champion. *Yana Lukonina – 2010 World team gold medalist and 2010 Russian National all-around bronze medalist. *Wang Qi - 2025 Junior World silver medalist with ball, two-time Asian Junior all-around champion. *Wang Zihan *Sofia Raffaeli
==Detailed Olympic results== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Competition description ! Location ! Music <ref>{{cite web|title= Zaripova RG music list |url=http://www.rgforum.no/music/searchresults.php?gymnast_lastname=zaripova&gymnast_firstname=&nation=&apparatus=&tidsrom_fra=&music_title=&music_from=&music_composer=&lagtinn_etter_dato=01&lagtinn_etter_mnd=01&lagtinn_etter_aar=2004&programtype_individuell=on&status_godkjent=on |publisher= rgforum }}</ref> ! Apparatus ! Score-Final ! Score-Qualifying |- | rowspan="5" | 1996 | rowspan="5" | Olympics | rowspan="5" | Atlanta | | All-around | 39.265 | 38.748 |- | Kitri, Entrance, Coda music from Don Quixote by Leon Minkus | Ribbon | 9.832 | 9.750 |- | Theme from Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin | Rope | 9.783 | 9.716 |- | At the Circus / Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia music from Spartacus by Aram Khatchaturian | Ball | 9.866 | 9.699 |- | Ole Guapa by Malando | Clubs | 9.783 | 9.583 |- |}
==See also== * Nationality changes in gymnastics
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Sports links}} * {{Instagram|aminazaripova}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsRhythmicGymnasticsWomenBall}} {{NavigationWorldChampionsRhythmicGymnasticsWomenClubs}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaripova, Amina}} Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Tashkent Region Category:Russian rhythmic gymnasts Category:Russian gymnastics coaches Category:Olympic gymnasts for Russia Category:Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Uzbekistani people of Tatar descent Category:Tatar people in Russia Category:Tatar sportspeople Category:Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Category:Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Category:Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Category:Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for Russia Category:FISU World University Games silver medalists for Russia Category:FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Russia Category:Goodwill Games medalists in gymnastics Category:Russian people of Uzbekistani descent Category:Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Category:Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games