Raskina, Yulia

Sport:
rhythmic gymnastics

Country Represented:
Belarus

Years Competed:
2000

Medals Received:
silver

Olympic Info:
A member of the Belarus rhymthic gymnastics (combination of dance, gymnastic movements and apparatus handling) team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 5'3", 88-pound Raskina won the silver medal in the individual all-around competition; she scored a total of 39.548 points (9.908 in the rope, 9.791 in the hoop, 9.933 in the ball, and 9.916 in the ribbon).

Career Highlights:
Light-hearted away from the sports, Yulia is serious in the gym and a very hard worker. She trains for four hours every day, with two of these hours devoted to ballet training. Raskina's mother competed internationally in rhythmic gymnastics for the Soviet Union, and Yulia followed in her footsteps. Yulia is also a member of of Maccabi Minsk, and has been a scholarship holder with the International Olympic Committee since September 1998.

Raskina made her international debut at the 1997 World Championships and finished 5th overall. She competed after her teammate Tatiana Ogrizko (who was Belarus's top competitor) withdrew due to a knee injury. Yulia quickly vaulted into the top spot on the Belarus team, and soon began to threaten the supremacy of the world's No. 1 rhythmic gymnast, Russia's Alina Kabayeva. Despite their tough competition, though, the two are close friends. Raskina said: "Alina is one of my best friends. We phone each other and after the World Championships, I visit her place and she sometimes visits mine." In 1999, Yulia finished in second place at the European Championships in the individual all-around event. She had finished in fifth place at the 1998 European Championships.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. April 9, 1982

Origin:
Minsk, Belarus

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