My Story: The Autobiography of Olga Korbut

No one who watched the diminutive and dazzling vision of Olga Korbut at the 1972 Munich Olympics could have imagined the obstacles of pain and politics she hurdled to get there. Born poor but extremely headstrong in Grodno, Belarus, her energies and gymnastic gifts were cultivated - sometimes brutally - by the visionary coach Ronald Knysh who never curried 'official' favour. Olga was deemed by national sport authorities to be radically out of step with 'the glorious traditions of Soviet gymnastics'. Yet international audiences were electrified and in the end even Party machinations and corrupt judges had to bow to this extraordinarily original 85-pound force who, with her triumphant smile, turned the sport on its head.

With typically disarming zest and forthright candour, Olga describes what the world looked like through those young eyes: the baffling enthusiasm she met on American tours, the resentment of fellow athletes, her grudging acceptance at home despite a ban of her appearance on Soviet television. Though she married a popular rock star, this celebrated couple earned little they were allowed to keep, and all that they did have was stolen the night after their wedding, including most of Olga's trophies.

Yet this is the story of a fighter - whether competing, coaching or just surviving. After Chernobyl contaminated her beloved Belarus, Olga finally gained permission to return to the U.S. where she has established an ambitious and thriving medical foundation to help the many thousands of children gravely affected by the Chernobyl fallout.

Now living in the States with her husband and twelve year-old son, she is also actively involved in an outstanding training programme for international gymnasts.

Opinionated, fiery and irrepressible, Olga Korbut tells her story with the gusto - and also with the grace - for which she is rightly famous.