Olga Karasyova

Olga Karasyova (née Kharlova)
— Gymnast —
Karasyova in 1970
Personal information
Full name	Olga Dmitryievna Karasyova-Kharlova
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1949-07-24) 24 July 1949 Bishkek, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Weight	121 lb (55 kg)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Club	CSKA Moscow
Head coach(es)	Igor Zhuravlev
Assistant coach(es)	Sofia Muratova
Retired	1972

Olympic medal record
Women's gymnastics
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
	1968 Mexico City	Team
World Championships
	1970 Ljubljana	Team
	1970 Ljubljana	Floor
	1966 Dortmund	Team
European Championships
	1969 Landskrona	Floor
	1969 Landskrona	All-Around
	1969 Landskrona	Uneven Bars
	1969 Landskrona	Beam
	1969 Landskrona	Vault

Olga Karasyova, (born 24 July 1949) is a former Soviet gymnast who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.^[1]

In 1994, Karasyova told German television she and her former team mates were forced to become pregnant shortly before the 1968 Olympics. This was due to the supposed physical benefits of pregnancy. Girls that did not have a boyfriend or husband were forced to have sex with their coach, and refusal would mean removal from the team. It was reported that after ten weeks, the girls were forced to have an abortion. While rumours of such practices with Soviet, Scandinavian and East-German girls had been around since the 1950s, no credible evidence was ever given until Karasyova's disclosure.^[2][3]

Olga was coached by Igor Zhuravlev at CSKA Moscow. She was married to fellow gymnast Valery Karasyov, and studied French at the Pedagogical Institute.

References

Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Team All-Around
1928 Netherlands 1936 Germany 1948 Czechoslovakia 1952 Soviet Union 1956 Soviet Union 1960 Soviet Union 1964 Soviet Union 1968 Soviet Union 1972 Soviet Union 1976 Soviet Union 1980 Soviet Union 1984 Romania 1988 Soviet Union 1992 Unified Team 1996 United States 2000 Romania 2004 Romania 2008 China 2012 United States 2016 United States
1968:  Soviet Union (URS), Ludmilla Tourischeva, Zinaida Voronina, Larisa Petrik, Lyubov Burda, Olga Karasyova, Natalia Kuchinskaya

World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition
1934:  Czechoslovakia 1938:  Czechoslovakia 1950:  Sweden 1954:  Soviet Union 1958:  Soviet Union 1962:  Soviet Union 1966:  Czechoslovakia 1970:  Soviet Union 1974:  Soviet Union 1978:  Soviet Union 1979:  Romania 1981:  Soviet Union 1983:  Soviet Union 1985:  Soviet Union 1987:  Romania 1989:  Soviet Union 1991:  Soviet Union 1994:  Romania 1995:  Romania 1997:  Romania 1999:  Romania 2001:  Romania 2003:  United States 2006:  China 2007:  United States 2010:  Russia 2011:  United States 2014:  United States 2015:  United States
1970:  Soviet Union (URS), Lyubov Burda, Olga Karasyova, Tamara Lazakovich, Larisa Petrik, Ludmilla Tourischeva, Zinaida Voronina