Ninel Krutova

During her lengthy diving career, Ninel Krutova won 13 Soviet titles, four in the 3 metre springboard (1945, 1955, 1957, and 1959) and nine in the 10 metre platform (1945-1947, 1949, and 1959-1963). She represented the Soviet Union in its first foray into Olympic competition in 1952 in Helsinki, where she was fourth in the springboard and 14th in the platform. Four years later, in Melbourne, she was tenth in the springboard. It was not until the 1960 Rome Games that she finally secured an Olympic medal, bronze in the platform, while also placing fifth in the springboard. She had even more success at the European Championships, winning the springboard title in 1958 and coming in second in the platform, behind Germany’s Ingrid Kramer, in 1962. Following her retirement from active competition in 1964, she coached for Dynamo Moskva, as well as the national team.