Mariya Kryuchkova took up gymnastics at the age of five and as a promising young gymnast, was selected to the Russian national junior team in 2000. Kryuchkova first competed internationally at the 2002 European Junior Championships, where she won gold in the team event and placed sixth on floor. In 2003, Kryuchkova won a team bronze at the WOGA Classic and then made a clean sweep at the Friendship Classic, winning golds in individual all-around and on all four apparatuses. In 2004, Kryuchkova was selected to the Russian Olympic team after winning the floor exercise and placing fifth in individual all-around at the Russian Cup, but the Olympics were not very successful for Kryuchkova, as she participated only in floor exercise and horse vault qualifications, finishing near the bottom on both apparatuses. Still, this was enough to help the Russian team to the team event final, where they eventually won a bronze medal, although Kryuchkova did not participate in the final. After the disappointing Athina Olympics, Kryuchkova continued to compete for a few more seasons, but with little success. Kryuchkova later worked as a gymnastics coach in her home town of Rostov-na-Donu, coaching the 2014 European balance beam champion Mariya Kharenkova among others, but Kryuchkova died very young due to an embolism in March 2015, at only 26-years-old.
Russian Federation