Who is Aliya Mustafina? Everything We Know About Her

Back in the 1980s, Russian gymnasts dominated the gymnastics scene in the World. The former Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina is still considered one of the most successful gymnasts of all time.

The story of Aliya Mustafina seems like that of a reborn flower. Mustafina has beat the record of Svetlana Khorkina, the record that had been there since 1996.

Also, Russia had a 12-year drought of Olympic gold. The last time Russia brought home gold was when Khorkina had won in 2000.

Aliya brought home not only the Olympic gold that Russians were patiently waiting for but four Olympic medals, becoming the most decorated Olympian in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The seven Olympic medal winner Aliya Mustafina and her achievements in her short-lived career show how dominant this Russian lady was in the gymnastic world.

With 12 World Championships, 7 Olympic Medals, 12 European Championships, Aliya Mustafina has earned the reputation as one of the best gymnasts not only in Russia but in the entire world.

So, today, let’s dive into the life of Aliya Mustafina and uncover how she became one of the best gymnasts in the world.

Quick Facts

Aliya Mustafina | Early Life

Aliya Mustafina, aka Queen, was born on 30 September 1994 in the small town of Yegoryevsk in Moscow, Russia. She was born the first child to Farhat Mustafina (Father) and Yelena Mustafina (Mother).

Likewise, the gymnast had the athlete gene as his father was an Olympian. He has a bronze medal from the Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1976 Summer Olympics. 

However, her mother is a physics teacher. Aliya also has a sister, namely Nailya, a former member of Russia’s junior national gymnastic team.

Aliya Mustafina | Gymnast Career

Mustafina started doing gymnasts when she was just six years old. However, she had a breakthrough after participating and winning the International Gymnix in Montreal in 2007.

The same year, she placed second at Stella Zakharova Cup in Kyiv and Japan Junior International in Yokohama. 

In 2009, the Russian-born competed at senior division in Russian National Championships and won the all-around event. Apart from this, she was placed second on uneven bars, first on the balance beam, and third on the floor.

Mustafina started her senior-level Gymnast career in 2010, but she failed to make it to the Russian National Championships that year due to her injury.

But, that year brought Mustafina the fame and attention she deserved, and she started going international competing in various gymnast tournaments.

World Championships

Aliya Mustafina, in her gymnast career, has won a total of 12 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

The young gymnast made a historic debut at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship as she was the top qualifier to all rounds finale.

She became the first female gymnast to achieve the record after Svetlana Khorkina in 1996.

In the competition, the Russian-born won five out of six medals. She won two golds: team and all-around and three silver: Vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.

Furthermore, ‘Queen’ won another gold in the 2013 World Championship for Balance Beam. She also won two bronze medals the same year.

However, the following season was the bronze season for Aliya as she won three bronze medals for team, balance beam, and floor exercise.

In 2018, Aliya won a silver medal for the team in the 2018 Doha World Championships, which was her last world championships appearance as she didn’t participate from the following year.

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2012 London Olympics & Four Medals 

Mustafina had a knee injury that questioned her participation in the 2012 London Olympics.

However, Aliya participated in the Olympics and brought four medals to Russia: one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Aliya was the most decorated Russian athlete in the Olympics as she had colorful medals on her neck that were glowing differently.

The Olympian won her bronze medals for All-around and floor exercise.

For the all-around, she fell off the balance beam, which ended her possibility of winning. However, to many’s surprises, she scored the same score as Aly Raisman and ranked third.

It was a tie, but there was only one Olympic bronze medal. So, both of the gymnast’s lowest apparatus scores were dropped to figure out the third winner.

Mustafina would have been ahead if it hadn’t been for that beam disaster. So, she was announced as the third winner and took home the Olympic Bronze.

For another bronze medal, the story was the same. The 5’4″ gymnast got tied with Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari but won the Bronze medal as her score was 0.3 higher than Vanessa’s. 

For the team final, Mustafina had a huge contribution with a score of 60.266. With excellent teamwork and coordination, the Russian team made it to second. Thus, winning the silver Olympic Medal.

Finally, Mustafina won the Olympic gold at the uneven bars. She held a record high in the finale with an execution score of 9.133 out of 10 points and a difficulty score of 7 points.

The Russian Gymnast was the only gymnast to break 16 points in the Olympic finale. With the record, Queen won the Olympic Gold for Russia, ending their 12-year Olympic gold drought.

2016 Rio Olympics

After impressive achievements in the 2012 Olympics, Mustafina undoubtedly represented Russia in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

This time too, Aliya brought home one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.

Mustafina won the bronze in all round. She scored 58.66, falling two steps behind USA Simon Biles and Aly Raisman.

She set a record as the only ninth gymnast in the Olympic history to win a medal all-around twice in a row.

Repeating the 2012 Olympic achievement, the Russian team ranked second and won the silver medal behind the USA in the team finale.

In addition, Mustafina defended her 2012 title by winning gold in individual uneven bars. She won two Olympic golds for the same event and thus, made history as the first female gymnast after Svetlana Khorkina.

Retirement

Aliya Mustafina retired as a gymnast on June 8, 2021. The Russian-born had been out of the competition lately due to her injuries.

But, Aliya wanted to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before retiring, but her dream of competing in the final Olympics remained unfulfilled due to the Covid pandemic.

The Covid pandemic postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and there was no certainty on when the Olympics would be held. Aliya retired a month before Olympic 2021 was held.

However, Aliya has not much regret as she retired as Gymnast at the age of 26 with two Olympic golds and 12 World Championships.

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Aliya Mustafina | Coaching Career

Aliya Mustafina retired early despite her peaking career due to her series of injuries that kept her from the competition.

The two-time Olympic Gymnast might have retired as an athlete, but her love for gymnasts has made her be a part of the Gymnast as a coach.

Aliya was appointed as the acting head coach for Junior National Team.

She is currently working as the acting head coach as she doesn’t have enough working experience as a coach to be directly appointed as head coach. 

Aliya Mustafina | Personal Life

Aliya Mustafina got married to Alexey Zaitsev on November 3rd, 2016. The couple had met at a hospital and started dating in autumn of 2015.

The couple also has a daughter, namely Alice. Aliya had taken a season break from the gymnast career to take care of her daughter.

However, the two didn’t have a happy ending as they decided to get divorced after 1.5 years of marriage. Currently, Aliya is raising her daughter as a single mom.

When asked the reason behind the divorce, Aliya said that there was no particular reason but that she had chosen the wrong person.

Queen also pleaded with her fans not to ask questions about her divorce, saying she didn’t want to talk about it.

Aliya also added saying that she is still thankful for her ex-husband for the beautiful gift Alice.

Not to mention, the gymnast says she loves Alice so much, and the mother and daughter are happy with their own company.

Aliya Mustafina | Net Worth

The estimated net worth of Aliya Mustafina is estimated to be around $1 million. Her net worth comes from her career as a gymnast.

Aliya has won several international and national gymnast tournaments. She has won several medals at the Olympics, which adds a lot of value to her net worth.

Russia pays $61,000 for every gold medal, $38,000 for every silver medal, and $26,000 for every bronze model.

Let’s make a rough calculation on how much Aliya Mustafina made from her Olympics.

So, Aliya won one gold medal, one silver, and two bronze medals in the 2012 Olympics. This means that she earned around $151,000 from the 2012 Olympics only.

She also won one gold medal, one silver, and one bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics, which adds up to $125,000.

Apart from this, She earns handsome money from endorsements and sponsorships as well.

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Aliya Mustafina | Social Media

Aliya Mustafina is active in her social media, particularly Instagram. She uses Instagram to share her professional as well as personal life.

She frequently posts there pictures of her daughter, vacations, and her life as a gymnast coach.

You can follow her on Instagram to know more. 

Instagram : 194K Followers

FAQs

Will Aliya Mustafina compete in 2021?

No, Aliya Mustafina won’t compete in 2021 as she has officially retired as a gymnast. She last competed in early 2019 and was out of the 2019 world championships.

Mustafina wanted to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before retiring, but she quit before the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.

Was Aliya Mustafina pregnant at the Olympics?

No, Aliya Mustafina wasn’t pregnant during the Olympics. The gymnast competed in the 2016 Olympics that was held in August of 2016.

However, She revealed that she was pregnant in January of 2017. She gave birth in June 2017.

Does Aliya Mustafina speak English?

Aliya Mustafina knows only a few English words. She speaks Russian most of the time and is not fluent in English.