Anna Pavlova (gymnast)

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Olympic medal record
Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Bronze	2004 Athens	Team competition
Bronze	2004 Athens	Vault

Anna Anatol'ievna Pavlova (Анна Павлова) (born September 6, 1987 in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Moscow, Russia), is a Russian artistic gymnast training at MGFSO Dynamo in Moscow who was a double bronze medalist (team, vault) at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She is known for her clean technique and balletic style. She is trained by her mother Nataliya Evgenevna Pavlova.

Pavlova first emerged on the international gymnastics scene in 2000, winning a gold medal on the uneven bars at the Junior European Championships. Although she was too young to compete as a senior at the World Championships in 2001, she was allowed to participate in the Goodwill Games, where she earned a silver medal on the balance beam. In 2002, still too young to compete internationally as a senior, Anna won the Russian National Championships and picked up four medals, including team, vault and all-around gold, at the Junior European Championships.

Pavlova competed at the 2003 World Championships during her first year as a senior gymnast, where the Russian team finished sixth. Pavlova herself did not earn an individual medal; although she had qualified for the individual all-around and floor finals, mistakes prevented her from medaling.

In 2004 Pavlova competed in the European Championships team competition, where she fell from the uneven bars, causing her to not qualify to the all-around, which many had considered her a favorite to win. Later that year, Pavlova claimed the Russian national title and made the Russian Olympic team.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Greece, Pavlova turned what is considered to be her best performances to date. Her Russian team clawed their way back onto the medal podium, finishing third behind Romania and the United States. In the prestigious individual All-Around, Pavlova looked better than ever, performing stupendously on every event. However, she controversially missed the bronze medal by a fraction of a point to China's Zhang Nan.

Pavlova came back to win an individual bronze medal on the vault during the event finals. Throughout the Olympics, there was considerable controversy regarding both the all-around and event finals; some fans contended that Pavlova was scored too low and ought to have won silver on vault and bronze on beam. Pavlova's mistake in beam finals cost her the bronze there to Romania's Alexandra Eremia. In the All-Around, however, there was little question that Pavlova deserved to medal. She was underscored on both the beam and the floor. However, those who contend that she should have won the All-Around silver medal are in the minority, for her 9.7 Start Value on the bars largely prevented her from toppling Khorkina, despite a couple generous scores received by the latter.

Pavlova is one of the few Russian gymnasts from the 2004 Olympic Team who has opted to continue competing, winning silver all-around at the 2005 European Championships. She also competed in the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, but failed to medal in any event.