Astakhova became interested in
artistic gymnastics at age 13, after she had watched the gymnastics championships in
Donetsk, where their family moved a short time before. She trained in the local gymnastics sports club Shakhtyor under Vladimir Alieksandrovitch Smirnov. Astakhova earned a nickname
The Russian Birch in
Western countries for her exceptional grace, and at the 1960 Olympics she was even called
Madonna by the Italian journalists. Between 1956 and 1966 Astakhova was on top of many international and national competitions especially on the
uneven bars apparatus event. She was a member of the USSR team between 1955 and 1968. In 1954 Astakhova competed in the USSR Championships for the first time and in a year she made the USSR National team at the
1956 Summer Olympics. She was the youngest team member and contributed to the team's gold. At the
1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she led in the all-around, but lost a whole point for a fall on
beam, which was the seventh routine of eight contested. She was very disappointed by the accident and even did not compete that year, although in Rome she won the gold in the team competition and on the bars, silver on the
floor and bronze in the all-around. She recovered after the 1961 European Championships, where she won gold medals on the bars and on beam. Competing in the
1964 Summer Olympics, Astakhova contributed to the team's gold, won on the bars, was second on the floor and third in the all-around. She became the first gymnast to defend her Olympic gold medal in the uneven bars event. Her feat was only matched in
2000 by
Svetlana Khorkina and later in
2016 by
Aliya Mustafina. After retiring from competitions, since 1972 Astakhova worked as a national coach in Ukraine. In 2002, she was inducted into the
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Astakhova spent the last years of her life in
Kyiv before her death at age 68 from pneumonia. ==Non-Olympic achievements==