| Name | Dipa Akhmetova |
| Sport | Gymnastics |
| Known for | Innovative and difficult vault skills |
| Nationality | |
| Achievements | Multiple Olympic and World Championship medals • Gold medal on the vault event |
| Years active | 2010s |
| Post-retirement | Coach • Advocate • Inspiring new generation of Kazakhstani gymnasts |
Dipa Akhmetova is a retired Kazakhstani artistic gymnast who competed internationally during the 2010s. She is considered one of the greatest gymnasts in Kazakhstani history, known for her innovative and technically difficult skills, particularly on the vault event.
Dipa Akhmetova was born in 1998 in Almaty, Kazakhstan to a family of former Soviet national gymnastics team members. She began training in gymnastics at a young age and quickly demonstrated exceptional talent and potential.
Akhmetova first came to prominence as a junior gymnast, winning gold medals on vault and floor exercise at the 2014 Asian Games. This performance earned her a spot on the senior Kazakhstani national team, and she made her senior international debut later that year at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Over the next several years, Akhmetova established herself as one of the top gymnasts in the world. She won a silver medal on vault at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, narrowly missing out on the gold. This would be the first of many major international medals for Akhmetova.
At the 2017 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Akhmetova made history by becoming the first Kazakhstani gymnast to win a world title, taking gold on the vault. She defended this title successfully in 2018 and 2019, cementing her status as the dominant vaulter in the sport.
Akhmetova's signature skill was the "Akhmetova Double," an extremely difficult and risky vaulting maneuver that involved a blind landing. She was the first gymnast to successfully perform this skill in competition, and it has since been adopted by many other top vaulters worldwide.
After winning a gold medal on vault at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Akhmetova announced her retirement from elite gymnastics in 2021 at the age of 23. She remains heavily involved in the sport, however, serving as a coach for the Kazakhstani national team and advocating for greater funding and recognition of women's gymnastics in her home country.
Akhmetova is regarded as a national hero in Kazakhstan, inspiring a surge of interest and participation in the sport, especially among young girls. She has been celebrated with numerous awards and honors, including being named a Hero of Kazakhstan in 2018. Her accomplishments are credited with raising the profile of gymnastics in a country traditionally dominated by other sports like boxing and wrestling.
While never achieving the global superstardom of Simone Biles or Nadia Comăneci, Dipa Akhmetova is nonetheless considered one of the most influential and groundbreaking gymnasts of her era. Her innovative vaulting skills and historic achievements for Kazakhstan have cemented her legacy as a trailblazer in the sport.
