Yekaterina Aleksandrovna Gamova (Russian: Екатерина Александровна Гамова; born 17 October 1980) is a retired Russian volleyball player. She was a member of the Russian national team that won the gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championships, and the silver medal in both the Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Due to her stature and dominance at the net, she has been hailed as the "Queen of Volleyball". She is 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) tall with EU size 49 feet, making her one of the tallest female athletes in the world. She is also the second highest paid female player in professional volleyball history.[1][2] Her role was outside hitter/opposite.
Playing with Dynamo Moscow Gamova won silver medal at the 2008–09 CEV Indesit Champions League, and was awarded "Best scorer".[3]
For the 2009/2010 season, she joined the Turkish team Fenerbahçe Acıbadem,[4] and won the Turkish League Championship.[5] The team went on to the 2010 CEV Indesit Champions League Final Four and finished second place after being defeated by Volley Bergamo. She was awarded "Best scorer".[6]
She was a member of the Russia national team that won the 2010 World Championship and was named Most Valuable Player.[7]
After the defeat in the quarterfinals by Brazil in the 2012 Olympics she considered quitting the national team but still continued playing at club level. "I will take a break with the national team. I don't know if it will be a permanent leave, or if I will resume after a long pause."[8]
Gamova won with the Russian club Dinamo Kazan the 2013–14 CEV Champions League held in Baku, Azerbaijan, defeating the home owners Rabita Baku 3 - 0 in the semifinals[9] and the Turkish VakıfBank İstanbul 3 - 0 in the final.[10] She was awarded Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer.[10]
Gamova won gold medal in the 2014 FIVB Club World Championship when her team defeated the Brazilian club Molico Osasco 3 - 0 in the championship match. She was named Best Opposite Spiker and Most Valuable Player among the championship Best Team.[11]
In May 2016, Gamova announced on Match TV and her Facebook page her wish to retire from the sports due to an injury.[12] With that said, she won't be participating at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[13]
On 17 August 2012, Gamova married Russian cinematographer and producer Mikhail Mukasei, son of Svetlana Druzhinina and Anatoly Mukasei.[14]
Avtodor-Metar (1996 - 1998) Uralochka-NTMK 2 (1998 - 2000) Uralochka-NTMK (2000 - 2003) Dynamo Moscow (2003 - 2009)
Fenerbahçe Acıbadem (2009 - 2010) Dinamo Kazan (2010 - 2016)
Champion, with Uralochka-NTMK 2 Champion, with Uralochka-NTMK Champion, with Dynamo Moscow Champion, with Fenerbahçe Acıbadem Champion, with Dynamo Kazan Champion, with Dinamo Kazan Champion, with Dinamo Kazan
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Best Blocker of FIVB World Grand Prix 2000 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Best Scorer of FIVB World Grand Prix 2003 2006 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Best Server of FIVB World Championship 2006 |
Succeeded by |
