Karra Gentry
Assistant Sports Communications Director
Contact for Gymnastics and Equestrian
Oleksii Koltakov and Marissa King have been named assistant coaches for Georgia gymnastics, co-head coaches Ryan Roberts and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi announced Friday.
“When we started this search, we knew the qualities we were looking for in assistant coaches,” Roberts said. “We knew we wanted the absolute best for the team. We also knew we wanted to get the team’s input on what kind of characteristics they were looking for in their future coaches. They mentioned wanting coaches that make them feel valued, heard, and that will help them find joy in the process. They wanted a good vault technician and ‘pump up person’. We found all the qualities the team asked for and more in Marissa King and Oleksii Koltakov. Marissa and Oleksii are the perfect coaches to round out this staff. They are great people, excellent technicians, and passionate about helping their athletes be the best they can be in all spheres of life.”
Koltakov has spent the last two seasons as assistant coach at Nebraska, and previously worked with Roberts at Alabama. He helped the Huskers to two postseason berths and the 10th-best floor score in school history, tallying a 49.500 on the event, in 2023. He was also named the WCGA Co-Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023. At Alabama he helped lead the Crimson Tide to the 2021 SEC Championship title and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In 2022, Koltakov coached Alabama to a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships and the NCAA Finals.
“I worked with Oleksii when I coached at the University of Alabama, the year we won SECs, and we worked very well together,” Roberts added. “He’s a brilliant technician. When we departed Alabama, I had a feeling that wasn’t the last time we would work together but I didn’t know it would be in such an amazing context as this.”
King, a 2008 Olympian for Great Britain in Beijing, has also spent the last two seasons at Nebraska, first as a volunteer assistant coach and then was promoted to assistant coach for the 2024 season. One of the most decorated collegiate gymnasts, King competed for the University of Florida (2010-13). She was the national champion on vault in 2011 and finished her career as an 11-time All-American. King led the Gators to three SEC Championships (2010, 2012, 2013) and the program's first NCAA Championship in 2013. She also earned All-SEC honors in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
“Marissa is super passionate about what she does,” Roberts continued. “Her enthusiasm is contagious, and even rubs off on me. We’ll lean on her this season for choreography and getting the team ready for beam and floor. She’s the pump up person the team wanted.”
“The future is bright for the University of Georgia GymDogs,” Roberts said. “With this staff and current team of amazing athletes, I am very confident that we have the building blocks for some tremendous growth in the coming years. I am grateful to Marissa and Oleksii for joining Cecile and I on this journey.”
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