Her natural elegance, style and physical qualities were first spotted by Tamara Vartanova in the Lujniki Palace of the Pioners, Moscow.

In the beginning of the 1960s, Maria Lisitzian became national Soviet RSG coach and was responsible for the team representing her country at the 1st World Championships in 1963.

28 gymnasts from 10 nations took part in a competition called the First European Cup Tournament, in the Palace of Sports, Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday 7 December 1963.

They were from Belgium, Bulgaria, German Democratic Republic, Spain, Poland, USSR, Hungary, Finland and Czechoslovakia.

Savinkova also took part in her 2nd World Championships in 1965 in Prague but an unfortunate drop from her ball lost all her hopes of winning for the second time and kept her out of the medals.