[1] She trained with Vladimir Reyson and later national team coach Larisa Latynina, who was said to consider Kuchinskaya one of her favourite gymnasts.

At the 1966 World Championships, after winning her second Nationals title, the USSR Cup and the World Trials, she established herself as one of the stars of the Soviet team, winning gold medals in three of the four event finals (balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise), a bronze on vault, and silvers in the all-around and team events.

She placed third in the all-around, behind Věra Čáslavská and her teammate Zinaida Voronina; she also shared the team gold medal and won the balance beam title and a bronze on the floor exercise.

At the time, her sudden departure from gymnastics was attributed to a thyroid illness;[4] in an interview in the late 1990s, Kuchinskaya also revealed that she had lost her motivation for the sport.

She has been married since 1980 to optician Alexander Kotliar and currently lives and coaches in the USA, running her own gymnastics club in Illinois.