Polina Astakhova won team gold medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games, a feat that she shares with Larysa Latynina, making them the only gymnasts to be members of three gold-medal winning teams. Astakhova also won gold on the uneven parallel bars and placed third in the individual all-around in both 1960 and 1964. She added silver medals in both 1960 and 1964 in the floor exercises, and her final Olympic tally included 10 medals, five gold, three silver, and two bronze. At the world championships she was less successful, but was a member of the Soviet Union team that won the team title in both 1958 and 1962.