08-17-2018, 12:39 PM
Yelena Shushnikova, Soviet/Russian gymnast
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova (Russian: Елена Львовна Шушунова; name sometimes rendered Elena Shushunova; 23 April 1969 – 16 August 2018) was a World, European, and Olympic championship winning Russian gymnast.[1][2][3] Shushunova is one of five women (Larisa Latynina, Věra Čáslavská, Ludmilla Tourischeva and Lilia Podkopayeva are the other four) who have won the grand slam of All-Around titles: Olympics, World Championships, European/Continental Championships.[4] Shushunova was renowned for pioneering complex skills as well as for her explosive and dynamic tumbling and high consistency.[5]
Shushunova was named as a member of the Soviet national gymnastics team in 1984, but was unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics as the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics.[7] Instead, she competed at the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, where she finished third all around and helped the USSR to a gold in the team event.[4]
The following year Shushunova made her breakthrough by winning the all-around title at the European Championships.[7] She also won three gold medals in the event finals on vault, floor exercise, and uneven bars (which she shared with East German Olympian Maxi Gnauck). At the World Championships she won five medals including the all-around title, which she shared with compatriot Oksana Omelianchik. She took first on vault, third on beam, and second on floor. In her floor exercise she tumbled a double layout, and side Arabian 1 and 3/4 salto, both rare skills for women at that time; in fact, women are no longer allowed to compete saltos which end in a roll. Here she displayed her signature skill, a straddle jump to prone support, a rare and innovative move for the 1980s.[7]
Shushunova's dominance in women's gymnastics continued at the 1986 World Cup in Beijing. There she won the all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise titles. In this competition she displayed an increased level of difficulty on two apparatus, showing a Rulfova flic (full twisting Korbut flic) on balance beam and a tucked full in double salto dismount on the uneven bars.[4] At the 1986 Goodwill Games she led the Soviet team to a gold medal, but then fell twice in the all-around finals to finish second to teammate Vera Kolesnikova. She rallied in the event finals to take, once again, the vault, bars, and floor golds and the beam silver.[8]
In 1987, Shushunova lost the European title to Romanian Daniela Silivaș due to a fall on a double layout dismount from the uneven bars.[9] At the European Championships she earned a bronze in the all-around and a gold on vault.[4] She continued to show increased difficulty on all apparatus by competing a double layout dismount on the uneven bars, a layout Thomas salto on floor, and a full in dismount on beam. Later that year her team lost the World Championships team title, placing second to the Romanian team. Shushunova also lost the world title to Romanian Aurelia Dobre, finishing in second place.[7] In the event finals she retained her vault title with her textbook Yurchenko full and Yurchenko 1.5, beating Romanian Eugenia Golea. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars.[7]
In 1988, Shushunova competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. She scored three perfect scores of 10 in optional events and won the individual all-around and team event titles. She also won silver on balance beam and bronze on uneven bars.[5][7]
Shushunova retired from competition two months after the 1988 Olympics and later returned to her home city of Saint Petersburg, where she worked for the city's sports committee.[6] She helped to organise the gymnastics events of the 1994 Goodwill Games and 1998 European Championships, both of which were held in Saint Petersburg.[4]
In 2004, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[10] In the following year she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
More at Wikipedia.
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova (Russian: Елена Львовна Шушунова; name sometimes rendered Elena Shushunova; 23 April 1969 – 16 August 2018) was a World, European, and Olympic championship winning Russian gymnast.[1][2][3] Shushunova is one of five women (Larisa Latynina, Věra Čáslavská, Ludmilla Tourischeva and Lilia Podkopayeva are the other four) who have won the grand slam of All-Around titles: Olympics, World Championships, European/Continental Championships.[4] Shushunova was renowned for pioneering complex skills as well as for her explosive and dynamic tumbling and high consistency.[5]
Shushunova was named as a member of the Soviet national gymnastics team in 1984, but was unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics as the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics.[7] Instead, she competed at the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, where she finished third all around and helped the USSR to a gold in the team event.[4]
The following year Shushunova made her breakthrough by winning the all-around title at the European Championships.[7] She also won three gold medals in the event finals on vault, floor exercise, and uneven bars (which she shared with East German Olympian Maxi Gnauck). At the World Championships she won five medals including the all-around title, which she shared with compatriot Oksana Omelianchik. She took first on vault, third on beam, and second on floor. In her floor exercise she tumbled a double layout, and side Arabian 1 and 3/4 salto, both rare skills for women at that time; in fact, women are no longer allowed to compete saltos which end in a roll. Here she displayed her signature skill, a straddle jump to prone support, a rare and innovative move for the 1980s.[7]
Shushunova's dominance in women's gymnastics continued at the 1986 World Cup in Beijing. There she won the all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise titles. In this competition she displayed an increased level of difficulty on two apparatus, showing a Rulfova flic (full twisting Korbut flic) on balance beam and a tucked full in double salto dismount on the uneven bars.[4] At the 1986 Goodwill Games she led the Soviet team to a gold medal, but then fell twice in the all-around finals to finish second to teammate Vera Kolesnikova. She rallied in the event finals to take, once again, the vault, bars, and floor golds and the beam silver.[8]
In 1987, Shushunova lost the European title to Romanian Daniela Silivaș due to a fall on a double layout dismount from the uneven bars.[9] At the European Championships she earned a bronze in the all-around and a gold on vault.[4] She continued to show increased difficulty on all apparatus by competing a double layout dismount on the uneven bars, a layout Thomas salto on floor, and a full in dismount on beam. Later that year her team lost the World Championships team title, placing second to the Romanian team. Shushunova also lost the world title to Romanian Aurelia Dobre, finishing in second place.[7] In the event finals she retained her vault title with her textbook Yurchenko full and Yurchenko 1.5, beating Romanian Eugenia Golea. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars.[7]
In 1988, Shushunova competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. She scored three perfect scores of 10 in optional events and won the individual all-around and team event titles. She also won silver on balance beam and bronze on uneven bars.[5][7]
Shushunova retired from competition two months after the 1988 Olympics and later returned to her home city of Saint Petersburg, where she worked for the city's sports committee.[6] She helped to organise the gymnastics events of the 1994 Goodwill Games and 1998 European Championships, both of which were held in Saint Petersburg.[4]
In 2004, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[10] In the following year she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
More at Wikipedia.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.