Gymnastics in ten characters...

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Gymnastics

IN 10 CHARACTERS OR LESS...

A whole discipline through a fistful of characters.

1956 – Larisa Latynina?

At one point the most decorated Olympian in history – until a certain Michael Phelps broke her record in 2012 – Latynina was a part of the mid-century Soviet domination of gymnastics. She won a total of 18 medals herself: nine gold, five silver and four bronze. Continuing her legacy as coach, patriotically leading the Soviet team to gold in 68, 72 and 76. She later organised the whole thing in Moscow 1980.?

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1960 – Boris Shakhlin?

Although unusually large for a gymnast at five-foot-seven and weighing 11 stone, Shakhlin’s piercing presence on the high bar was emphasised further by his prominent cheekbones. With a haunted and slightly sinister air, the Man of Iron carried?the Soviet banner to 13 medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games – seven of those being gold.?

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1976 – Nadia Comaneci

Making history at just 14-years-old, ‘Nana’ achieved the first perfect 10 for her performance on the uneven bars in 1976. The Olympic committee had led the scoreboard manufacturers to believe that such a score was impossible and as a result, the display – only showing three digits – read 1.00. The Romanian has two uneven bars skills listed in the Code of Points – the Com?neci Salto and the Com?neci Dismount – for her efforts. Alongside five Olympic gold medals, three films and one BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award.?

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1980 – Elena Mukhina?

Elena was widely touted as gymnastics’ next superstar after performing the never-seen-before twisting double tuck. But would become famous for all the wrong reasons in 1980. After breaking her leg in 1979, the Russian was forced into training just two weeks before the Moscow Olympiad. Practising the now banned Thomas Salto, the 20-year-old tragically fell, resulting in permanent paralysis until her untimely death in 2006. She was 46.?

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1988 – Daniela Siliva??

Daniela Siliva? was one of the greatest performers to have never won an all-around title at the Olympics or World Championships. Her overall haul of three golds, two silvers and a bronze in Seoul 1988 made her the first to medal in every event at a major competition – that’s team, all-round, vault, bars, beam and floor. Only Simone Biles has accomplished such a feat in the near four decades since.??

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1992 – Vitaly Scherbo?

A giant of the 90s, Scherbo won medals across the board for his performances in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. Winning six of eight gymnastic events in 92,?August 2 saw Scherbo win on the parallel bars, the vault, the rings and tie for first place on the pommel horse – him becoming the first person in Olympic history to win four gold medals in one day.

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2000 – Svetlana Khorkina?

As an unusually tall competitor, ‘The Diva’ never attempted to fit in, her make-up and costumes being her hallmark. Size hindered her from completing your bog-standard routines but at five-foot-five her unique style on the bars kept her above the parapet for close to a decade. Making a name for herself as ‘Queen of the Bars’, she won the last of her 20 World titles in 2003 to add to her collection of seven Olympic medals.

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2012 – Kōhei Uchimura

When the pop-culture icon revealed his precompetition fuel of choice was chocolate cookie bar Black Thunder, the sales of the snack tripled. Uchimura, whose name means ‘Peaceful light’ in Japanese became the second man to defend an Olympic title after compatriot Sawao Katō in 1972. Unfortunately for him that meant racking up a ￡3,700 Pokémon Go induced phone bill in the process. King Kōhei retired in 2022 with seven Olympic and 21 World Championship medals to his name. His dominance existing as a thing of beauty.?

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2016 – Aly Raisman and the Final Five

Producing a series of stirring, mistake free performances, the five-person squad – Aly Raisman,?Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian – would raise expectations to a new stratosphere in the US after claiming team gold in Rio 2016. Biles was unbeatable. So were captain Aly Raisman on vault, Madison Kocian on bars, and Laurie Hernandez on the balance beam. The ‘Final Five’ won every round in the team event, two individual golds, three silver medals and one bronze in Rio. Making them the most successful US team since themselves – then nicknamed the Fierce Five – in London 2012.?

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2020 – Max Whitlock?

One of the most dominant pommel horse gymnasts of all time,?a six-time Olympic medallist and a five-time World medallist, Maxi became (and remains) Great Britain’s first and only Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics. His medal collection, which also includes one gold from Tokyo 2020, two bronze medals at the 2012 London Olympics and one Bronze in Rio looks likely to grow in Paris next summer.

International Olympic Committee – IOC British Gymnastics #gymnastics #sport #olympics #paris2024