Svetlana Vasilievna Khorkina (Russian: Светлана Васильевна Хоркина, born January 19, 1979 in Belgorod, Russia) is a popular Russian gymnast and seven-time Olympic medalist. With an unprecedented nine gold, five silver, and two bronze medals in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she is the most successful individual female gymnast of all time. ^[1] Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Gymnastics has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. ... The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: Artistic gymnastics and Rhythmic gymnastics. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... At the 2000 Summer Olympics, 3 different gymnastics disciplines were contested: Artistic gymnastics, Rhythmic gymnastics, and Trampolining. ... The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: Artistic gymnastics and Rhythmic gymnastics. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... At the 2000 Summer Olympics, 3 different gymnastics disciplines were contested: Artistic gymnastics, Rhythmic gymnastics, and Trampolining. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... At the 2000 Summer Olympics, 3 different gymnastics disciplines were contested: Artistic gymnastics, Rhythmic gymnastics, and Trampolining. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics was divided into three sub-categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampolining. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics was divided into three sub-categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampolining. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Coat of arms of Belgorod Belgorod (Russian: ) is a city in Western Russia, situated on the Severny Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border, at 50°37′N 36°35′E. It is the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast. ... Logo The 33rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1997. ...

At 1.65 m (5'5"), she was unusually tall for her sport. Known for her long, elegant lines, she was discouraged from gymnastics because of her height, but with the help of her lifelong coach Boris Pilkin, she created new moves to accommodate her height and exploit her strengths. She has an unprecedented 8 moves named after her in the Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points, more than any other gymnast. Her best apparatus was the uneven bars, where she put her long legs and graceful lines to good use. She is the first gymnast to win three All-Around titles at the World Championships;^[2] at 24, Khorkina is also the oldest female World Champion.^{[citation needed]} The Code of Points is a document that regulates scoring of artistic gymnastics. ... The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is a artistic gymnastics apparatus. ...

1994-5

Khorkina won her first senior international medals at the 1994 World Championships in Brisbane: a silver medal on vault for a Yurchenko half-on, pike Curevo-off skill; and a silver on uneven bars (her routine included a Markelov release, which is now named for her).

She was even more successful at the European Championships later that year. Here, she tied for silver in the all-around with teammate Dina Kotchetkova and won bars outright. Khorkina also competed at the Goodwill Games and Team World Championships that year. Her first All-Around win came at the 1995 European Cup, where she also won medals on vault, uneven bars and in the floor exercise. She was expected to be a top contender for All-Around gold at the World Championships later that year. She omitted a triple twist in the floor exercise and scored low, but solid performances on beam and vault and a stellar routine on the unevens helped her to a silver medal behind gold medallist Lilia Podkopayeva. In the bars final, Khorkina took her first world gold, the first of many, and beat Mo Huilan into second place. Dina Kotchetkova is a Russian gymnast, born on July 27th 1977. ... Lilia Alexandrovna Podkopayeva (Russian: ; Ukrainian: ; alternative transliteration Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopaieva; born August 15, 1978 in Donetsk) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast who became the 1996 Olympic all-around champion. ... Chinese Gymnast Mo Huilan. ...

1996

Prior to the Olympics, Svetlana retained both her world and European titles on bars, and also helped the Russians to team silver at the European Championships in Birmingham, as well as taking bronze on vault. A fall from beam in the all-around, prevented her from medalling there, not the first time this would happen to Svetlana. Birmingham (pron. ...

Thanks to her recent successes, Khorkina was considered to be a top contender for the All-Around gold going into the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Russian team was looking stronger than it had since the break-up of the USSR. However, the competition proved to be a disappointment both for her and for the Russian team. Svetlana and the other more experienced members of the team, Rozalia Galiyeva and Dina Kotchetkova, performed strongly, but the younger athletes made several mistakes, seemingly overwhelmed by both the intense noise from the crowd and the strong performances from the US team. As the team trooped off, Svetlana was one of the only members not to be in tears. There was to be no consolation in the All-Around. Khorkina performed solidly on floor, beam and vault, but dropped out of contention for a medal when she fell from the uneven bars on a clear underswing half, a transition from the low to the high bar named for her; she finished in 15th place. However, she saved her Olympics by winning the gold on bars, much to her delight, and took the only gold for the Russian women's gymnastics team in Atlanta. The silver co-medallists were Bi Wenjing and Amy Chow. (Redirected from 1996 Olympic Games) Categories: 1996 Summer Olympics ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Rozalia Galieva is a Russian gymnast who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics. ... Dina Kotchetkova is a Russian gymnast, born on July 27th 1977. ... Amy Chow (周婉儀; pinyin: Zhōu Wǎnyí; born May 15, 1978 in San Jose, California) is an American gymnast. ...

1997-2000

Khorkina became the one to watch, with long lean lines and top acrobatic and execution skills. Her physicial glamor of blonde hair and blue eyes competed with her emotional ambitions and intensely patriotic but forthright personality.

Like her compatriot Aleksei Nemov, Khorkina's performances over the next four years were uneven. Khorkina might perform solidly or accede to the pressure that felled many other gymnasts. Scoring was a hot topic. In the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, changes in the Code of Points were expected to negatively affect Khorkina, but she clinched her first world all-around title after a stellar finish on the bars, earning her the highest score of the championship. She beat Olympic vault champion Simona Amanar into second place, a scenario that was also repeated in the 1998 European Championships. Aleksei Yurievich Nemov (Russian: Алексей Юрьевич Немов; born May 28, 1976) is a gymnast from Barashevo, Russia. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... Simona Amânar (born October 7, 1979 in Constanţa) is a Romanian gymnast. ...

In the two years after winning the world title, Khorkina tempered excellence with occasional inconsistency. Yet her skills were difficult and innovative in all events, especially on the uneven bars and balance beam. On the bars, she continued to dominate; she was soon nicknamed the Queen of the Bars.

Khorkina won the European All-Around title in 1998, but faltered during the All-Around in the Goodwill Games. She entered the 1999 World Championships as a favorite, but finished well out of the medals after a disaster on beam. The Russian team as a whole couldn't stick a gold medal performance and to make things worse, the Russian team lost the gold medal when Khorkina stepped off the beam in the final performance of the last rotation. She continued her winning streak on bars, however, winning her 4th consecutive world title.

2000 Olympic Games

Khorkina entered the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Sydney, Australia as the favorite for the All-Around title. Despite her disappointment in Tianjin, she had retained her European all-around title and had beaten most of the gymnasts who could rival her for the all-around title. After preliminaries in the Olympics, she held a large lead on the pack. She unveiled a very difficult vault that had never been seen before - not even in practice. She stuck the vault - a Khorkina II - in the team competition. She also performed well in the floor exercise and uneven bars, qualifying to both event finals. She did qualify to the Balance Beam final, but was unable to compete in the final as she was the third highest Russian in qualifications - only two gymnasts per country may compete in the event finals. The rest of her team were also successful in preliminaries, beating world champions Romania comfortably, and the stage seemed set for Russian glory. (Redirected from 2000 Sydney Olympics) Categories: 2000 Summer Olympics ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ...

However, they had a nightmare in the team finals, where the title is decided. Khorkina fell from bars, Elena Produnova sat down her vault, and disastrously both Elena Zamolodchikova and Yekaterina Lobaznyuk tumbled from beam. The first two errors were not entirely disastrous, as at that time the lowest score on every apparatus was dropped, so one fall alone did not ruin a team's chances. Still, only the less renowned gymnasts on the team were solid, but it was not enough. Despite a near perfect floor rotation to wind up the competition, the Russians were two tenths behind Romania. Without the errors, they would have been comfortably ahead, which would have given Russia their first ever team title in women's gymnastics. Though it was the beam which really took Russia out of the running, had Khorkina hit bars and received the same score as she did in event finals, the Russians would have taken the title by a mere five thousands of a point. Disgusted, Khorkina removed her silver medal as soon as she stepped down from the podium. For the second Olympics running, her team were bitterly disappointed with their silver. Yelena, or Elena, Produnova (born on February 15, 1980) is a female Russian gymnast, living in Rostov-on-Don. ... Elena Mikhailyevna Zamolodchikova -- Zamo for short -- is a two-time Olympic gymnast. ... Yekaterina Ludmilovna Lobaznyuk (born June 10, 1983 in Fergana, Uzbekistan) is a former Olympic gymnast who competed for Russia in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, winning three medals. ...

Infamously, before the All-Around competition began, the vault was accidentally set 5cm (2 inches) too low -highly significant in a sport where the success of an element rests on spatial awareness and very small margins. A number of gymnasts made uncharacteristic errors, including Elise Ray andAnnika Reeder, who was too injured to continue. Khorkina complained about the vault to an Australian official after the warm-up but was ignored. It wasn't until Australian Allana Slater echoed Khorkina's sentiments in the next rotation that the error was corrected. Khorkina had been in the lead after the first rotation, but came to the mis-measured vault in the second and crashed on her first attempt. She then fell in her uneven bars routine. Shortly afterwards, she was formally informed that the height of the vault had been corrected, but it was too late. Those affected were allowed to perform their vaults again - but their scores on the other apparatus would stand. Khorkina declined the opportunity and finished 10th. Her scores on bars and vault from the preliminaries, plus what she received on beam and floor in the all-around, would easily have won her the Olympic all-around title. Elise Ray is an American gymnast. ... Annika Louise Reeder (born September 28, 1979, Harlow, Essex, Great Britain) is a British gymnast. ... Allana Slater is one of Australias most successful gymnasts ever. ...

The initial winner, Andreea Răducan of Romania was stripped of her medal after a positive drug test; she had used a banned cold medicine. Her teammate Simona Amânar was officially named the 2000 Olympic All-Around champion, though she herself has never accepted this and gave her gold medal to Raducan. In several interviews following the Olympics, Khorkina referred to the incident as a "black spot in my soul". Andreea Raducan at the 2000 Olympic Games. ... Simona Amânar (born October 7, 1979 in ConstanÅ£a) is a Romanian gymnast. ...

After these crushing disappointments, both Khorkina and the Russian team bounced back in event finals. In a tense and emotionally charged competition, Svetlana narrowly retained her bars title. Once again she beat a Chinese athlete into second place, this time Ling Jie. She also won a silver on floor behind teammate Elena Zamolodchikova. Elena Mikhailyevna Zamolodchikova -- Zamo for short -- is a two-time Olympic gymnast. ...

2001-2004

Khorkina stayed competitive as she aimed for a spot in a third Olympic Games. She appeared at the 2001 World Championships and won the All-Around title as well as the vault, and continued her winning streak on the uneven bars. With 5 consecutive World titles and 2 Olympic titles, Khorkina was now the most accomplished gymnast ever, male or female, on a single apparatus. From 1995 to 2001, she had won every World and Olympic title on the bars.

Khorkina won the European All-Around title in 2002. She beat Verona van de Leur of the Netherlands despite crashing her vault. Many including commentator and former USA Olympic gymnast Bart Connor felt, that Van De Leur should have won, and that Khorkina only won due to favouritism from judges (citation needed). She admitted in 2003, as gymnastics took its toll on her body, that she had begun to "feel her age", but vowed to return to the Olympics for a third time. It has been suggested that the toll inacted on Svetlana's body had more to do with anorexia than with age, due to the obvious emaciation she displayed at the 2004 Olympics (citation needed). At the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, California she became World All-Around champion for a third time, a feat that had never been accomplished by any woman. Anaheim is a city in Orange County, south_west California, a part of the greater Los Angeles conurbation to the east of Long Beach. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

2004 Olympic Games

Khorkina went into the 2004 Athens Olympics as one of the favorites. Somewhat underpar in prelims, nonetheless she qualified to the all-around and bars finals. In the team competition, her solid performances helped Russia to a surprise bronze, and their delight at this result was in stark contrast to the reaction to the silver at the two previous Games. In the All-Around competition, she won silver behind the American Carly Patterson. She had been leading after two events, but wobbles on beam and an incomplete triple spin on floor allowed Patterson to move ahead and take the title. In a press conference after the medal ceremony Khorkina claimed that Patterson only won because she was American before stating that this was only a joke and that she, Khorkina was still Olympic champion. It is unclear whether Khorkina meant that she was the rightful champion of the 2004 all-around, or was referring to the fact that she was the reigning bars champion after her victory in Sydney. However in a later interview with a Russian newspaper, Izvestia, Khorkina claimed that Patterson's win was 'fixed' and that it had been decided in advance, citing the lengthy delay in posting her vault score whilst judges conferred. (Redirected from 2004 Athens Olympics) The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, commonly known as the 2004 Summer Olympics were the 28th Summer Olympic Games. ... Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) was an American gymnast (the 2004 Olympic All-Around Champion) and is currently an aspiring professional singer. ...

Life Outside Gymnastics and Controversy

Khorkina has enjoyed almost as much attention for her activities outside the gym. She caused a scandal by posing nude for the Russian version of Playboy in November 1997. She refused to apologise for this. She has aspirations to become an actress, and has appeared on the American talk show The Rosie O'Donnell Show and taken to the stage as Brenda Venus, Henry Miller's last love, in a Sergei Vinogradov production. She claimed that she did not have the patience to coach. She is currently focused on motherhood: she gave birth to her first child, a son named Svyatoslav, on July 21, 2005 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, thus giving her child American citizenship. Since December 2004 she has been vice-president of the Russian artistic gymnastics federation. She has been a member of the political party of United Russia since 2003. On March 12, 2007 in her native city of Belgorod, the sport complex of the Belgorod State University is opened. The complex was named after Svetlana. Front of the complex there is a statue of her as well. Playboy is an American mens magazine, founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, which has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... The Rosie ODonnell Show was a popular American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie ODonnell. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Artistic Gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which competitors perform short routines (ranging from approximately 30 to 90 seconds) on different apparatus, obviously less for vaulting (see lists below). ... Political parties Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... United Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya, Russian Единая Россия; the more correct translation is Unified Russia) is a political party in the Russian Federation which usually labels itself centrist. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... This article is about the year 12. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Competitive Highlights

Major achievements

• Gold medal, uneven bars, 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta
• Gold medal, uneven bars, 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney
• Silver medal, team competition, 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta
• Silver medal, team competition, 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney
• Silver medal, floor, 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney
• Silver medal, all-around, 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens
• Bronze medal, team competition, 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens

• At the European Championships, she won uneven bars six times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-record) and the all-around three times (1998, 2000, 2002 -- a record tie with Nadia Comaneci). From 1994 to 2004, she collected 20 medals: 13 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze. Both wins and medals are all time records.
• Svetlana is 9-time World Champion: five uneven bars (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001), three all-around (1997, 2001, 2003 -- a record for a male or female gymnast), and one vault (2001).

Gold Medal is an album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004. ... The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... Athens (Ancient Greek: αἱ Ἀθῆναι (plural), evolving into the modern Αθήναι in Greek until recently, and Αθήνα nowadays (IPA ); is both the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ... A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ... Nadia Elena Comaneci (originally Comăneci ) (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. ...

Original Skills

Sventlana has an unprecendented 8 skills in the Code of Points, at least one on each apparatus. To put this in perspective, most gymnasts are lucky to get just one skill named after them. Not since gymnastics greats like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci has one gymnast been so innovative. The Code of Points is a document that regulates scoring of artistic gymnastics. ...

Skills named after Svetlana Khorkina

Vault: Khorkina I Round off-half on-piked Cuervo The vault, formerly known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. ...

Khorkina II Round off Half on-tucked rudi (this was a phenomenally difficult skill for Sveta due to her height and as she got older she seldom practiced it because of the wear and tear on her body from falling on that skill. Nevertheless she managed to hit this skill in competition with some success, most notably at the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Olympics. The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, commonly known as the 2004 Summer Olympics were the 28th Summer Olympic Games. ...

Uneven Bars: Khorkina I Front giant to hop release and regrasp the bars in the hect position. Also known as a Markelov in the men's code of points. The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is a artistic gymnastics apparatus. ...

Khorkina II Shaposhnikova with a half twist

Khorkina/Chow Stalder-Kim pirouette

Beam:Khorkina Gainer full-twisting back flip Khorkina II Gainer 2 1/2 twist dismount. The Balance Beam is an artistic gymnastics apparatus only used by female gymnasts. ...

Floor Exercise: Khorkina Jump 1 1/2 turn in horizontal to prone. A Canadian gymnast trains on a floor. ...

Citation

1. ^ Khorkina Named Greatest Female of All-Time
2. ^ 2003 Gymnast of the Year Nominations

External links

• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Svetlana Khorkina

• Sveta's Page the unofficial Svetlana Khorkina website
• Svetlana Khorkina Style and Beauty Page, in Russian