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Home > Olympics > Gold Medalists > Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every four years which comprises of summer and winter games. Though the first ancient games were held in 776 B.C, the modern games started from 1896.The unity of the 5 continents is shown on the Olympic flag by five colorful intertwined rings of red, blue, green, yellow, and black, created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin to represent atleast one color of the participating country’s national flag.
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova was born on April 23, 1969 in Leningrad. She is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills. She was the first to perform a Yurchenko vault with 1.5 twists. She is also known for her longevity and exceptional consistency.
Shushunova's career highlights as a junior gymnast include gold medals at the 1982 Moscow News and the Junior European Championships. In 1983 she won the USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Cup, which she won every year until 1988 with the exception of 1984. Shushunova was unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics, which were boycotted by the Soviet Union. Instead, she competed at the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, where she finished third all around.
She also won the gold medal on vault and floor exerice and shared the gold medal 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 was a contender for the all-around title at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. After defeating the Romanians in the team competition there was a close battle for the title between Shushunova and Daniela Silivas. Shushunova entered the all around competition with a minimal lead, competing with Silivas in the same rotation. Shushunova actually trailed behind Silivas, who earned a 10 on uneven bars and floor. In the last rotation on vault, Shushunova scored a perfect 10 and won the title by 0.025 points. She earned two more medals a bronze on uneven bars and a silver on balance beam, she faultered on her best events the vault, falling on a Yurchenko double full and making an uncharacteristic stumble on floor exercise.
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