The KLF legend, best known for burning a million quid, grew up in Corby and went to Kingswood. Tatiana Gutsu dominated at the 1992 Olympics while representing the Unified Team a group of Soviet Bloc countries who competed at the Summer and Winter Olympics together that year. Mustafina deserves credit for being one of the most durable gymnasts in the history of Olympic competition and definitely one of the gymnasts who defined the 2010s, most notably with her back-to-back gold medals in the uneven bars at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She also won an NCAA championship in the uneven bars for the University of Alabama in 2004. She's been the vice president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation since the mid-2000s. In 2006 and 2007, injuries kept Liukin from full strength at the Worlds, causing some to suggest she stop training in the all-around. Danusia Francis is a British-born artistic gymnast who has represented the United Kingdom in the past. At just 14 years old, she wowed the entire world with her performance at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, scoring the first perfect 10 in Olympic history on the way to gold medals in the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam to go with a bronze in floor exercise and silver in team all-around. She soared to fame with the show Gladiators and had a 5-year stint on it. Sam Langstaff, Scottish Gymnastics head of performance, said: "The 2016 championships are set to be an exciting event, fans will get the opportunity to watch some of Scotland's most talented . She became the first gymnast to be named to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Dawes has stayed busy since her gymnastics career ended, including when she earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 2002. Born: Oct. 30, 1936 (Zaporizhia, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union), Olympic years: 1956 (Melbourne), 1960 (Rome), 1964 (Tokyo), Medals: 10 (1956, gold, team all-around/bronze, team/apparatus; 1960, gold, team all-around/gold, uneven bars/silver, floor exercise/bronze, all-around 1964, gold, team all-around/gold, uneven bars/silver, floor exercise/bronze, all-around). Manina proved her toughness by returning to the Olympics in 1964, where she once again helped lead the Soviets to gold in the team competition along with winning silver in the balance beam. More amazing? In 2002, she became the youngest gymnast ever inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Kuchinskaya coached gymnastics in the USSR, Japan and the United States following her retirement from the sport and married an eye doctor in 1980. A co-founder of Gymnasts for Change, she also campaigns against abuse. One of our most traditional and famous dishes is haggis, neeps and tatties, which is made up of hearty haggis, of course, neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes) and is usually served up with a dram, or two, of Scotch whisky. In 2009, Jackie was ranked fifth in the 50 greatest Formula One drivers of all time. Agnes Keleti is Hungary's greatest gymnast.. 1. Beginning in 1972, Astakhova worked as a national coach for the Ukrainian gymnastics team. She's the only female gymnast to ever participate in seven different Olympic games and one of only two female gymnasts to compete for three different countries. Born: Oct. 17, 1921 (Yevpatoria, Soviet Russia), Medals: 7 (1952, gold, team all-around/gold, all-around/silver, team PA/silver, vault/silver, uneven bars/silver, balance beam/silver, floor exercise). She's also served as the president of the Women's Sports Federation and the co-chair for the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Born: Dec. 9, 1995 (Aliso Viejo, California), Medals: 2 (gold, team all-around/silver, vault). Born: Sept. 16, 1934 (Petrozavodsk, Respublika Kareliya, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union), Olympic years: 1956 (Melbourne), 1964 (Tokyo), Medals: 6 (1956, gold, team all-around/silver, vault/silver, balance beam/bronze, team PA; 1964, gold, team all-around/silver, balance beam). Her 18 medals were the most medals won by any Olympian from 1964 until 2012, and she's still the only woman to win gold in the team, all-around and an individual event in a single Olympics. Szabo was the favorite headed into the 1984 Olympics and thought to be the next coming of Comaneci, but despite winning four gold medals, Szabo was upstaged by her loss to Mary Lou Retton in the all-around by just .05. Born: May 25, 1994 (Needham, Massachusetts), Olympic years: 2012 (London), 2016 (Rio de Janeiro), Olympic medals: 5 (2012, gold, team all-around/gold, floor exercise/bronze, balance beam; 2016, gold, team all-around/silver, all-around/silver, floor exercise). Tourischeva married one of the Soviet Union's greatest Olympians, sprinter Valeriy Borzov, who swept the 100-meter and 200-meter gold medals at the 1972 Olympics. Lemhenyi-Tass participated in four different Olympics. She proved she wasn't a one-time Olympic standout when she followed that up with silver in the uneven bars in 2012. Silivas moved to the United States and has been a gymnastics coach in the Atlanta area since the early 1990s. Nadia Comaneci is the greatest Olympic gymnast and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. Maria Gorokhovskaya set the record with seven medals in a single Olympics in 1952, when she represented the Soviet Union with two golds, including the all-around, and five silver medals. Gutsu also helped lead her team to the all-around gold that year. Maroney was one of the key witnesses to testify against Dr. Larry Nassar, who worked for Michigan State and sexually abused Maroney and scores of other gymnasts for years. Tokyo 2020 home. The famous gymnasts he trained include Comneci, Mary Lou Retton, Dominique Moceanu, and Kerri Strug. Olympic teammate Nastia Liukin, who won gold in the all-around in 2008, is the godmother to her only child. She once publicly appealed to online trolls to cut down on their abusive comments directed toward her just before the Tokyo Olympics. Comaneci was part of a group that defected from Romania in 1989. Olympic medals: 9 (1976, gold, all-around/gold, uneven bars/gold, balance beam/silver, team all-around/bronze, floor exercise; 1980, gold, balance beam/gold, floor exercise/silver, all-around/silver, team alla-round). 6 A Gymnast Must Maintain A Brave Face Even When They Mess A Performance Or Fall. Maria Gorokhovskaya, who was Jewish, went on to have a lengthy career as an international judge before immigrating to Israel in 1990, where she worked as a gymnastics coach until her death in Tel Aviv in 2001. Both made their Olympic debuts in their 20s. He also scripted history by becoming the first British artistic gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. Apart from 4 Commonwealth gold medals, British artistic gymnast Claudia Fragapane has also earned 3 European Championship silver medals and two World Championship bronze medals. Two vaults. a set of moves that no other female has ever performed in competition. Mary Lou Retton became an international superstar and one of the most beloved athletes in U.S. history with her performance at the 1984 Olympics. Best Gymnasts In The World Right Now! Her specialty was the balance beam, where she won a gold medal in 1960 after taking silver in 1956. Medals: 3* (gold, all-around disqualified/gold, team all-around/silver, vault). You can find more information for coaches, gymnasts and parents. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas is best known as the first African American to win the individual all-around event. Bryony Page is a trampoline gymnast who became the first English trampolinist to win a medal at the Olympics when she won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics. An Air New Zealand flight was forced to stop on the runway after landing due to the creature being seen on the tarmac. Gorokhovskaya set the standard by which all other Soviet Union gymnasts would be judged. She's also served as an ambassador for the United Nations on several occasions first on the U.N.'s council for HIV/AIDS awareness, then on the Council of Europe for Sport, Tolerance, and Fair Play, Country: Soviet Union (1988), Unified Team (1992), Belarus (1996), Olympic years: 1988 (Seoul), 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), Olympic medals: 5 (1988, gold, team all-around/gold, vault/silver, floor exercise/ bronze, all-around; 1992, gold, team all-around). Chinese state newspaper Xinhua published a story stating she was 14 years old (not 16 as the national team claimed) in 2008 and therefore ineligible to compete. Since. While the selections were delayed to ensure a fair judgement, she, nevertheless, failed to make the cut, for speaking against the culture of abuse in British gymnastics. Biles will try to cement her status as the greatest Olympic gymnast of all time in 2021 after winning her seventh U.S. Championship and qualifying for the Olympics by winning the All-Around competition at the Olympic trials. Kerri Strug Vaulted to Gold with an Injured Ankle in the 1996 Olympics The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta not only celebrated the centennial of the international sports competition, but also became part of sports record books when the . She has also been part of the NCAA, for the UCLA Bruins. Patterson's win was overshadowed by her struggles in the team competition, where the Americans failed to defend their gold medal. It came in stark contrast to the gymnastics of Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Unions Larisa Latynina, who won the all-around titles at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games. Helena Rakoczy ( 1921 - 2014) With an HPI of 48.94, Helena Rakoczy is the 2nd most famous Polish Gymnast. John Buchan (1875 - 1940) Born in Perth, Buchan was a Scottish novelist and historian who served as Governor-General of Canada 1935-40. Born: Dec. 31, 1995 (Newport News, Virginia), Medals: 3 (2012, gold, team all-around/ gold, team all-around; 2012, gold, all-around). In the 2019 European Games, she was the champion on the balance beams and a two-time Belgian national all-around champion . Having won a combined total of 30 World Championship and Olympic medals, Biles is the world's third-most decorated gymnast and the most decorated in America. Hernandez was a huge contributor to the U.S. team gold medal with big showings in vault, beam and floor exercise and followed that up one week later with a silver medal in the balance beam. Scottish Dictionary Aye Bairn Bampot Belter Blootered Boggin Boke Bonnie/Bonny Canny Clatty Clipe Crabbit Craic Dae Dafty Dinnae Eejit Eh Greet/Greetin Hackit Haud Haver Hoachin Hunners Jake/Jakey Ken Lassy Mad Wae It Minging Mockit Munter Och Patch Peely-wally Randan Scran Scunnered Skelped/Scudded Steamin Stoter Tap Tattie Weapon Wee Whitey Apart from a botched tumor-removal operation at 10, Kieran Behan also faced brain damage following a gymnastics accident at 12. Vera Caslavska became the head of the Czech Olympic Committee during the 1990s. It's called a triple-double. At just her second competition back, the U.S. Championships, Biles won all five available gold medals. Damien Walters is an English athlete, stuntman, and former gymnast. She married Dr. Michael Canales, a former Ohio State gymnast, and the couple had three children together. All-in-all, she left Rio with four gold medals and a bronze, as well as superstar status. Standing just 4-foot-10, Yelena Shushunova was a dynamic athlete who was the final all-around gold medalist in the storied history of the Soviet Union's gymnastics team. She wrote her autobiography "Finding My Shine" in 2015, which was the same year she was the grand marshal for the Indy 500. Medals: 4 (gold, balance beam/silver, team all-around/silver, all-around/silver, floor). After retiring in 2005, Khorkina was named vice president of the Russian Gymnastics Federation. She was leading through seven of eight events before a slip on the beam cost her the medal. .more #935 of 1,316 The Best Athletes Of All Time #7 of 25 The Best 'Dancing with the Stars' Winners of All-Time #14 of 25 Two-time Commonwealth gold-winning gymnast Nile Wilson is also a World Championship silver medalist and an Olympic bronze medalist. Few gymnasts in Olympic history have been able to medal at three Olympic games. Latynina retired from competition in 1966 and was just as good as a coach, leading the Soviet Union to team gold in 1968, 1972 and 1976, then overseeing the entire 1980 Olympics gymnastics competition in Moscow. In 2015, Daniel Purvis and his team won a silver medal at the World Championships, becoming the first British men's team to do so. Korondi stacked medals in other events as well, picking up two silver medals and four bronze medals. Her father is 1988 Olympic gold medalist Valeri Liukin, and mother is 1987 world clubs champion in rhythmic gymnastics Anna Kotchneva. He retired in 2017, after earning 14 international medals. in gymnastics history. Moceanu, the last 14-year-old Olympic gymnast, seemed poised for superstardom at multiple Olympic games because of her age and talent, but came away with just one gold medal in the team competition in 1996. 1 Beth Tweddle (Retired British Artistic Gymnast ) 42 12 Birthdate: April 1, 1985 Sun Sign: Aries Birthplace: Johannesburg, South Africa Known as Britain's most successful gymnast, Beth Tweddle is a 3-time world champion and a 6-time European champion, apart from being an Olympic bronze medalist. Amanar was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2007. Retton, a West Virginia native, became the first American to win Olympic gold in the all-around competition with her thrilling defeat of Romanian favorite Ecaterina Szabo with perfect 10s in the last two events, the vault and floor exercise. She won gold for the Unified Team in the team competition in 1992, then won silver in the vault for Germany in 2008. Following her recovery, Gnauck spent time as a gymnastics coach in Germany and in Switzerland since 2005. THE LOCH NESS MONSTER. Born: Sept. 30, 1981 (Hollywood, California). She's also not the only Olympic medalist in her family. Holidaymakers saw their trips away delayed this week after a hedgehog on the runway caused a ruckus. famous scottish gymnasts. Ludivine Furnon, a French gymnast who competed through the 1990s into the early aughts, went from preteen novice to 15-year-old world bronze medalist on floor in about the same amount of time it. Szabo led her team to a gold medal in 1987 at the World Championships. Raisman also won gold for her floor routine in 2012 and then an all-around silver medal in 2016. British gymnast and Olympian Amanda Reddin has had a successful coaching career, too, with star players such as Beth Tweddle and Jennifer Pinches as her trainees. Born: Jan. 19, 1989 (Belogrod, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union), Olympic years: 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), Medals: 7 (1996, gold, uneven bars/silver, team all-around; 2000, gold, uneven bars/silver, team all-around/silver, floor exercise; 2004, silver, all-around/bronze, team all-around). Commonwealth gold-winning British gymnast and Olympian Lisa Mason retired at 19 but got back in the game in full swing at 31. Ellie Downie wrote in her joint statement with Becky that she was consistently told she was too heavy from around age 14. Douglas was also one of the many brave gymnasts who came forward about being abused by former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar, who was given a life sentence for his crimes in 2017. Olympic years: 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London), Medals: 3 (2008, gold, team all-around/gold, uneven bars; 2012, silver, uneven bars). Apart from being an actor and a musician, Viva Seifert is also former rhythmic gymnast who has represented Britain in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Miller bounced back with two gold medals at the 1996 Olympics, in balance beam and the team competition with the "Magnificent Seven" squad. Born: June 19, 1975 (Bukhara, Uzbek SSR, USSR), Country: Unified Team (1992), Uzbekistan (1996, 2000, 2004, 2016), Gerrmany (2008, 2012), Olympic years: 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London), 2016 (Rio de Janeiro), Medals: 2 (1992, gold, team all-around; 2008, silver, vault). '. She also won gold medals for the U.S. in the team competitions at the 2012 and. Simone Biles dominated womens gymnastics in the lead up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, winning three straight World all-around titles a first by a woman from 2013-2015. But Comaneci, much like Korbut, was also an innovator acrobatically. Izbasa eventually backed off her training when she realized there wasn't enough time to prepare her routine to qualify. She won both beam and floor and took second on uneven bars. Biles' performance at the Olympics and in the preceding world championships has been so dominant that she's already considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Amanar retired in 2000 and married Romanian attorney Cosmin Tabara in 2002. Onodi's power was on full display at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona when she won a gold medal in the vault and barely missed the gold in floor exercise. Suzanne Dando announced her retirement from gymnastics after the 1980 Olympics and then went on to work as a TV broadcaster for many channels, including Sky Sports, BBC One, and Channel 4. Try some of our classes Enter your email and we'll send you some samples of our favorite classes. Simone Biles (Most Decorated Gymnast of All Time) 244 64 Birthdate: March 14, 1997 Sun Sign: Pisces Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, United States Simone Biles is an artistic gymnast. Dominique Dawes is one of only three American gymnasts to participate in three different Olympic Games, and the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997 and became the first woman inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. She died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, at 74 years old. The British Gymnastics head national coach, however, had to step down while investigations regarding physical mistreatment accusations against her were underway. The famous black gymnast Simon Biles has her own emoji which is known as Simoji. Controversy over her career still surrounds He. Comaneci followed that up with two gold medals and two silver medals at the 1980 Olympics. Keleti, who was also a professional cello player, was granted political asylum in Australia in 1956 after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary. Orga Kolbut is one of them. California native McKayla Maroney, the daughter of former Purdue quarterback Mike Maroney, was the source of one of the greatest internet memes of all time when the picture of her on the medal stand receiving the silver medal in vault at the 2012 Olympics went viral. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2006. She helped lead that U.S. team to the gold medal and her silver in the vault, despite how she looked, was still impressive. Apart from being a Commonwealth champion and a 2-time European champion, British gymnast Kristian Thomas has also won his country an Olympic bronze. The world loves women's gymnastics. Born: Oct. 10, 1964 (Berlin, East Germany), Medals: 4 (gold, uneven bars/silver, all-around/bronze, team/bronze, floor exercise). They don't make 'em like they used to. They traveled through Communist Hungary and Austria, mostly on foot and at night, until they were able to get to a plane to take them to the United States. Larisa Latynina's nine gold medals are the most for any Olympic gymnast and the second-most gold medals for any Olympian, ever. In the storied history of Romanian gymnasts, only Ecaterina Szabo stands behind Nadia Comaneci. difference between general purpose and special purpose processor cheesecake factory butter brand cheesecake factory butter brand Retton spent the next decade following her gold medal victory as one of the most popular athletes in America. Born: Feb. 17, 1952 (Lubben, East Germany), Olympic years: 1968 (Mexico City), 1972 (Munich), Medals: 7 (1968, silver, uneven bars/bronze, team all-around; 1972, gold, vault/gold, uneven bars/silver, all-around/silver, team all-around/bronze, team all-around/bronze, balance beam). She's married to Chris Carter, a former gymnast for Great Britain, and the couple have three children together. Her protests during the Soviet Union's anthem during the 1968 Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of her country led to her forced retirement from the sport. Romanian gymnast Sandra Izbasa pulled off a rare feat in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The same year, he also won a gold medal at the European Championships in Montpellier. Dawes pursued a career in acting for a while, including a role in the "Grease" Broadway musical in the early 2000s. The one thing separating Dawes from the upper tier of American gymnasts in history is her performance in individual events, where she's never finished higher than bronze. Coaches & Community. Boginskaya, a former ice skater herself, was inspired by Katarina Witt's comeback at the 1994 Winter Olympics and made her own comeback from retirement to participate in the 1996 Olympics with Belarus, although she did not medal that year. Born: Oct. 30, 1989 (Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union), Medals: 5 (2008, gold, all-around/silver, team all-around/silver, uneven bars/silver, balance beam/bronze, floor exercise). Olivia Dunne is an LSU gymnast and one of the faces of the NIL movement. In 2020, she was the winner of "The Masked Dancer," the spin-off show of "The Masked Singer," performing as Cotton Candy. Those who excel on the biggest world stage become household names, international superstars and national heroes. In 2018, Tinkler tore ligaments in her ankle while practicing for the Birmingham World Cup and could not participate in the event. Olympic years: 1948 (London), 1952 (Helsinki), 1956 (Melbourne), Medals: 5 (1948, silver, team all-around/1952, silver, team all-around/bronze, team/portable apparatus; 1956, gold, team/portable apparatus; silver, team all-around). She has two elements named for her, including one a straddled front salto on the uneven bars that still carries an E value under the current set of rules. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002. Both have won medals for their performances. (Comanecis perfect mark was famously displayed as a 1.00 at the Olympic Games in Montreal.). She was also the host of the first season of "American Ninja Warrior" and wrote a book, "I Got This: To Gold and Beyond" that was on the New York Times bestseller list. Undeterred, the then 19-year-old Liukin persevered through to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Born: Jan. 24, 1968 (Fairmont, West Virginia), Medals: 5 (1984, gold, all-around/silver, team all-around/silver, vault/bronze, uneven bars/bronze, floor exercise).