Yelena Nikolayevna Grosheva (russian: Елена Николаевна Грошева; born April 12, 1979) is a Russian former competitive gymnast. She won silver in the team event at the 1996 Summer Olympics and two team medals at the World Championships.

Personal life

Grosheva was born on April 12, 1979 in Russia.

Honors and awards

* Master of Sports of Russia * International Master of Sports of Russia * Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Career

Grosheva took up gymnastics at the age of five and showed a natural talent for the sport. In 1992, she was sent to Round Lake to train as part of the national team. Her first big competition was the 1994 Junior European Championships and later the same year she went to the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. At the 1994 Goodwill Games she had a stellar competition and one of the high points of her career, being a pivotal part of the Russian gold medal winning team, and winning bronze behind

Dina Kochetkova Dina Anatolyevna Kochetkova (russian: Дина Анатольевна Кочеткова, born 27 July 1977 in Moscow, Russian SFSR) is a Russian gymnast who competed at the 1996 Olympics. Stylistically, she was considered by many to be the "last ...

and

Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan American Games all-around champion, and a member of the ...

, and ahead of such stars as

Lilia Podkopayeva Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva ( uk, Лілія Олександрівна Подкопаєва; born August 15, 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor e ...

in the women's All Around. In 1996, Grosheva finished second all-around in the Russian Cup and became a member of the Olympic team. At the Olympic Games in Atlanta, the Russian team was in the lead after the compulsories, but in the finals she and her teammates had to compete against the noise from the American crowds and finished second behind the Americans. She placed into vault event finals, but finished a disappointing 7th. Her floor exercise scores had placed her highest among the Russians for event finals, but she was replaced by teammate

. Overall score was 32.057.

Post-competitive career

After being hampered by injuries Grosheva retired from the sport and joined

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

. In March 2007, she was appointed

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Canada Goodwill Ambassador with her husband.

Competitive history

References

External links

*
Elena Grosheva
at Gymn Forum * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grosheva, Elena Russian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 1979 births Living people Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in gymnastics