Natalia Vitalyevna Shaposhnikova (russian: Наталья Витальевна Шапошникова; born 24 June 1961, in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

), married name Natalia Sout, is a former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

, two-time Olympic champion, and

Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for both athletes an ...

. She was known for her risky, original skills and expressive choreography, especially on

balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...

and

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

Competitive career

Shaposhnikova trained at

Dynamo file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...

in Rostov-on-Don under Honoured Trainer of the USSR

Vladislav Rastorotsky Vladislav Stepanovich Rastorotsky (russian: Владислав Степанович Растороцкий; 14 June 1933 – 2 July 2017) was a Russian (and former Soviet) artistic gymnastics coach, ''Honoured Trainer of the USSR'', who trained in ...

, who also trained her compatriots

Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, Ukr ...

and

Natalia Yurchenko , nickname= , country= , formercountry= Russia , birth_date= , birth_place=Norilsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union , hometown=Russia , death_date= , death_place= , height=155 cm (5'1") , discipline=Artistic gymnastics , level=Senior Elite Gymnast , n ...

. She was one of the world's strongest gymnasts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially on

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. She was known for her difficulty and originality, especially her one-armed handstands on beam. At the 1979 European Championships, she performed one of the first triple twists on floor, and her opening tumbling pass on floor at the 1980 Olympic Games was a roundoff 1.5-twisting layout immediately into a roundoff back handspring double pike. At the 1980 Olympics in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, she contributed to the Soviet team's gold medal and won an individual gold medal on vault. She also took home bronze medals on floor and beam, and missed a medal in the all-around by just 0.05. Shaposhnikova came close to winning gold on beam at the 1978 World Championships, entering the final with a slight lead over

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10. ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. However, Peter Shilston wrote in an April 1980 profile in ''British Gymnast'' magazine: "There was a fiercely partisan section of the audience determined that Comăneci should win to make up for her previous disappointing performances. When Natasha (Natalia?) came up, needing a score of 9.8 to take the gold, she faced a very hostile reception which clearly got on her nerves. She made a series of mistakes, all jeeringly received, and slumped from first place to eighth." Shilston called the loss "probably the saddest experience of Natasha's (Natalia's?) life".

Eponymous skill

Shaposhnikova invented a complex transition skill on the

uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...

—a clear hip circle on the low bar with flight backward to the high bar—and it is named after her in the Code of Points. The skill, sometimes referred to colloquially as the "Shaposh", is still widely performed today; it is credited as a D element in the 2013–16 Code of Points. Since the 1990s, other gymnasts have developed variations of the Shaposhnikova, including Americans

Amy Chow Amy Yuen Yee Chow (Chinese: 周婉儀; pinyin: Zhōu Wǎnyí; born May 15, 1978) is an American former artistic gymnast who competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She is best known for being a member of the Magnificent Seven, which ...

(who performed the skill with a

stalder Stalder is a surname of Swiss origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Florian Stalder (born 1982), Swiss racing cyclist * Josef Stalder Josef Stalder (6 February 1919 – 2 March 1991) was a Swiss gymnast and Olympic champion. Care ...

entry instead of a clear hip) and

Kristen Maloney Kristen Ann Maloney (born March 10, 1981) is a retired gymnast from Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, in the United States. She won bronze in the team event at the 2000 Olympic Games. Maloney was also the U.S. senior all-around national champion in 1998 ...

(toe-on entry); Russians

Viktoria Komova Viktoria Aleksandrovna Komova (russian: Виктория Александровна Комова; born 30 January 1995) is a former Russian artistic gymnast. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won silver medals in the all-around and te ...

(inbar stalder entry) and

Svetlana Khorkina Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (russian: Светлана Васильевна Хоркина; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the 2004 Summer Ol ...

(Shaposhnikova with a half turn during the transition between the bars); Laura van Leeuwen of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(toe-on entry plus a half turn);

Aliya Mustafina Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (russian: Алия Фархатовна Мустафина) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 45 Olympic, World and European Championship medals, she is considered one of the most success ...

and

Yao Jinnan Yao Jinnan (born February 8, 1995) is a retired artistic gymnast who represented China at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is the 2014 world champion on the uneven bars, and the 2011 world all-around bronze medalist and balance beam silver medal ...

(Chow half) and Elisabeth Seitz of Germany (toe-on entry with a full turn during the transition).

Coaching career

Shaposhnikova and her husband, Pavel Sout, a gold medalist in men's gymnastics at the 1981 World Championships, currently coach a
Gymnastika
in

Woodland Park, New Jersey Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 13,484. What is now Woodland P ...

Achievements (non-Olympic)

References

External links

*
List of competitive resultsShaposhnikova Element
- animated gif image
Natalia Shaposhikova - Biography & Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaposhnikova, Nataliya 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Rostov-on-Don Russian female artistic gymnasts Soviet female artistic gymnasts Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts of the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Dynamo sports society athletes Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics People from Woodland Park, New Jersey Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics European champions in gymnastics