Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya ( be, Святлана Леанідаўна Багінская, Sviatlana Lieanidauna Bahinskaya; russian: Светла́на Леони́довна Боги́нская; born February 9, 1973) is a former

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 ...

for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

of Belarusian origin. She is a three-time Olympic champion, with an individual gold medal 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 ...

from the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and team gold medals from the 1988 and

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Early life and career

Boginskaya was born in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. She was a

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

for several years, but began gymnastics at age six. Two years later, she moved to Moscow to train full-time at the Round Lake Gymnastics Center. By age fourteen, she was a member of the Soviet national team. She won her first world medal, a bronze 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 ...

, at the 1987 World Championships. She went on to compete in the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, where she won four medals: gold in the team competition, gold on vault, silver on floor, and bronze in the individual all-around. Just three days after the Olympics, Boginskaya's longtime coach, Lyubov Miromanova, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Miromanova had been a surrogate mother to Boginskaya, coaching and caring for her after she moved from Minsk to train full-time in Moscow. After her death, Boginskaya began training with Tatiana Grosovivich. Under Grosovivich's tutelage, Boginskaya became world champion in 1989 and later dedicated her performance to her late mentor. In 1990, Boginskaya became the fourth woman to sweep the European Championships, winning the gold medal in every individual event. The only other gymnasts to do so were

Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...

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

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...

. In doing so, she defended her titles in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise, and added titles in 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 ...

and balance beam. In 1991, in a controversial finish, Boginskaya lost the gold medal in the all-around to

Kim Zmeskal Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette (née ''Zmeskal'' on February 6, 1976) is an American retired artistic gymnast turned gymnastics coach and the 1991 World All-Around champion. A member of the silver medal-winning U.S. team from the 1991 World Cha ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, she earned gold medals in the team and balance beam competitions. In 1992, Boginskaya, then 19 years old, had a disappointing performance at the 1992 European Championships, falling on her final event, the floor exercise. She finished in fifth place, while her young teammate

Tatiana Gutsu Tatiana Gutsu, rarely Tetiana Hutsu, ( uk, Тетяна Костянтинівна Ґуцу, ro, Tatiana Guțu; born 5 September 1976, in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast from the Soviet Union and the winner of the ...

won the all-around title. Boginskaya won the balance beam title with a score of 9.95 and remained a favorite to win the all-around title at the 1992 Summer Olympics in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Many in the gymnastics world expected a duel between Boginskaya and Zmeskal at the Olympics, and the media promoted this story. However, while Boginskaya won her third Olympic gold medal in the team competition, she faltered on the uneven bars in the individual all-around and finished fifth; Zmeskal finished tenth. Meanwhile, their younger teammates Tatiana Gutsu 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 g ...

won the gold and silver medals. Boginskaya retired after the 1992 Olympics but decided to make a comeback in 1995. She said that she was inspired by

Katarina Witt Katarina Witt (, ; born 3 December 1965) is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states "she is remembered most for ...

who had made a memorable comeback of her own at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. Boginskaya moved to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, to train with

Bela Karolyi Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur, ...

and upgraded the difficulty of her routines. In 1996, at age 23, she placed second in the all-around at the

American Cup The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...

to one of Karolyi's pupils,

Kerri Strug Kerri Allyson Strug (born November 19, 1977) is a retired American gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. She was a member of the Magnificent Seven, the victorious all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States at the 1996 Summer ...

, as well as at the European Championships in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, behind the defending world all-around champion (and future Olympic all-around champion),

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 ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. She then progressed to the 1996 Olympics in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where she was one of a number of older gymnasts competing. She led the Belarus team to sixth place and competed in the all-around and vault finals, but won no individual medals, placing 15th in the all-around and fifth on vault. Boginskaya is among a small group of women to have competed in three Olympic Games; and due to the break-up of the Soviet Union, she competed at each Games under a different flag:

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, the Unified Team, and Belarus. She was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...

in 2005. Boginskaya has remained active in both the American and international gymnastics communities, and works as a consulting guest coach. In the early 2010s, she frequently supported former teammate

Oksana Chusovitina Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is an eight-time Olympic gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany. Chusovitina's care ...

, who competed well into her 40s and appeared on the competition floor as her coach. Living in Houston with her husband and two children, she runs several businesses, including an online gymnastics apparel retailer, a summer camp for gymnasts, and a pizzeria.

In popular culture

After the 1992 Olympics, Boginskaya appeared alongside her compatriot

Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...

in the music video for the song "Revolution Earth," by

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

Trademarks

Boginskaya's floor routine at the 1988 Olympics was done to the music of

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', and another routine she performed in parts of 1990 and 1991 was choreographed by the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

. Her uneven bars exercise included a signature giant to handstand with 180° split into a toe-on element. Commentators and reporters cited her height and slim stature as elements she used to her advantage through attention to posture and body alignment; meanwhile they also suggested that she relied more on execution and presentation than difficulty, though she did usually fulfill requirements and earn 10.0 start values. She frequently landed dismounts and vaults with her right foot placed slightly in front of her left, an intentional touch of artistry that also helped her stick landings.

Competitive history

References

External links