Elvire Teza (born March 29, 1981) is a retired French gymnast who competed at the 1996 and

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. She was the French National Champion in gymnastics in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Career

Born on the island of Reunion, Teza trained in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

under coaches Shi Mao, Lin Xuan and Ma Jun. She made her international debut at the age of thirteen at the Junior European Championships, where she won bronze medals on the

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 ...

. At the 1996 Junior Europeans, she improved on these results, winning a gold medal 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 ...

and silver medals with the French team and the beam final. In 1997, Teza became the first (and to date, the only) French gymnast to win 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 ...

. Teza competed at three

World Gymnastics Championships Gymnastics World Championships refers to a number of different world championships for each of the disciplines in competitive gymnastics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) organizes World Championships for six disciplines: acrobatic ...

, in 1995, 1997 (where she placed 6th on balance beam in event finals) and 1999. She also represented France at the Olympics twice; at the 1996 Games 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 ...

and the 2000 Games in Sydney. In Sydney, Teza became the first French female gymnast ever to qualify for an Olympic event final, placing eighth on the uneven bars. Teza's beam and bars routines typically combined artistry with extreme difficulty. On the balance beam (coincidentally, an event she was said to dislike) Teza developed two original skills: a full twisting Yurchenko loop to back hip circle and a sideways Yang Bo jump. Both elements are named after her in the Code of Points and are classified as high-difficulty skills ( both are E level skills under the code of points in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 periods). On the uneven bars she performed intricate work with German giant swings rarely seen in competition and two of those moves are named after her as well, which are the German giant variations of Pak salto and Bail to Handstand, both are D level skills under the code of points since 2000. Teza's tumbling and vaulting were considered relatively weak compared to her other events, however, on

she was known for presenting routines with expressive choreography and excellent dance elements. Teza retired after the 2000 Olympics to pursue her education.

Eponymous skills

Teza has three eponymous skills listed in the Code of Points.

Competitive history

References

Sources

Teza(Skill on beam)
(in French) *ABC-TV broadcast of the 1997

, 1997
Animation of teza performing her signature skill on beamAnimation of Teza performing a German giant on the uneven bars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teza, Elvire 1981 births Living people French female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for France Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics 21st-century French women

Career

Eponymous skills

Competitive history

See also

References

Sources