Elena "Zamo" Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova (russian: Елена Михайловна Замолодчикова; born 19 September 1982) is a Russian 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 ...

, and four-time Olympic medallist. In 2015, she was inducted in 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 ...

Career

Zamolodchikova began

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

at the age of six. In 1999 she participated in her first major senior competition, the

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 ...

. She won the gold in

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 ...

and the bronze in the all-around. Just days before the 2000 European Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, her father died as a result of radiation exposure from the

Chernobyl accident The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nucl ...

. Zamolodchikova led her team to the gold medal and earned individual silvers in the all-around and vault finals and a bronze on the beam.

2000 Summer Olympics

Zamolodchikova was selected as a member of the Russian gymnastics team at the

2000 Summer 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 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. Although initially she did not qualify for the all-around or vault finals, she earned spots in both when

Elena Produnova Yelena Sergeyevna Produnova, also known as Elena (russian: Елена Серге́евна Продунова; born 15 February 1980), is a Russian former competitive gymnast. Her senior international career lasted from 1995 to 2000 and earned h ...

withdrew from the all-around due to injury 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 ...

decided to give up her spot to Zamolodchikova due to her better chances of medalling. In the team competition, the Russian team was leading after the preliminary rounds, but four Russian gymnasts made mistakes in the finals, costing them the gold. Zamolodchikova was one of the four, slipping off the beam as she took off for a Rulfova and narrowly missing her head. After two apparatuses in the all-around, Zamolodchikova was in first place with her stronger exercises still to go, events on which she went on to win Olympic gold. However, she lost her chance of an all-around medal after a fall on her simplest tumbling pass during her floor exercise rotation. On a night where many gymnasts made uncharacteristic errors, she eventually finished 6th. Had she scored the same in the all-around as she did for her team finals performance, her total would have been enough to win her the gold. Zamolodchikova won gold on both the vault and floor, and became a two-time Olympic champion. During vault finals, Khorkina sat in the stands, cheering loudly for her teammate, to whom she gave her spot. Khorkina was leading in the floor finals until Zamolodchikova performed as both were vying for a second gold.

2002 to 2004

Zamolodchikova won the 2002 World vault title and a European all-around bronze medal in 2004, in addition to numerous other awards. Zamolodchikova, also a lieutenant in the Russian Army, competed in her second Olympic games in 2004. The Russian team won a bronze medal, and Zamolodchikova just missed out on an individual vault medal, placing fourth behind Monica Roşu of

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 ...

, Annia Hatch 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and a fellow Russian,

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

2005

At the 2005 World Championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, she placed fourth in both vault and floor finals. In the floor finals, she performed four extremely difficult tumbling passes, landing each one cleanly, but did not successfully compete all of her dance combinations. Her start value was lowered as a result from 10.0 to 9.7, and she scored a 9.162, placing her behind Americans

Alicia Sacramone Alicia Marie Sacramone Quinn (; born December 3, 1987) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is the 2005 World Champion on floor exercise and the 2010 World Ch ...

and

Nastia Liukin Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...

, and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

gymnast

Suzanne Harmes Suzanne Helena Johanna Harmes (born 10 January 1986 in Zoetermeer) is a Dutch gymnast. In 2002, she won the silver medal at the European Championships in Patras as a part of the Dutch team alongside Verona van de Leur, Gabriella Wammes, Rensk ...

. Zamolodchikova's low score was unpopular with the crowd, who appeared to think she should have won bronze. She scored an average of 9.318 on her two vaults, finishing behind

Cheng Fei Cheng Fei (; born May 29, 1988) is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion on the vault (2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion on floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

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 ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, and Alicia Sacramone of the U.S.

2006

Although many gymnasts retired as the new code was introduced, Zamolodchikova decided to continue competing. She struggled at her first competition of 2006, 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 ...

, particularly on bars where she had a fall. An injury prevented selection for the 2006 European Championships in

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Zamolodchikova helped the Russian team to a bronze medal in the team event, their first at world level since 2001, and qualified to vault finals where she was fourth. In 2006, she also competed her new vault skill, a Yurchenko laid out half-on, half-off which has an A-score of 5.6P in the new code. After the World Championships, she competed in a few World Cup competitions winning a bronze medal on vault in the DTB-Cup in Stuttgart and two silver medals on vault and on floor in the Glasgow Grand Prix. She crowned her year with a bronze on vault at the World Cup Finals in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

2007 to 2009

At the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, her teammate

Ekaterina Kramarenko Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Kramarenko (russian: Екатерина Александровна Крамаренко, born April 22, 1991 in St Petersburg) is a Russian artistic gymnast. She is the 2007 European bronze medalist on the uneven bars and ...

ran up and touched the vaulting table but stopped and received a 0. Zamolodchikova performed a solid vault, but the Russian team had already ended up eighth (last). In the event finals, she fell on her second vault, and finished again in eighth. Zamolodchikova continued training in 2008 in hopes of making the Russian Olympic team for the third time, but a back injury prevented her from a better showing and she failed to do so. Instead, she competed in various World Cup events, narrowly missing a medal on floor at the 2008 World Cup Final in Madrid, where she finished fourth. Zamolodchikova made her last competitive appearance at the 2009 University Games in Belgrade. She began her judging career at the 2009 DTB Cup in Germany.

Eponymous skills

Zamolodchikova has two eponymous skills in the Code of Points.

Floor music

1999 Worlds: "Baby Elephant Walk" -

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

2000 Olympics: "Who's That Creepin'?/Daddy-O" -

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII ha ...

Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades (HDH) is a band that was formed in 1997 in Tucson, Arizona. Combining various influences from swing music, ska, rockabilly and rock, Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades attracted a local following throughout ...

2002 Worlds: "Crazy Benny/Breathe" -

Safri Duo Safri Duo is a Danish electronic percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born 5 April 1966) and Morten Friis (born 21 August 1968). Initially classically oriented, they later made a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica. Released ...

/ Moist
2004 Olympics: "Egyptian Symphony" -

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

2005 Worlds: "Crazy Benny" by Safri Duo and "Breathe" by Prodigy.

Medals

Detailed competitive scores

References and notes

External links

*
ZAMTASTIC! - Unofficial Yelena Zamolodchikova Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamolodchikova, Elena 1982 births Living people Russian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Russia Olympic gold medalists for Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia World champion gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts from Moscow Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in gymnastics Universiade silver medalists for Russia Universiade bronze medalists for Russia Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in gymnastics Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics European champions in gymnastics