In 1979 the gymnastics calendar was altered by permitting for the World Championships and European Championships to be held in the identical yr. For the primary time within the historical past of girls’s creative gymnastics (WAG), these two main All-Round titles have been out there to win in the identical yr. Under I’m going to quote the seven situations wherein a rustic managed to win a number of All-Round titles in WAG in the middle of a single yr between the European Championships and Group-1 stage competitors (World Championships and/or Olympics).
After the 1979 change to the scheduling format, it wasn’t till 1983 that WAG skilled the primary occasion of a program strolling away with All-Round (AA) gold in two completely different competitions. It ended up being the Soviets due to the efforts of Olga Bicherova who received the 1983 European Championships and Natalia Yurchenko who received the World Championships final yr.
Surprisingly sufficient, Albina Shishova received a bronze AA medal on the 1983 European Championships whereas Olga Mostepanova received an AA silver medal on the 1983 World Championships. This meant the Soviet Union produced 4 completely different gymnasts who received an AA medal that yr, though none of them received greater than a single medal. In a testomony to how a lot depth the USSR program had that yr, Olga Bicherova was the reigning AA gold medalist on the European Championships, World Championships and World Cup, solely to be eradicated from the All-Round on the 1983 World Championships as a consequence of nation limits of solely three WAGs per nation.
Facet Word: Olga Bicherova and Natalia Yurchenko each taking main AA titles in 1983 is especially particular contemplating they’d go on to be lifelong associates. Bicherova attended Yurchenko’s wedding ceremony whereas Yurchenko as soon as mentioned she would slightly tie with Bicherova for 1st place slightly than win all by herself. I spoke of this particular relationship on my Patreon throughout a profile of Natalia Yurchenko which might be discovered right here.
As soon as once more it was the Soviets who pulled off this feat by taking each the European Championships and World Championships AA titles in 1985. Though this occasion is slightly distinctive in that the 2 AA titles have been concurrently received by each a lone gymnast, and likewise two completely different gymnasts. The offender for this uncommon wording is the influence of a tie.
Elena Shushunova received AA gold at each the European Championships and World Championships that yr. However, on the 1985 World Championships Shushunova received in a tie and shared the medal together with her teammate Oksana Omelianchik. Of the seven situations the place a single nation received a number of AA titles between the European Championships and Group-1 competitors, three have been received by two completely different gymnasts, three have been received by a single gymnast delivering a two AA gold medals for her nation, and the final is 1985 the place a tie meant the gold medals went to each the identical and two completely different gymnast(s).
For the third time in a row the place a number of AA titles have been up for grabs, a single nation grabbed each. This time it was the Romanians. It began in Moscow the place Daniela Silivas beat the Soviets on Russian soil to take the AA title on the European Championships. It was Romania’s first AA title since Nadia Comaneci within the Seventies and gave the Soviets one among their most embarrassing defeats in program historical past.
Sadly although, it was the one AA title Silivas received in her legendary profession which incorporates an Olympic medal on each occasion, in addition to gold medals on bars, beam, and ground at each the World Championships and Olympic Video games. Romania’s different AA gold medal that yr got here from Aurelia Dobre who put up an unbelievable stat line on the 1987 World Championships the place she received 5 gold medals plus a 4th place end on her final occasion.
In 1989 Svetlana Boginskaya received the All-Round at each the European Championships and World Championships. This made her the primary WAG to ever win each the European Championships AA and a Group-1 AA in the identical yr. To at the present time Boginskaya is the one gymnast to win the AA at each the World Championships and European Championships in the identical yr.
The Soviet Union disappeared from the map on the finish of 1991, however its sports activities groups remained largely intact for the 1992 season. You may name the 1992 crew the ex-Soviets who competed beneath the Olympic flag, however I want to easily confer with it as the identical as every other Soviet crew as a result of they have been basically the identical assortment of gymnasts from the yr prior. It is just a technicality which makes them completely different.
In 1992 the Soviets (Unified Workforce) was led by Tatiana Gutsu who received each the European and Olympic AA titles that yr. Gutsu would observe Boginskaya by being the second gymnast to win two main titles in a single yr. However Tatiana can be the primary to do it beneath the mixture of successful on the European Championships and Olympic stage. Beforehand it had solely been completed in the identical yr on the World Championships and European Championships.
Ukraine can be the one nation from outdoors any of the established powers to perform this feat. Much more symbolically, Ukraine is the one non-medal successful nation to win two main AA titles in the identical yr. Of the seven examples of a rustic bringing dwelling two AA gold medals in a single yr, on six of these events they received the Workforce gold medal on the Group-1 stage together with it. Ukraine-1996 is the one such event the place they not solely didn’t win gold in Workforce Finals, however didn’t win any medal in any respect within the crew competitors (World Championships or Olympics).
However this specific result’s symbolic for an additional motive, on the 1996 European Championships Lilia Podkopayeva took the European AA title after an intense battle with none apart from Svetlana Boginskaya. In the long run, Lilia Podkopayeva needed to surpass one other gymnast on this record with the intention to make the record herself. The 1996 European All-Round Finals would go down as one of many best moments within the historical past of the European Championships.
On one facet there was Svetlana Boginskaya going for the extremely coveted, 3-peat by successful the European AA 3 times in her profession. This report famously eluded Larissa Latynina, Vera Caslavska, and Ludmilla Turischeva of their respective careers. It wasn’t till Nadia Comaneci got here alongside {that a} WAG lastly achieved it, and later solely the extremely embellished Svetlana Khorkina joined Nadia on this accomplishment. For Svetlana Boginskaya, it was a slender defeat by the hands of Podkopayeva in 1996 that denied her the chance to affix solely Nadia on this report, and later by Khorkina.
For Lilia Podkopayeva, she was going for a report of her personal. Lilia’s victory on the 1996 European Championships helped make her the sixth instance on this record of a rustic successful a European AA title and a Group-1 AA title in the identical yr. It additionally was an important victory on the way in which to Lilia later holding the European, World Championships, and Olympic AA titles all on the similar time. The final individual to do that was Turischeva within the early Seventies. And since Podkopayeva this accomplishment has but to be repeated in fashionable gymnastics.
From 1983 to 1996 the pattern of a number of AA titles going to the identical nation was so frequent that on all however one event when this situation was potential because of the competitors schedule aligning, the game witnessed the prevalence of this pattern. The one time it didn’t happen was 1994 when Shannon Miller of the US took high honors on the World Championships and denied European athletes the power to copy this accomplishment.
The sudden disappearance of this pattern might be traced to numerous components. First, the horrible luck of Svetlana Khorkina who received the European AA in even numbered years (1998, 2000, and 2002), solely to win a Group-1 AA title all in odd numbered years (1997, 2001, and 2003). Secondly, beginning in 1990 the European AA was switched from being held in odd numbered years to being held in even numbered years. On the similar time the World Championships didn’t maintain an AA Finals in each 1998 and 2002.
This meant that in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002 the competitors schedule didn’t align for this pattern to even be potential. Lastly, by the point the competitors schedule as soon as once more aligned to make this pattern potential in most years, Europe had misplaced its standing because the dominant area of girls’s gymnastics. From 2004 and onward the Group-1 AA gold medals would go to the Individuals on most events. Thus denying the victor of the European Championships the power to win the European AA and following her victory with further AA gold on the World Championships or Olympics.
However in 2021 and after a 25 yr absence, this pattern as soon as once more returned. It began with Viktoria Listunova successful the All-Round on the 2021 European Championships whereas her teammate Angelina Melnikova received the All-Round on the World Championships later within the yr. Apparently sufficient, in 2021 the Russian program featured AA wins from its youngest breakout star (Listunova) and its oldest returning Olympian (Melnikova). Russia additionally received the gold medal within the crew competitors on the 2021 Olympics that yr as effectively.
It continues the fascinating correlation of packages that win each the European AA and a Group-1 AA title, nearly at all times find yourself successful the Workforce title as effectively. Suggesting that if a program is robust sufficient to supply a number of AA victories in a single yr, it is usually sturdy sufficient to dominate the crew competitors. However there may be one massive elephant within the room that must be addressed.
Russia’s success in 2021 got here in a singular yr the place as a consequence of Covid-19 impacting the competitors scheduling alignment, the AA titles on the World Championships, Olympics, and European Championships have been all out there to win in the identical yr. In all of WAG historical past, 2021 was the one time all three AA Finals occurred in the identical yr. Russia-2021 is the one instance on this record the place a single nation technically received a number of AA titles, however suffered a defeat within the AA en path to doing it (Sunisa Lee successful the 2021 Olympics).
Melnikova additionally received her AA title on the World Championships the place quite a few gymnasts who have been AA medal contenders on the Olympics only a few months prior both didn’t attend the 2021 World Championships, or opted to forgo the All-Round in favor of Occasion Finals. Russia was the one nation with gymnasts who positioned contained in the top-10 of the All-Round at each the World Championships and Olympics in 2021.
It’s up for readers to resolve whether or not these circumstances represent an asterisk being positioned on this specific instance. I’m positive the response to Russia’s inclusion will likely be blended. There are additionally different occasions such because the Pan American Video games, Asian Video games, and World Cup that is also included to seek out further examples of a rustic taking a number of AA titles in a single yr. However I caught with the Olympics, World Championships, and European Championships as a result of they’re the three longest operating and mostly held occasions in WAG historical past.
