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 had been obtainable to win in the identical yr. Beneath I’m going to quote the seven cases during which 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 degree 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 gained the 1983 European Championships and Natalia Yurchenko who gained the World Championships final yr.
Surprisingly sufficient, Albina Shishova gained a bronze AA medal on the 1983 European Championships whereas Olga Mostepanova gained an AA silver medal on the 1983 World Championships. This meant the Soviet Union produced 4 completely different gymnasts who gained an AA medal that yr, though none of them gained 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 resulting from nation limits of solely three WAGs per nation.
Aspect Word: Olga Bicherova and Natalia Yurchenko each taking main AA titles in 1983 is especially particular contemplating they’d go on to be lifelong mates. Bicherova attended Yurchenko’s marriage ceremony whereas Yurchenko as soon as mentioned she would reasonably tie with Bicherova for 1st place reasonably 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 reasonably distinctive in that the 2 AA titles had been concurrently gained by each a lone gymnast, and in addition two completely different gymnasts. The wrongdoer for this uncommon wording is the impression of a tie.
Elena Shushunova gained AA gold at each the European Championships and World Championships that yr. However, on the 1985 World Championships Shushunova gained in a tie and shared the medal together with her teammate Oksana Omelianchik. Of the seven cases the place a single nation gained a number of AA titles between the European Championships and Group-1 competitors, three had been gained by two completely different gymnasts, three had been gained 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 had 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 certainly one of their most embarrassing defeats in program historical past.
Sadly although, it was the one AA title Silivas gained 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 gained 5 gold medals plus a 4th place end on her final occasion.
In 1989 Svetlana Boginskaya gained 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 today 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’ll be able to name the 1992 workforce the ex-Soviets who competed below the Olympic flag, however I desire to easily check with it as the identical as another Soviet workforce as a result of they had been essentially the identical assortment of gymnasts from the yr prior. It’s only a technicality which makes them completely different.
In 1992 the Soviets (Unified Crew) was led by Tatiana Gutsu who gained each the European and Olympic AA titles that yr. Gutsu would comply with Boginskaya by being the second gymnast to win two main titles in a single yr. However Tatiana could be the primary to do it below the mixture of successful on the European Championships and Olympic degree. Beforehand it had solely been finished in the identical yr on the World Championships and European Championships.
Ukraine could be the one nation from exterior 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 house two AA gold medals in a single yr, on six of these events they gained the Crew gold medal on the Group-1 degree together with it. Ukraine-1996 is the one such event the place they not solely did not win gold in Crew Finals, however did not win any medal in any respect within the workforce competitors (World Championships or Olympics).
However this explicit result’s symbolic for an additional purpose, 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 listing with a purpose to make the listing herself. The 1996 European All-Round Finals would go down as one of many biggest 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 thrice in her profession. This file 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 adorned Svetlana Khorkina joined Nadia on this accomplishment. For Svetlana Boginskaya, it was a slim defeat by the hands of Podkopayeva in 1996 that denied her the chance to hitch solely Nadia on this file, and later by Khorkina.
For Lilia Podkopayeva, she was going for a file of her personal. Lilia’s victory on the 1996 European Championships helped make her the sixth instance on this listing 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 identical time. The final particular person 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 development of a number of AA titles going to the identical nation was so widespread that on all however one event when this state of affairs was attainable as a result of competitors schedule aligning, the game witnessed the incidence of this development. The one time it didn’t happen was 1994 when Shannon Miller of the US took prime honors on the World Championships and denied European athletes the flexibility to duplicate this accomplishment.
The sudden disappearance of this development might be traced to plenty of components. First, the horrible luck of Svetlana Khorkina who gained 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 identical 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 development to even be attainable. Lastly, by the point the competitors schedule as soon as once more aligned to make this development attainable 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 flexibility 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 development 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 gained the All-Round on the World Championships later within the yr. Curiously sufficient, in 2021 the Russian program featured AA wins from its youngest breakout star (Listunova) and its oldest returning Olympian (Melnikova). Russia additionally gained the gold medal within the workforce competitors on the 2021 Olympics that yr as nicely.
It continues the fascinating correlation of packages that win each the European AA and a Group-1 AA title, nearly all the time find yourself successful the Crew title as nicely. Suggesting that if a program is powerful sufficient to supply a number of AA victories in a single yr, it’s also robust sufficient to dominate the workforce competitors. However there may be one large elephant within the room that must be addressed.
Russia’s success in 2021 got here in a novel yr the place resulting from Covid-19 impacting the competitors scheduling alignment, the AA titles on the World Championships, Olympics, and European Championships had been all obtainable 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 listing the place a single nation technically gained 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 gained her AA title on the World Championships the place quite a few gymnasts who had been AA medal contenders on the Olympics just some 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 determine whether or not these circumstances represent an asterisk being positioned on this explicit instance. I’m certain the response to Russia’s inclusion shall be combined. There are additionally different occasions such because the Pan American Video games, Asian Video games, and World Cup that may be included to search 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 working and mostly held occasions in WAG historical past.
