In 1979 the gymnastics calendar was altered by permitting for the World Championships and European Championships to be held in the identical 12 months. For the primary time within the historical past of ladies’s creative gymnastics (WAG), these two main All-Round titles had been accessible to win in the identical 12 months. Beneath I’m going to quote the seven situations wherein a rustic managed to win a number of All-Round titles in WAG in the midst of a single 12 months 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 because of the efforts of Olga Bicherova who received the 1983 European Championships and Natalia Yurchenko who received the World Championships final 12 months.
Unusually 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 12 months, though none of them received greater than a single medal. In a testomony to how a lot depth the USSR program had that 12 months, 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.
Facet Observe: 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 wedding ceremony whereas Yurchenko as soon as stated she would somewhat tie with Bicherova for 1st place somewhat than win all by herself. I spoke of this particular relationship on my Patreon throughout a profile of Natalia Yurchenko which could 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 somewhat distinctive in that the 2 AA titles had been concurrently received by each a lone gymnast, and likewise two completely different gymnasts. The offender for this uncommon wording is the impression of a tie.
Elena Shushunova received AA gold at each the European Championships and World Championships that 12 months. 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 had been received by two completely different gymnasts, three had 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 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 Nineteen 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 flooring at each the World Championships and Olympic Video games. Romania’s different AA gold medal that 12 months 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 12 months. To today Boginskaya is the one gymnast to win the AA at each the World Championships and European Championships in the identical 12 months.
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 beneath the Olympic flag, however I choose to easily consult with it as the identical as every other Soviet workforce as a result of they had been basically the identical assortment of gymnasts from the 12 months prior. It’s only a technicality which makes them completely different.
In 1992 the Soviets (Unified Staff) was led by Tatiana Gutsu who received each the European and Olympic AA titles that 12 months. Gutsu would observe Boginskaya by being the second gymnast to win two main titles in a single 12 months. However Tatiana can be the primary to do it beneath the mixture of profitable on the European Championships and Olympic degree. Beforehand it had solely been executed in the identical 12 months 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 profitable nation to win two main AA titles in the identical 12 months. Of the seven examples of a rustic bringing dwelling two AA gold medals in a single 12 months, on six of these events they received the Staff 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 Staff 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 cause, on the 1996 European Championships Lilia Podkopayeva took the European AA title after an intense battle with none aside from Svetlana Boginskaya. In the long run, Lilia Podkopayeva needed to surpass one other gymnast on this record so as 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 profitable the European AA 3 times in her profession. This document 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 slender defeat by the hands of Podkopayeva in 1996 that denied her the chance to hitch solely Nadia on this document, and later by Khorkina.
For Lilia Podkopayeva, she was going for a document of her personal. Lilia’s victory on the 1996 European Championships helped make her the sixth instance on this record of a rustic profitable a European AA title and a Group-1 AA title in the identical 12 months. It additionally was an important victory on the best way to Lilia later holding the European, World Championships, and Olympic AA titles all on the identical time. The final individual to do that was Turischeva within the early Nineteen 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 frequent that on all however one event when this situation was doable 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 could be traced to plenty of 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 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 doable. Lastly, by the point the competitors schedule as soon as once more aligned to make this development doable in most years, Europe had misplaced its standing because the dominant area of ladies’s gymnastics. From 2004 and onward the Group-1 AA gold medals would go to the People 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 12 months absence, this development as soon as once more returned. It began with Viktoria Listunova profitable the All-Round on the 2021 European Championships whereas her teammate Angelina Melnikova received the All-Round on the World Championships later within the 12 months. 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 workforce competitors on the 2021 Olympics that 12 months as properly.
It continues the fascinating correlation of packages that win each the European AA and a Group-1 AA title, virtually at all times find yourself profitable the Staff title as properly. Suggesting that if a program is powerful sufficient to provide a number of AA victories in a single 12 months, it is usually robust sufficient to dominate the workforce competitors. However there’s one large elephant within the room that must be addressed.
Russia’s success in 2021 got here in a singular 12 months 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 accessible to win in the identical 12 months. In all of WAG historical past, 2021 was the one time all three AA Finals occurred in the identical 12 months. 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 profitable the 2021 Olympics).
Melnikova additionally received 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 resolve whether or not these circumstances represent an asterisk being positioned on this explicit instance. I’m positive the response to Russia’s inclusion will probably 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 search out further examples of a rustic taking a number of AA titles in a single 12 months. 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.
