For every Boginskaya and Shushunova out there winning World and Olympic medals, there was another talented gymnast toiling away the Soviet Union. With only 6 spots up for grabs each year, many excellent gymnasts never had a chance to display their skills on the world stage as a result of the extreme depth on the Soviet team in the 1980s. If given half a chance they, too, could have earned accolades and changed the history of the sport.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, many gymnasts who would have formerly been on the bubble were able to compete for their respective republics at the World Championships the following year. Interesting gymnasts such as Lyudmila Stovbchataya (UKR), the Yulia Yurkina (BLR) and Irina Yevdokimova (KAZ) were some of the 18 ex-Soviet female gymnasts competing in Birmingham.

Here are some of the top-notch performers who sadly never wore the Soviet flag at a World Championships or an Olympic Games:

TATIANA GROSHKOVA

1990 USA vs USSR, Balance Beam

The press handstand mount, the full-twisting back, the sideways backhandspring to Yurchenko loop, a full-in dismount, the flower leo and yarn…what more can a gym fan ask for?!

1989 Chunichi Cup, Floor Exercise

Don’t miss the double full-in first pass! She and Alexis Brion remain the only ladies to ever compete this skill.

ALEFTINA PRIAKHINA

1986 Chunichi Cup, Floor Exercise

Although the skill bears the name of Daniela Silivas (ROM) in the Code of Points, Priakhina was in fact the first gymnast to perform the double-double on floor.

1987 USSR Display, Uneven Bars

Check out how close together the bars are set!

OLGA CHUDINA

1988 Chunichi Cup

1988 USSR vs CHN, UNeven Bars

NATALIA FROLOVA

1986 Kraft Invitational, Floor Exercise

My favourite floor routine of all time!

YULIA KUT

1990 Dutch Open, Floor Exercise

1990 Dutch Open, Uneven Bars

ARMINE BARUTYAN

1985 Medico Cup, Floor Exercise

Barutyan, owner of a fantastic planche on beam, was rumoured to be training a double layout dismount of that apparatus!

Which other amazing gymnasts do you think could have won titles and been stars if given a chance to compete at a Worlds or Olympics?

In the 1990s, Dominique Dawes captured the attention of gymnastics fans around the world with many fantastic skills: a Hindorff on bars, three consecutive layouts on beam, two flip-flops to a full-in dismount, and back-to-back tumbling on floor. Though her lengthy competitive career spanned three Olympic Games and five World Championships, Dominique’s most successful competition was undoubtedly the 1994 U.S. Championships where she won all five available gold medals (Shannon Miller won all five silver medals, leaving only the bronze medals for all the other gymnasts!). Coached by Kelli Hill in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Dominique was the first Hill’s Angel to achieve national prominence.

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Vault isn’t the only culprit when it comes to equipment problems (see “The Faulty Vault”). There have been quite a few incidents on uneven bars in which a cable has snapped during a routine and the entire apparatus has collapsed. Fortunately in all three cases I found, no one was injured…just a little bit shaken up!

Ludmilla Tourischeva’s fall is perhaps the best known case of such an occurrence. During the 1975 World Cup, the bars fell just as the Soviet gymnast completed her routine. It didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest, and she ended up winning the event.

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Three years ago on Christmas Eve, the mysterious black-and-white videos of the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc were suddenly unveiled. Indeed, there had been question as to whether or not footage of this competition actually existed, and discussions surrounding its whereabouts frequently popped up on gymnastics message boards.

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