Press
January 12, 2022
The Greatest Team That Never Went to the Olympics (Part I) – An Old School Gymnastics Blog
At the 1983 World Championships in women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG), the Soviet Union won the gold medal in the team competition. What makes this particular result unique in the context of larger WAG history, is that not one member of the 1983 Soviet team is an Olympian.
January 12, 2022
The Greatest Team That Never Went to the Olympics (Part II) – An Old School Gymnastics Blog
In Part I of these series, I explained the historical significance of the 1983 Soviets and how unusual it is that not one member of this team went to the Olympics. Below is an overview of each of the six members who comprised the 1983 Soviets.
July 16, 2021
Natalia Yurchenko On The Evolution Of Her Vault: ‘Tears of joy on how far a human can go’
Lieve Olivera, a former FIG judge, interviewed Mrs. Natalia Sklyarova-Yurchenko, three-time world champion, innovator of the “Yurchenko” vault, and inductee in the prestigious “International Gymnastics Hall of Fame”.
June 4, 2021
Simone Biles' Yurchenko vault has roots in Russia
Four decades ago, in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a gymnastics coach envisioned a future that included more flips, more twists and more difficulty on every event. At his training facility, he and his fellow coaches would instruct beginners to jump from a balcony into a foam pit as a way to gauge their fearlessness.
May 31, 2021
Natalia Yurchenko on Simone Biles' feat: "I was dreaming about seeing it"
The 1983 world champion and vault innovator explains how her eponymous element came to be and what Biles’ double pike meant to her.
January 22, 2021
Legends of Gymnastics: Q & A with Natalia Yurchenko
Natalia Yurchenko’s name is indelibly linked with Gymnastics in a way that even many of the sport’s grandest champions cannot boast.
As the first gymnast to perform the Yurchenko-style vault – a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting horse, as it was then called – the former Soviet competitor helped usher in a new era in Gymnastics, where the difficulty of a gymnast’s work became increasingly important.
January 10, 2016
Natalia Yurchenko: An Appreciation - Rewriting Russian Gymnastics
When I was a girl, I used to watch gymnastics. Avidly, concentratedly, passionately. There was no Youtube or internet so every second of the three or four hours I had pored over on our little black and white TV set had to fuel my interest for a full twelve months, maybe even more. I had to imagine the rest…
January 10, 2016
Natalia Yurchenko: An Exclusive Interview - Rewriting Russian Gymnastics
1983 World Champion Natalia Yurchenko speaks directly to readers of RRG in this exclusive interview.
August 1, 2013
Flashback: Natalia Yurchenko's First Elite Competition
In episode two Flashback Friday with 1983 World Champion Natalia Yurchenko, she takes us back to her first elite competition. Natalia talks about struggling with consistency at the beginning of her elite career.
December 10, 2010
One Coach's Journey From East To West: How The Fall Of The Iron Curtain Changed The World Of Gymnastics
Excerpt from One Coach’s Journey from East to West by Vladimir Zaglada.
“But the way Natalia Yurchenko revolved her body to create the Yurchenko vault instigated a real revolution in gymnastics. It has inspired scholarly treatises and biomechanical research.”
July 12, 2013
Natalia Yurchenko: “Rewarded, not Sacrificed”, The Beginning of a Legend’s Career: Interview
An interview with Natalia Yurchenko by Jason from Gymnastike on July 12, 2013.
1995
“Gymnastics, Football and Little Olga”
Article in a Russian Newspaper about World Champions’ life after competition
October 1987
Back Cover: World Gymanstics Championships Program
Back Cover: World Gymnastics Championships – Rotterdam Netherlands October 1987.
January 1984
Cover: International Gymnastics Magazine – 1983 World Championships
Cover: International Gymnastics Magazine: January 1984 – “1983 World Championships”.
1984
1984 Moscow News International Gymnastics Tournament Program
1984 Moscow News International Gymnastics Tournament Program.
1984
Cover: World Gymnastics – Champions of the World in 1983
Cover: World Gymnastics 1984/1 No 18 – “Champions of the World in 1983”.