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Belarus

Svetlana Boginskaya

Perhaps this is the best gymnast to start with since she has been around the longest. One of her many titles came with the 1989 World Championships in which she won the all-around. Because she never smiled, many took her game face to be a look of fierce competition, if not hatred. When Kim Zmeskal defeated her in the all-around in the 1991 World Championship, a rivalry started that would go on through the 1992 Olympic Games. She stated that if the Worlds had been held in Europe, she would have won. Zmeskal refused to shake her hand in the medal cermony for vault, and Bogi returned the favor during the floor exercise medal ceremonies. However, what many people did not know, is that a very kind person was inside her heart. Insiders realized that in her heart was a young woman, plucked from her kindergarten class to be a gymnast, with aspirations to be a model. However, this aspect would have to wait until after the Olympic Games. The 1992 Games was to be Svetlanas second Games, the first which ended in both triumph and tragedy. When she failed to win the all-around medal, her lifetime coach committed suicide, leaving a forever hole in Svetlanas heart. However, through the pain, this courageous woman came back in event finals to win the vault. Coming into the Barcelona Games, Boginskaya had high hopes, maybe even to win the all-around that she had come so close to in 1988. However, higher difficulty by other younger and smaller competitors got the best of her for her 9.887 bars score dropped her out of the medal runnings.

Many do not know, however, that she did end out finishing a close fourth in the all-around, just hundreths away from the bronze. Event finals was not to prove victorious, either, as her best finish was fourth again in vault. After this competition, she retired, but only to return in early 1995. Suprisingly enough, this comback was staged with her former rival, Kim Zmeskal, and her coach Bela Karolyi. Many doubted that she would ever reach her former peak again, but she proved all these doubters wrong by not only meeting it, but exceeding it. At 23, she was not only as good as 8 years ago, but learning new tricks besides. Even she admitted in April of 1995, I am starting to learn new skills, and it is fun on vault and bars. I used to hate bars (laughs). Some new tricks included her half on, half off to front layout on vault, and her two and half twist, punch front combination on floor. She really opened up some eyes at the 1996 European Cup in which she won the silver medal in the all-around. In fact, she lost by a small margin to Lilia Podkopayeva, who later won the Olympic all-around title. She might have come closer to an Olympic medal in 96 had she not caught her release move with only one hand on compulsory bars. However, more important than all the medals in the world, she was an inspiration to anyone who nearly gave up when the odds were against them.

Elena Piskun

For all of you out there who love gymnastics just for all the crazy tricks in it, this gymnast is for you. In contrary to her breathtaking tricks, Elena is calm, cool, and composed. Not only has she been underrated and underscored for years, many people still do not even know of her! When you learn of her tricks, your mouth will drop open. It is nothing unusual to see her throw a full-in, triple twist, rudi, and two and a half twist punch front, all in the same floor routine. Also among the menagerie of amazement is a flip flop, full twisting back on beam, a Deltchev on bars, paired with a hop-full, and a clean, powerful, Yurkenco double full. She is definitely a fighter, too. While it goes without saying that all these women make sacrifices, Elena won the 1993 vault world title when she does not even have a full vault runway in her gym; for gymnastics insiders it is less that 45 feet, in comparison to the usual 80 feet or so. In order even to practice her floor routine, she has to drive 130 kilometers to another gym in Minsk. Then how did her tumbling get so good, you may ask. She practices it on the vault runway! However, many would be pleased to see that indeed an athlete from the former is human: Elena admits that her weakness is her sweet tooth. However, back to the gymnastics side, Piskun readily says that her favorite event is floor even though she does not like to dance that much. She says she looks up to Svetlana Boginskaya and Lavinia Milosovici, and looks forward to hanging out with her good friend Lilia Podkopayeva. One must admire Elena for the consistancy and excitement of her gymnastics, and, most of all, the tenacity of her character.

Russia

Svetlana Khorkina

Svetlana Khorkina got her start at the 1993 European Junior Championships, in which she placed a dismal fifth. Many people doubted her and the new independant Soviet states from the start, saying there were too many odds against them. However, both were soon to prove them wrong. Khorkina was very tall from the beginning, which gave her many comparisons to Boginskaya, who also bears the same first name. On the contrary, though, Khorkina was already taller than Bogi when she was 15 and Bogi was 23. This looked like not too much of a problem for Khorkina and her coach Boris Pilkin. Together they invented new tricks and used other unusual ones that let her heightbe an advantage instead of a disadvantage. The first thing one seems to notice of Svetlana is her long riveting lines and her sleek, unusual tricks. Her gymnastics makes womens gymnastics look like womens gymnastics instead of girls gymnastics. Her Markelov, and one and a half pirouette immediate pak salto, free hip, free hip hecht half to high made bars look like uneven bars instead of just high bar. Also, it is amazing how her incredible tap swing allows her to do a full out dismount, which is more and more difficult the taller you get. These attributes won her the 1995 and 1996 world championships on uneven bars, and the same event in the Olympic Games. Some other highlights on her other events are a roundoff, half on to the horse, half twist off, piked back somersalt. Also, she is well known for her gainer combinations on beam. On floor, she reminds us all that the person who wins must dance as well as tumble. All in all, she is an incredible athlete, who is truly a package gymnast.

Rosa Galieva

Picture from '96 European Championships

Anyone who watched the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona might remember Roza as the girl knocked out of the all around competition by her coaches. Indeed, Tatiana Gutsu fell off beam and did not qualify ahead of Roza, so therefore, Rozas coaches faked an injury to her to allow Tatiana to compete. While one might think of getting mad at Tatiana, you must remember that the two were friends. Tatiana promised that if she won any prize money, she would split it with Roza, and when she won the gold she did just that. Roza was quite a talent, even back then. She had so much difficulty in her tumbling that her coaches would not even decided what she would through in a magor meet until the day before. After the Soviet Union broke up, though, Roza faced some problems with her native Uzbekistan. While she continued to train, her country sent in the applications for the Worlds late two years in a row, prohibiting her from competing. Finally, she applied for citizenship in Russian, which she got in time for the 1996 Atlanta Games. She trained together with the Russian team, and together they accomplished team silver. She made various individual event finals, among them all-around and beam, but failed to win medals in either.

Ukraine

Lilia Podkapayeva

Known for her cute nickname, Lilipod, Lilia Podkapayeva is perhaps the most complete gymnast ever seen in the modern-day sport. While many people think that Lilia came out of nowhere, many insiders know that this is not the case. This myth only comes from the fact that she is quiet and unassuming, and in never in the spotlight of controversy. At her debut in the 1993 Birmigham World Championship, she opened the eyes of many with her difficulty, incredible technique, and artistic dance. Indeed, while many gymnasts struggled with their front-fulls on floor, Lilia tumbled bounding layout fronts into a front-full! Also, her sky-high double front wowed many; very few men can even do that trick. However, above this ability, what really made her stand out was her maturity and sticking presentation at such a young age. Truly, many were tiny and young at this time, therefore able to throw the amazing tricks. On the contrary, Lilia not only did the tricks, but did them with form and style, like the few veterans out there. Pretty much the only mistake that could be seen in all four of her routines is her Tkatchev on uneven bars, in which she splits her legs slightly after the regrasp.

Probably the most striking thing about Lilia is the originality that she incorporated into her routines. For instance, she uses a Chen on beam instead of multiple layouts, and an aerial walkover instead of the ordinary front-on for an acro-dance series. Unlike many others, she doesn't substitute originality for difficulty, but instead incorporates both qualities into her routine. Also, while one may think that the reason they haven't heard much about Lilipod is because she hasn't gone through any dramatic hardships, this is also a false statement. Indeed, Lilia went through much pain not to long ago, when her grandmother died. For those who don't know, this is the person who frequently took this young girl to the ballet and opera, and similiar educational things, resulting in Lilia's balletic style. Also, she has had her share of serious injuries. In March of 1996, she suffered a fall from beam in which she broke one rib and cracked another. However, with her tough-as-nails personality, Lilipod was ready to go later that spring and early summer, in which she participated in the 1996 Worlds and Olympics. Perhaps this has shown why many gymnastics insiders frown upon others saying she was the underdog when winning the 95 World and 96 Olympic title. Now, many can breathe a sigh of relief, for Lilia has proven those wrong who say that there is no art left in gymnastics. No matter which country you support, all gymnastics fans can enjoy Lilia's modest yet graceful gymnastics.

Tatiana Gutsu

If there was ever a gymnast who seemed to rise out of nowhere, this would be the one. Tatiana, like many other gymnasts in the former Soviet Union, was plucked out of her kindergarten class, and sent several hundred miles away to train to be an elite gymnast. However, many don't know her inside story. Truly, she was trained and primed so that the 1992 Olympic Games would be her crowning moment, and the old Soviet regime was going to allow nothing to get into the way of this. She saw her family only a couple times a year, and was so close to her family that her mother almost didn't allow her to be given up for the honor of the country. All knew that Tatiana's incredible talent would provide for all the needs of the family, taking them from their crowded one room apartment (that was for nearly eight or nine people), into a luxurious four bedroom apartment. Indeed, the federation toasted to the fact that she had made the Olympic team admidst all the Soviet talent, and hoped and prayed that Barcelona would only be a synonym to success. Tatiana, However, was still very much a little girl, and didn't have a whole lot of experience. She had made her debut only a year before the 92 Olympic Games, at the 1991 Indianapolis Worlds. Here she finished fifth in the all-around, a respectable yet mediocore acheivement. Indeed, at this moment, noone was a shoo-in for Olympic gold. Many other people also know that at this time, she was already suffering from severe back problems. The pain was so great that she needed a back brace and several shots of cortisone to get her through each practice or meet. However, Tatiana herself was a very strong character, proven in her remarkable ability to overcome this pain. She tossed incredible double layouts on floor and off bars (the former with split legs), and opened her beam routine with a back layout on into an immediate flip-flop, layout combination. Her standing full on beam few others dare to try in competition, even today, and her flow on bars was awesome. Tatiana, too, was a compassionate soul. Many remember that she wasn't even supposed to make the all-around finals at the 92 Games because of a fall on beam. However, her coaches substituted her in for Rosa Galieva (who, by the way, was not injured), because they thought she had a better chance to win. However, to ease Rosa's pain, Tatiana offered her half of any of the money she might win, and followed through with the promise. However, now, after Gutsu's short lived fame, she is now left with many scars from the pain the Soviet government forced her through. She does admit that if she were to compete again, it wouldn't be for this country that caused her so much pain, but for another that would offer her hope. Either way, let us all wish Tatiana the best for the future, for this young soul has such potential for the future.

Romania

Gina Gogean

Perhaps she is one of the most underrated gymnasts, especially for being around for such a long time. Gina Gogean burst onto the scene all the way back in the 1992 Europeans and Olympic Games. Although not a contender for the titles back then, her talent and clean routines showed much promise for the future. Indeed, it only took until the 1993 World Champions to show the judges that she was a competitior for top spots and major titles. There she finished second in the all around, a mere .007 behind leader Shannon Miller.

She herself is an amazing vaulter and tumbler, with power only few in the world have. While many know little about her success, for she has long played second fiddle to Romanian stalwart Lavinia Milosovici, she did manage to outperform her teammate and friend in the 1994 Chunichi Cup, along with other very good gymnasts including Dina Kochetkova, Svetlana Khorkina, and Dominique Dawes. While a missed beam mount dropped her from second to fifth at the 1995 European Cup, she still managed to take third on bars. She was an important factor in the 1995 Sabae Team World Championships, where Romania won the gold. Despite a scarry fall on beam, in which she missed her back foot on a layout step out and hit her head on the beam going into another back handspring, she railed with her always reliable 1 1/2 twisting Yurchenko and a 9.9 on her powerful floor routine. She once again proved that she was one of the best in 1996, with individual golds on vault and floor exercise heading into the Olympics. Truly, with her double layout mount, mixed pass of front-full through to two tuck fronts, and tucked full-in dismount put her as one of the best tumbling in the world. Gogean took even took the 1995 and 1996 World titles for her floor performances. She also proved to the world that she is as tough-as-nails, with her inspiring Olympic Games, despite having appendicitis surgery only 5 weeks earlier. Even greater, she took home four medals for her performance, a true pleaser to all her fans. Her team pulled together for the bronze, while Gogean silently took home the all-around silver medal among all the hub-bub of many other gymnasts� disasters. Finally, she proved that her consistency and age pays off, as she took the vault and beam bronzes. Truly, consistency and toughness are the trademarks of Gina Gogean.

Lavinia Milosovici

Full Name: Lavinia Corina Milosovici

Birthday: October 21, 1976 in Lugoj, Romania

Family: She has an older brother, Cristian, and two dogs, Fifi and Rocki.

Coach: Ocavian Belu

If one could get a gold medal for longevity, this would be the winner. In these days, many say women's gymnastics is increasingly becoming girl's gymnastics. However, one must almost believe that Lavinia is out there to prove all critics wrong. A veteran from the '92 Barcelona Games, Lavinia won two gold medals on individual events, including a perfect 10 in floor finals. Also, Lavinia had added a team silver and all-around bronze to that. Back for victory once again, Lavinia toted home another all around bronze in the '96 Olympic Games, which had fielded an even tougher women's field. Indeed, there were about 7 or 8 girls who could have easily won the all-around, and there was no telling what the outcome was to be. The even more amazing thing about this young woman, is that she has actually gotten better over the years. However, we aren't just talking about better composure or dance, we are talking more difficult tricks. Indeed, she has added things like a double layout on floor, and a Yurchenko one and a half on vault to her repetoire, while keeping her other tricks in check. One interesting fact about Milo, as her friends call her, is that she has won an Olympic or World Championship gold medal on every individual event except the all-around. In other words, she doesn't have a weak event. Probably the most impressive thing about Lavinia, though, is her tough-as-nails personality. She is the team leader, and she truly sets forth with determination and energy. Don't believe me? She competed the entire Olympics with a sprained ankle, and hardly even wavered. However, the best thing to see her develop into over the years is the team mother. She is the one who pulls the Romanian team together; leading the way and encouraging. While her dance may not always be a ten, Lavinia's power and caring personality more than makes up for it. All in all, she has developed into quite a gymnast, as well as a woman.

Alexandra Marinescu

This up and comer surprised the entire world with her quick rise in international standings in 1995-1996. In just mid 1994, Alexandra won her first major international competition at the junior Europeans. Because she comes from the club Triumf Bucharest, and didn't start off at the usual Deva gym, Alexandra Marinescu truly provides a refreshing change from the traditional Romanian style. She is one of the few "package" gymnasts out there, as she has some incredible tricks along with gorgeous dance. Highly hyped before the '96 Games as Romania's answer to Dominique Moceanu, she won the first meet held in the Georgia Dome. However, ironically enough, for a meet that she was supposed to dominate, she was one of the quietest competitors in it. Indeed, her unlucky fate was much in due to her own coaches, who substituted a teamate in for her in the individual all-around, because they thought Simona Amanar was a "harder worker." Disapointingly enough, her last chance to prove herself came in beam finals, in which she fell three times. However, one does have to give her credit with the mature way she handled the whole misfortunate experience. With a full on beam, she is one of the top girls on the event, and has the confidence and polish of a veteran. Perhaps her unfortunate Olympic experience will only give her all the more motivation to continue excellence in the sport. One can only hope...

China

Mo Huilan

From the beginning, Mo Huilan was something special. She is the proof that only those who work hard in life suceed. On the first day of her gymnastics career, her mom gave her and her twin sister to their country to represent honor through gymnastics. However, Mo didn't have the potential according to the Chinese coaches, and wasn't to be taken. However, with begging and persistence, Mo was taken on the team, and things have flourished from there. She rapidly became a household name; her cute style seemed to grab the audience as they embraced her. Early on, she was known for her "typewriter music" on floor, and her amazing Gaylord on bars. While this Gaylord may not be nearly as good as the original, one simply has to give her credit for just having the guts to try it in competition. Now, though, as she has turned into a woman, she has become more of an all-around gymnast in the process. From her flawless double twisting Yurchencho on vault, to her sky-high round-off layout on beam, there is no weak event in sight. Truly, she has brought back the fun and joy all beginners join gymnastics for.