Svetlana Boginskaya

Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaja (White Russian Сьвятлана Леанідаўна Багінская / Swjatlana Leanidauna Bahinskaja, Russian Светлана Леонидовна Богинская; born February 9, 1973 in Minsk) is a former Soviet and Belarusian gymnast. The triple Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion succeeded in 1990 at the European Championships in Brussels, all five individual competitions to decide for themselves. The 1.61 meters for a gymnast unusually large Boginskaja impressed during her career mainly by elegance and feminine appeal. Boginskaja one of the few gymnasts who have participated in three Olympic Games.

Life and career

Sporting career

Boginskaja began at the age of six years with the gymnastics. At age 10 she was accepted into the Soviet Round Lake training center for gymnasts near Moscow. Their first international medals she won at the Junior World Championships 1986 in Karlsruhe. There she won the gold medal in the all around competition and on the balance beam and the silver medal in jump and on the uneven bars. A year later, she became a member of the Soviet senior national team. At their first World Gymnastics Championships 1987 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, she won the Soviet team the silver medal in the team all-around behind the Romanian gymnasts and the bronze medal on beam.

Boginskaja succeeded at the Summer Olympics in 1988, to intervene in the duel at the time of the best gymnasts Daniela Silivaş and Jelena Schuschunowa. In multiplayer battle they won behind Schuschunowa and Silivaş the bronze medal in the team all-around, she won the Soviet team Schuschunowa the gold medal in the floor exercise, she won the silver medal behind Silivaş and she won a surprise jump in well ahead of the Romanians Gabriela Potorac and Daniela Silivaş. However, this triumph could enjoy only short Boginskaja. Three days after the Olympic Games celebrated their long-standing coach Lyubov Miromanova totally unexpected suicide. Miromanova who had left no explanation for her suicide was, for Boginskaja more than just a trainer. For the young female athlete of the loss of their main caregiver was difficult to handle. She lost motivation and stopped exercising. The Soviet coaches succeeded Boginskaja to move to continue.

With their new coach Ludmilla Popkovich Boginskaja began to prepare for the World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart in 1989. With wins in the individual all-around, in the team all-around and on the ground, she was the most successful gymnast in the world championships. Later Boginskaja said that she felt after winning the title in the individual all-around, to have won the title of both her ​​late coach Lyubov Miromanova as well because of her. In the same year she also won at the European Gymnastics Championships in Brussels, the gold medal in the individual all-around, at the bottom and jump. On the balance beam and uneven bars she missed just under the medals in fourth. A year later Boginskaja achieved a triumph, which was only a few gymnasts so far. She won all the contracts to be title at the European Gymnastics Championships in Athens. She won both the individual competition as well as on all four devices ( a team competition was not held ). At the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990, she won further gold with the team silver in the individual all-around, gold on floor and bronze in jump.

Boginskaja could at the World Gymnastics Championships 1991 at the American Indianapolis not defend the title in the individual all-around. Behind the American Kim Zmeskal she won the silver medal. On the balance beam she won but just as with the Soviet team gold medal. While Zmeskal at the World Gymnastics Championships in Paris in 1992 in which no more fighting competitions were held, the title won on the ground and on the balance beam, Boginskaja could achieve only the silver medal in jump. At the time small, powerful, young sportsmen certain gymnastics, succeeded the tall, elegant gymnast to be seldom victorious. She won at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona still the gold medal with the team of the Commonwealth of Independent States, but could not achieve a medal in all individual competitions. In leap she missed the podium in fourth just and individual all-around and on beam she took fifth place respectively. After the Olympics, the then 19 -year-old athlete announced her retirement from gymnastics.

After several years Boginskaja had earned their money with show -turn events, she decided in 1995 to make a comeback. She went to the USA and started in Houston under the Romanian gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi successful to train. To her training group included, among other things, the future Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu. At their first international championship after their return to competitive sports, the World Gymnastics Championships in 1995, she won the Belarusian team to eighth place in the team competition and 16th in the individual all-around. But already in the following year Gymnastics European Championships a sensational success. Behind the Ukrainian Lilia Podkopajewa won the 23 -year-old Belarusian silver medal in the individual all-around. With this capacity, she led the Belorussian team to a good fourth place. Furthermore, they failed to qualify for all apparatus finals. On the balance beam she missed in fourth also just a medal. At the other devices they finished sixth, respectively. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, however, they could not confirm this benefit. In the individual all-around, she took the 14th place and with the Belarusian team to sixth place. Only in the leap they reached the final, which she finished in fifth place. After her third Olympic Games Boginskaja finally finished their athletic careers.

2005 Boginskaja was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Life after the athletic career

The married to a U.S. citizen mother of a son and a daughter is the owner of two companies in Houston. It operates on the one hand a business for gymnastic equipment and is further owner of Olympia Gymnastics Camp. There they organized a training camp for young gymnasts, to which it participates alongside other successful former gymnasts themselves as a trainer.