Elena Zamolodchikova
Encyclopedia
Elena Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova ' onMouseout='HidePop("82167")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
, Russia
), nicknamed "Zamo", was a two-time Olympic gymnast
. She began gymnastics
at the age of six. In 1999 she participated in her first major senior competition, the World Gymnastics Championships
, where she won the gold in vault, the bronze in the all-around. She was well known for her risky double-twisting double-backflip on floor and was one of a handful of women to have successfully competed one.
, Zamolodchikova produced a stunning performance, inspiring viewers both with her physical ability and her psychological strength. Just days before the competition, her father died as a result of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident. In the midst of her shock and grief, she led her team to the gold medal and earned individual silvers in the all-around and vault finals and a bronze on the beam.
Zamolodchikova was selected as a member of the Russian gymnastics team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
. She initially did not score into the all-around or vault finals; however, she earned spots in both when Elena Produnova withdrew from the all-around and Svetlana Khorkina
decided to give up her spot to Zamolodchikova. In the team competition, the Russians were leading after the preliminary rounds, and had a good chance of repeating this feat in finals. However, the four 'star' gymnasts on the team all made mistakes. Elena's was perhaps the most dramatic, slipping off the beam as she took off for a Rulfova and narrowly missing her head. These mistakes cost the Russians the gold.
After two apparatus in the all-around, Elena was in first place with her stronger exercises still to go. However, she lost her chances of an all-around medal with a fall on the floor exercise, ironically on her simplest tumble. On a night where many gymnasts made uncharacteristic errors, she eventually finished 6th. Had she scored the same in the all-around as she did for her team finals performance, her total would have been enough to win her the gold.
However, she came back to win gold on both the vault and floor, thus becoming a two-time Olympic champion. During vault finals, Khorkina sat in the stands, cheering loudly for her teammate for whom she gave up her spot. Ironically, Khorkina was leading in the floor finals until Zamolodchikova performed: both were vying for a second gold. Elena's superior tumbling won the day over Khorkina's artistry.
After becoming a double Olympic Champion, Zamolodchikova won the World
vault title in 2002 and a European all-around bronze medal in 2004, in addition to numerous other awards.
Zamolodchikova, incidentally a lieutenant in the Russian Army, competed in her second Olympic games in 2004. The Russian team won a bronze medal, and Zamolodchikova just missed out on an individual vault medal, placing fourth behind Monica Roşu
of Romania
, Annia Hatch
of the United States
, and a fellow Russian, Anna Pavlova.
She competed most recently at the 2005 World Championships
in Melbourne
, where she was again unlucky, placing fourth in both vault and floor finals. Floor finals were particularly disappointing: she performed four extremely difficult tumbling passes, landing each one cleanly, but did not successfully compete all of her dance combinations. Her start value was lowered as a result from 10.0 to 9.7, and she scored a 9.162, placing her behind Americans Alicia Sacramone
and Nastia Liukin
, and Dutch
gymnast Suzanne Harmes
. Zamolodchikova's low score was unpopular with the crowd, who appeared to think she should have won bronze. She scored an average of 9.318 on her two vaults, finishing behind Cheng Fei
of China
, Oksana Chusovitina
of Uzbekistan
, and Alicia Sacramone of the U.S.
Many gymnasts retired as the new code was introduced, but not Elena. Despite speculation amongst fans, she has just kept on going, and improved vastly throughout 2006. At her first competition of the year, the American Cup
, she had a disappointing competition, especially on bars, where she fell. Zamolodchikova was highly emotional after her routine and was seen crying. Problems were compounded when an injury prevented selection for the 2006 European Championships in Volos
, Greece
.
However, despite both this and her advanced age for a gymnast. Elena bounced back. She helped the Russian team to a bronze medal in the team event, their first at world level since 2001, and qualified to vault finals where she was fourth. In 2006, she also competed her new vault skill, a Yurchenko laid out half-on, half-off which has an A-score of 5.6P in the new code.
After the World Championships, she competed in a few World Cup competitions winning a bronze medal on vault in the DTB-Cup in Stuttgart and two silver medals on vault and on floor in the Glasgow Grand Prix. She crowned her year with a bronze on vault at the World Cup Finals in São Paulo
, Brazil
.
In 2007, she returned to the international scene in better shape. At the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she was again met by disappointment. Her teammate Ekaterina Kramarenko ran up and touched the vaulting table but stopped and received a 0. Through tears, Zamo performed a solid vault, but the Russian team had already ended up eight, and last. In the event finals, Zamo struggled as she fell on her second vault, and finished again in eighth.
Zamolodchikova continued training in 2008 in hopes of making the Russian Olympic team for the third time, but a back injury prevented her from a better showing and she failed to do so. Instead, she competed in various Word Cup events, narrowly missing a medal on floor at the 2008 World Cup Final in Madrid, where she finished fourth.
Struggling with injury, her last competition were the 2009 University Games in Belgrade. As of March 2010, Elena has not officially announced her retirement from the sport and is still a member of the Russian National Team as a reserve. In the meantime, she has also devoted her career to technical gymnastics as a judge, the 2009 DTB Cup in Germany being the first competition in her new role.
2000 Olympics: "Who's That Creepin'?/Daddy-O" - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
/ Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades
2002 Worlds: "Crazy Benny/Breathe" - Safri Duo
/ Moist
2004 Olympics: "Egyptian Symphony" - Motzart
2005 Worlds : "Crazy Benny" by Safri Duo and "Breathe" by Prodigy.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), nicknamed "Zamo", was a two-time Olympic gymnast
Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics
Gymnastics events have been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. For 32 years, only men were allowed to compete. Beginning at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in artistic...
. She began gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
at the age of six. In 1999 she participated in her first major senior competition, the World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
, where she won the gold in vault, the bronze in the all-around. She was well known for her risky double-twisting double-backflip on floor and was one of a handful of women to have successfully competed one.
Competitive history
At the 2000 European Championships in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Zamolodchikova produced a stunning performance, inspiring viewers both with her physical ability and her psychological strength. Just days before the competition, her father died as a result of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident. In the midst of her shock and grief, she led her team to the gold medal and earned individual silvers in the all-around and vault finals and a bronze on the beam.
Zamolodchikova was selected as a member of the Russian gymnastics team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. She initially did not score into the all-around or vault finals; however, she earned spots in both when Elena Produnova withdrew from the all-around and Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina is a popular Russian gymnast and seven-time Olympic medalist, who is now a deputy at the Russian State Duma. With an unprecedented nine gold, eight silver, and three bronze World Championships medals, she is one of the most successful female gymnasts of her era and has...
decided to give up her spot to Zamolodchikova. In the team competition, the Russians were leading after the preliminary rounds, and had a good chance of repeating this feat in finals. However, the four 'star' gymnasts on the team all made mistakes. Elena's was perhaps the most dramatic, slipping off the beam as she took off for a Rulfova and narrowly missing her head. These mistakes cost the Russians the gold.
After two apparatus in the all-around, Elena was in first place with her stronger exercises still to go. However, she lost her chances of an all-around medal with a fall on the floor exercise, ironically on her simplest tumble. On a night where many gymnasts made uncharacteristic errors, she eventually finished 6th. Had she scored the same in the all-around as she did for her team finals performance, her total would have been enough to win her the gold.
However, she came back to win gold on both the vault and floor, thus becoming a two-time Olympic champion. During vault finals, Khorkina sat in the stands, cheering loudly for her teammate for whom she gave up her spot. Ironically, Khorkina was leading in the floor finals until Zamolodchikova performed: both were vying for a second gold. Elena's superior tumbling won the day over Khorkina's artistry.
After becoming a double Olympic Champion, Zamolodchikova won the World
2002 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 36th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Debrecen, Hungary, in 2002 at Főnix Hall.The team and all-around events were not contested at the 2002 Worlds. The format was similar to that of the 1992 Worlds, with medals being awarded for the individual WAG and MAG apparatus...
vault title in 2002 and a European all-around bronze medal in 2004, in addition to numerous other awards.
Zamolodchikova, incidentally a lieutenant in the Russian Army, competed in her second Olympic games in 2004. The Russian team won a bronze medal, and Zamolodchikova just missed out on an individual vault medal, placing fourth behind Monica Roşu
Monica Rosu
Monica Roşu is an artistic gymnast from Romania. During her career she won two Olympic gold medals , a silver medal with the team at world championships and two gold continental medals ....
of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Annia Hatch
Annia Hatch
Annia Portuondo Hatch is a Cuban-American gymnast who competed for the United States at the 2004 Olympics.Hatch began gymnastics in her native Cuba at the age of five...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and a fellow Russian, Anna Pavlova.
She competed most recently at the 2005 World Championships
2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 38th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia from the 21st to the 27th November 2005. Only the all-around and event finals were contested at this meet...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where she was again unlucky, placing fourth in both vault and floor finals. Floor finals were particularly disappointing: she performed four extremely difficult tumbling passes, landing each one cleanly, but did not successfully compete all of her dance combinations. Her start value was lowered as a result from 10.0 to 9.7, and she scored a 9.162, placing her behind Americans Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone is an American artistic gymnast.Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two...
and Nastia Liukin
Nastia Liukin
Anastasia Valeryevna "Nastia" Liukin is a Russian-American artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic individual all-around Champion, the 2005 and 2007 World Champion on the balance beam, and the 2005 World Champion on the uneven bars...
, and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
gymnast Suzanne Harmes
Suzanne Harmes
Suzanne Helena Johanna Harmes is a Dutch gymnast.In 2002 she won the silver medal at the European Championships in Patras as a part of the Dutch team alongside Gabriella Wammes, Renske Endel, Monique Nuijten and Verona van de Leur. A year later she became Dutch National Champion for the first time...
. Zamolodchikova's low score was unpopular with the crowd, who appeared to think she should have won bronze. She scored an average of 9.318 on her two vaults, finishing behind Cheng Fei
Cheng Fei
Cheng Fei is a Chinese gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion on the vault and 2006 World Champion on floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina is an Olympic medalist and World Champion gymnast who has competed for Germany since 2006. She was formerly a citizen of, and a competitor for, the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan ....
of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, and Alicia Sacramone of the U.S.
Many gymnasts retired as the new code was introduced, but not Elena. Despite speculation amongst fans, she has just kept on going, and improved vastly throughout 2006. At her first competition of the year, the American Cup
American Cup
The American Cup was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually declined in importance with the establishment of the National Challenge Cup...
, she had a disappointing competition, especially on bars, where she fell. Zamolodchikova was highly emotional after her routine and was seen crying. Problems were compounded when an injury prevented selection for the 2006 European Championships in Volos
Volos
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
However, despite both this and her advanced age for a gymnast. Elena bounced back. She helped the Russian team to a bronze medal in the team event, their first at world level since 2001, and qualified to vault finals where she was fourth. In 2006, she also competed her new vault skill, a Yurchenko laid out half-on, half-off which has an A-score of 5.6P in the new code.
After the World Championships, she competed in a few World Cup competitions winning a bronze medal on vault in the DTB-Cup in Stuttgart and two silver medals on vault and on floor in the Glasgow Grand Prix. She crowned her year with a bronze on vault at the World Cup Finals in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
In 2007, she returned to the international scene in better shape. At the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she was again met by disappointment. Her teammate Ekaterina Kramarenko ran up and touched the vaulting table but stopped and received a 0. Through tears, Zamo performed a solid vault, but the Russian team had already ended up eight, and last. In the event finals, Zamo struggled as she fell on her second vault, and finished again in eighth.
Zamolodchikova continued training in 2008 in hopes of making the Russian Olympic team for the third time, but a back injury prevented her from a better showing and she failed to do so. Instead, she competed in various Word Cup events, narrowly missing a medal on floor at the 2008 World Cup Final in Madrid, where she finished fourth.
Struggling with injury, her last competition were the 2009 University Games in Belgrade. As of March 2010, Elena has not officially announced her retirement from the sport and is still a member of the Russian National Team as a reserve. In the meantime, she has also devoted her career to technical gymnastics as a judge, the 2009 DTB Cup in Germany being the first competition in her new role.
Floor music
1999 Worlds: "Baby Elephant Walk" - Henry ManciniHenry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
2000 Olympics: "Who's That Creepin'?/Daddy-O" - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight ", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played the Super Bowl XXXIII half-time show in 1999.The band was originally formed in Ventura,...
/ Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades
Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades
Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades is a band that was formed in 1997 in Tucson, Arizona. Combining various influences from swing music, ska, rockabilly music and rock Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades attracted a local following throughout the Southwest of The United States. Best associated...
2002 Worlds: "Crazy Benny/Breathe" - Safri Duo
Safri Duo
Safri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis . Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000...
/ Moist
2004 Olympics: "Egyptian Symphony" - Motzart
2005 Worlds : "Crazy Benny" by Safri Duo and "Breathe" by Prodigy.