Oksana Omelianchik
Encyclopedia
Oksana Alexandrovna Omelianchik ' onMouseout='HidePop("36169")' href="/topics/Gymnast">gymnast
and the all-around gold medalist of the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships
.
, USSR). She was originally a figure skater, and participated in her first skating meet at the age of 6. She began gymnastics on the recommendation of her skating choreographer, who believed she had potential in the sport. She trained at the Spartak
club in Kiev
, where her coaches included Valentina Panchenko, Valery Tupitsy and Galina Perskaya.
By 1983, Omelianchik was competing internationally for the USSR. At that year's Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important meet for junior gymnasts, she earned gold medals on the floor exercise and uneven bars and placed fourth in the all-around competition. At her first USSR Championships in 1983, she placed fifth in the all-around. The next year, she competed in both the junior and senior USSR Championships, winning the all-around silver medal at the former and finishing fourth at the latter, and was selected as the alternate for the Soviet team at the 1984 Friendship Games (also known as 'Olomouc', after the city in which the competition was held).
, silver on the floor exercise and bronze on the uneven bars.
Omelianchik was a member of the first place Soviet team at the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships
in Montreal
, but struggled in the team competition and did not qualify for the all-around final. However, Soviet team officials decided to pull Olga Mostepanova
and Irina Baraksanova, who had both qualified for the finals, and substitute Omelianchik and her teammate Shushunova. The decision proved to be sound; the two Soviet gymnasts tied for the all-around gold and became Worlds Co-Champions. In the event finals, Omelianchik won the floor gold medal with her "Birdie" exercise, which would become her most well-known routine.
Omelianchik continued to compete for the Soviet team after the World Championships, placing third in the all-around at the 1986 Goodwill Games
and third all around at the World Cup in Beijing. She also won the balance beam title and placed second on uneven bars and vault and third on floor exercise. The following year at the World Championships the Soviet team lost the title to a dominant team from Romania. Omelianchik debuted her new vault which introduced the half on technique in the roundoff family of vaults. She also showcased a new floor routine to Ballet Russe and a new triple full to a tuck front rebound, but suffered an uncharacteristic fall in the team competition. She placed fifth all around and failed to qualify for any event finals.
Despite maintaining consistent results within the top the 7 in the USSR Cup and USSR Championships for years, she was not selected for the 1988 Olympics
. She was named as an alternate to the team and traveled with them to Seoul, but was not called upon to compete. Her final competition was the 1989 USSR Cup, where she placed 2nd in the all-around.
and Olga Roshupkina.
In a poll in Inside Gymnastics magazine, she was chosen as one of the "Top Ten All-Around Gymnasts of All Time."
.
Floor exercise: Omelianchik was one of the pioneers of back-to-back tumbling, a series of skills in which a gymnast completes one full tumbling run from one end of the FX mat to the other, rebounds, and performs another complete tumbling run in the opposite direction without stopping.
Vault: On vault, "the Omelianchik" is a round-off half-on front pike.
Balance beam: Omelianchik's namesake skill is a back handspring-3/4 turn to handstand, which was rated as a 'D' in the 2005-2006 Code.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
and the all-around gold medalist of the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships
1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 23rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada, in 1985.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :...
.
Early life and career
Omelianchik was born on January 2, 1970 or December 31, 1969 in Ulan-UdeUlan-Ude
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
, USSR). She was originally a figure skater, and participated in her first skating meet at the age of 6. She began gymnastics on the recommendation of her skating choreographer, who believed she had potential in the sport. She trained at the Spartak
Spartak
Spartak is the name of a sports society which existed in the former Soviet Union and other socialist countries. For some history of the Moscow club see FC Spartak Moscow...
club in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, where her coaches included Valentina Panchenko, Valery Tupitsy and Galina Perskaya.
By 1983, Omelianchik was competing internationally for the USSR. At that year's Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important meet for junior gymnasts, she earned gold medals on the floor exercise and uneven bars and placed fourth in the all-around competition. At her first USSR Championships in 1983, she placed fifth in the all-around. The next year, she competed in both the junior and senior USSR Championships, winning the all-around silver medal at the former and finishing fourth at the latter, and was selected as the alternate for the Soviet team at the 1984 Friendship Games (also known as 'Olomouc', after the city in which the competition was held).
Senior career
In 1985, Omelianchik won the Soviet National Championships, beating the future Olympic champion Elena Shushunova. She also competed at the European Championships for the first time, winning the balance beam title showing a triple twist dismount. She also won a bronze medal in the all-around behind Shushunova and East German Maxi GnauckMaxi Gnauck
Maxi Gnauck is a retired Artistic Gymnast. With a total of 27 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, and European Championships she is considered one of the most successful woman gymnast that Germany has ever produced.Her parents were expecting a boy and they planned to name...
, silver on the floor exercise and bronze on the uneven bars.
Omelianchik was a member of the first place Soviet team at the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, but struggled in the team competition and did not qualify for the all-around final. However, Soviet team officials decided to pull Olga Mostepanova
Olga Mostepanova
Olga Vasilyevna Mostepanova is a retired prominent Soviet gymnast. Her birth year has been variously reported as 1968 or 1969, but Mostepanova herself has stated that she was actually born in 1970.-Gymnastics career:...
and Irina Baraksanova, who had both qualified for the finals, and substitute Omelianchik and her teammate Shushunova. The decision proved to be sound; the two Soviet gymnasts tied for the all-around gold and became Worlds Co-Champions. In the event finals, Omelianchik won the floor gold medal with her "Birdie" exercise, which would become her most well-known routine.
Omelianchik continued to compete for the Soviet team after the World Championships, placing third in the all-around at the 1986 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
and third all around at the World Cup in Beijing. She also won the balance beam title and placed second on uneven bars and vault and third on floor exercise. The following year at the World Championships the Soviet team lost the title to a dominant team from Romania. Omelianchik debuted her new vault which introduced the half on technique in the roundoff family of vaults. She also showcased a new floor routine to Ballet Russe and a new triple full to a tuck front rebound, but suffered an uncharacteristic fall in the team competition. She placed fifth all around and failed to qualify for any event finals.
Despite maintaining consistent results within the top the 7 in the USSR Cup and USSR Championships for years, she was not selected for the 1988 Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
. She was named as an alternate to the team and traveled with them to Seoul, but was not called upon to compete. Her final competition was the 1989 USSR Cup, where she placed 2nd in the all-around.
Post-retirement
Omelianchik remains heavily involved in gymnastics as a choreographer, coach and judge. She heads the women's technical committee for the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation and choreographs routines for many of Ukraine's top gymnnasts, including Alina KozichAlina Kozich
Alina Kozich is a former Ukrainian gymnast. She is from Kiev and was a member of the 2004 Ukrainian Olympic team in Athens, Greece. She started Gymnastics at the age of 5 and her younger sister Olha is also a very talented gymnast....
and Olga Roshupkina.
In a poll in Inside Gymnastics magazine, she was chosen as one of the "Top Ten All-Around Gymnasts of All Time."
Skills
Omelianchik was noted for her innovative skills, clean execution and energetic, inspired presentation. She is also the originator of two skills, which are named after her in the Code of PointsCode of Points (artistic gymnastics)
A Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics. There is no unified, international code of points; every oversight organization—such as FIG , NCAA Gymnastics, and most national gymnastics federations—designs and employs its own unique Code...
.
Floor exercise: Omelianchik was one of the pioneers of back-to-back tumbling, a series of skills in which a gymnast completes one full tumbling run from one end of the FX mat to the other, rebounds, and performs another complete tumbling run in the opposite direction without stopping.
Vault: On vault, "the Omelianchik" is a round-off half-on front pike.
Balance beam: Omelianchik's namesake skill is a back handspring-3/4 turn to handstand, which was rated as a 'D' in the 2005-2006 Code.
Achievements
| Year | Event | AA | Team | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | USSR Championships | 3rd | |||||
| 1985 | World Championships 1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 23rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada, in 1985.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :... |
1st | 1st | 1st | |||
| European Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | |||
| USSR Championships | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | ||||
| 1986 | World Cup | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | |
| Goodwill Games Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s... |
3rd | 1st | 2nd | ||||
| USSR Championships | 2nd | ||||||
| 1987 | World Championships 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 24th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1987.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :... |
2nd | |||||
| USSR Cup | 3rd | ||||||
| USSR Championships | 3rd | ||||||
| 1988 | USSR Championships | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
| 1989 | USSR Championships | 2nd |
External links and sources
- Whatever happened to Oksana Omelianchik?
- List of competition results at Gymn Forum
- Video of Oksana Omelianchik performing Omelianchik vault - 1987 Worlds1987 World Artistic Gymnastics ChampionshipsThe 24th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1987.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :...
, team optionals - Animation of a gymnast performing Omelianchik vault
