11 Facts About Olena Vitrychenko

Olena Vitrychenko is the 1996 Olympics bronze medalist, the 1997 World All-around champion and 1997 European All-around champion.

Olena Vitrychenko was introduced to the sport in 1980 when she was four years old by her mother, Nina, herself a former rhythmic gymnast.

Olena Vitrychenko's mother coached her at the Deryuguina School in Kiev.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Vitrychenko seemed to be a contender for the gold medal, having placed first after preliminaries and second after the semi-finals.

Olena Vitrychenko placed second behind teammate Ekaterina Serebrianskaya after the first rotation on the rope, but her ball routine score of 9.800 threw her out of the gold medal hunt, and she had to fight for the bronze with Russian rival Amina Zaripova.

Olena Vitrychenko was able to take the bronze medal due to Zaripova's mishandling of the ribbon, stepping on it before her final toss.

At the peak of a long and well-publicized feud with the head of the Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Olena Vitrychenko was placed 19th at the 2000 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, and withdrew in protest.

Olena Vitrychenko appealed to the International Olympic Committee who overturned the decision, and awarded her a spot on the team.

Olena Vitrychenko performed well at the Olympics, finishing in fourth place behind Alina Kabaeva.

Olena Vitrychenko retired from the sport after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, saying that the omnipresent judging politics would prevent her from achieving further success.

Olena Vitrychenko opened up her own club Vitrychenko Academy on the Chicago Northshore in November 2014.