21 Facts About Svetlana Boginskaya

Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya was born on February 9,1973 and is a former artistic gymnast for the Soviet Union and Belarus of Belarusian origin.

Svetlana Boginskaya is a three-time Olympic champion, with an individual gold medal on vault from the 1988 Summer Olympics and team gold medals from the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.

Svetlana Boginskaya practiced figure skating before beginning gymnastics at age six, after seeing Nadia Comaneci compete at the Olympics.

Svetlana Boginskaya became a member of the Soviet national team at age 14.

Svetlana Boginskaya competed internationally for the first time at the 1987 World Championships, where she placed third on balance beam; the team placed second.

Svetlana Boginskaya went on to compete in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, where she won four medals: gold in the team competition, gold on vault, silver on floor, and bronze in the individual all-around.

Miromanova had been a surrogate mother to Svetlana Boginskaya, coaching and caring for her after she moved from Minsk to train full-time in Moscow.

Under Grosovivich's tutelage, Svetlana Boginskaya competed at the 1989 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where she received gold in all-round, vault, and floor.

Svetlana Boginskaya competed at the FIG World Cup, where she placed first on floor.

In 1991, Svetlana Boginskaya won gold at the World Championships on beam and silver in the all-around; the team won gold.

In 1992, Svetlana Boginskaya competed at the European Championships, where she won gold on beam with a score of 9.95.

At the World Championships, Svetlana Boginskaya won gold on vault and was selected for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

At the Olympic games, Svetlana Boginskaya won her third Olympic gold in the team competition; in the individual competition, she faltered on the uneven bars and finished fifth in the individual all-around; Zmeskal finished tenth.

Svetlana Boginskaya moved to Houston, Texas to train with Bela Karolyi and upgraded the difficulty of her routines.

Svetlana Boginskaya placed second at the European Championships in Birmingham behind the defending world champion Lilia Podkopayeva.

Svetlana Boginskaya then progressed to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was one of a number of older gymnasts competing.

Svetlana Boginskaya competed in the all-around and vault finals, but did not medal.

Svetlana Boginskaya is among a small group of women to have competed in three Olympic Games; and due to the break-up of the Soviet Union, she competed at each Games under a different flag: USSR, the Unified Team, and Belarus.

Svetlana Boginskaya was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2005.

Svetlana Boginskaya has remained active in both the American and international gymnastics communities, and works as a consulting guest coach.

Svetlana Boginskaya frequently landed dismounts and vaults with her right foot placed slightly in front of her left, an intentional touch of artistry that helped her stick landings.