Yelena Shushunova

Shushunova was one of five women (alongside Larisa Latynina, Věra Čáslavská, Ludmilla Tourischeva and Lilia Podkopayeva) who have won all-around titles at all major competitions: Olympics, World Championships and European/Continental Championships and one of ten women who medaled on every event at World Championships. Shushunova was renowned for pioneering complex skills as well as her explosive and dynamic tumbling and high consistency.

Yelena Shushunova
Shushunova in 1987
Personal information
Full name	Yelena Lvovna Shushunova
Alternative name(s)	Elena Shushunova
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	(1969-05-23)23 May 1969 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	16 August 2018(2018-08-16) (aged 49) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height	1.47 m (4 ft 10 in)
Weight	41 kg (90 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	1981–88 (URS)
Club	SKA St. Petersburg
Music	Two Guitars - Russian Gypsy Music
Retired	25 September 1988
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Team 1988 Seoul All-around 1988 Seoul Balance beam 1988 Seoul Uneven bars World Championships 1985 Montreal Team 1985 Montreal All-around 1985 Montreal Vault 1987 Rotterdam Vault 1987 Rotterdam Floor exercise 1985 Montreal Floor exercise 1987 Rotterdam Team 1987 Rotterdam All-around 1987 Rotterdam Balance beam 1985 Montreal Balance beam 1987 Rotterdam Uneven bars World Cup Final 1986 Beijing All-around 1986 Beijing Vault 1986 Beijing Uneven bars 1986 Beijing Floor exercise 1986 Beijing Balance beam Goodwill Games 1986 Moscow Team 1986 Moscow Vault 1986 Moscow Uneven Bars 1986 Moscow Floor Exercise 1986 Moscow All-Around 1986 Moscow Balance Beam European Championships 1985 Helsinki All-around 1985 Helsinki Vault 1985 Helsinki Uneven bars 1985 Helsinki Floor exercise 1987 Moscow Vault 1985 Helsinki Balance beam 1987 Moscow All-around Friendship Games 1984 Olomouc Team 1984 Olomouc All-around

Shushunova was born and grew up in Leningrad and began gymnastics when she was approximately six or seven years old. She began competing as a junior gymnast in 1981. In 1982, she won gold medals at the 1982 Moscow News (now known as Moscow Stars of the World) and the Junior European Championships. In 1983, she won the USSR Cup, which she won every year until 1988 with the exception of 1984.

Shushunova was named as a member of the Soviet national gymnastics team in 1984, but was unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics as the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics. Instead, she competed at the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, where she finished third all around and helped the USSR to a gold in the team event.

The following year Shushunova made her breakthrough by winning the all-around title at the European Championships. She also won three gold medals in the event finals on vault, floor exercise, and uneven bars (which she shared with East German Olympian Maxi Gnauck). At the World Championships she won five medals including the all-around title, which she shared with compatriot Oksana Omelianchik. She took first on vault, third on beam, and second on floor. In her floor exercise she tumbled a double layout, and side Arabian 1 and 3/4 salto, both rare skills for women at that time; in fact, women are no longer allowed to compete saltos which end in a roll. Here she displayed her signature skill, a straddle jump to prone support, a rare and innovative move for the 1980s.

Shushunova's dominance in women's gymnastics continued at the 1986 World Cup in Beijing. There she won the all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise titles. In this competition she displayed an increased level of difficulty on two apparatus, showing a Rulfova flic (full twisting Korbut flic) on balance beam and a tucked full in double salto dismount on the uneven bars. At the 1986 Goodwill Games she led the Soviet team to a gold medal, but then fell twice in the all-around finals to finish second to teammate Vera Kolesnikova. She rallied in the event finals to take, once again, the vault, bars, and floor golds and the beam silver.

In 1987, Shushunova lost the European title to Romanian Daniela Silivaș due to a fall on a double layout dismount from the uneven bars. At the European Championships she earned a bronze in the all-around and a gold on vault. She continued to show increased difficulty on all apparatus by competing a double layout dismount on the uneven bars, a layout Thomas salto on floor, and a full in dismount on beam. Later that year her team lost the World Championships team title, placing second to the Romanian team. Shushunova also lost the world title to Romanian Aurelia Dobre, finishing in second place. In the event finals she retained her vault title with her textbook Yurchenko full and Yurchenko 1.5, beating Romanian Eugenia Golea. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars. Shushunova also earned silver on balance beam and tied with Daniela Silivas for gold on floor exercise.

1988 Olympics

In 1988, Shushunova competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. She scored three perfect scores of 10 in optional events and won the individual all-around and team event titles. She also won silver on balance beam and bronze on uneven bars. Shushunova fell on a double twisting Yurchenko on vault and failed to medal. She also failed to medal on floor exercise due to stumbling out of the landing of her opening full-in double back and falling out of her arabian 1 3/4 salto.

Later life

Shushunova retired from competition two months after the 1988 Olympics and later returned to her home city of Saint Petersburg, where she worked for the city's sports committee. She helped to organise the gymnastics events of the 1994 Goodwill Games and 1998 European Championships, both of which were held in Saint Petersburg.

In 2004, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In the following year, she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Eponymous skills

Shushunova died from complications of pneumonia on 16 August 2018. She was 49.

• List of select Jewish gymnasts
• List of top female medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships