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Elena Mukhina (USSR)

1978 World AA Champion
1977 and 1979 European UB Champion

Medal Total

World Cahmpionships:  3 Gold, 2 Silver
World Cup:  2 Gold
European Championships:  4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

 

"I think Mukhina deserves the [IOC] award more than anybody else.  A grave injury deprived her of the opportunity of competing but it did not deprive her of courage.  I was delighted to hear her say that she definitely intends to remain in the Olympic movement."
Juan Antonio Samaranch

 


Elena was born on June 1, 1960, in Moscow.  Her father left the family when she was very young and her mother died a short time later, so Elena was raised by her grandmother.  She loved watching figure skating and gymnastics on TV, so when a coach came to her school class and asked if anyone wanted to learn gymnastics, Elena raised her hand.  Her first coaches were Alexander Eglit and Sofia Muratova (3rd AA at the 1956 Olympics).  On December 28, 1974, Mikhail Voronin took over and within a few years had her performing some of the most difficult skills of the time.  

Elena's "signature" move was a full-twisting Korbut salto on UB; she was also one of the first females to perform a full-in salto on FX.  After winning the World title in 1978, Elena fought off injuries and was never able to repeat her 1978 success.  She broke a leg in 1979 and was forced back into training before the leg had fully healed.  An operation was necessary to repair the bone.  Tragically, she was paralyzed during a training session just prior to the 1980 Olympics.   She died on December 22, 2006. 


Competition Results

1975
Schoolchildren's Spartakiade:  1st AA


1976
All-Union School Spartakiade:  1st AA, 1st V, 1st FX
Jr. USSR Championships:  1st AA, 1st UB, 1st FX, 2nd B
USSR-CSSR Dual Meet:  1st Team, 5th V, 5th FX
USSR Championships:  8th AA
USSR Cup:  12th AA
 
1977
All-Union Youth Sports Games:  3rd Team, 1st UB, 1st FX
European Championships:  2nd AA, 1st UB, 1st B, 1st FX, 3rd V
Moscow News:  3rd AA, 3rd FX, 4th UB, 5th V
Paris Grand Prix:  11th AA, 1st V, 2nd UB
USSR Championships:  2nd AA, 1st FX, 3rd UB
USSR Cup:  1st AA
World Cup:  5th AA, 1st UB, 1st B
 
1978
FRA-USSR-BUL: 1st Team, 3rd AA
Moscow News:  1st AA, 1st UB, 1st FX, 2nd B, 3rd V
USSR Championships:  1st AA, 1st UB, 3rd FX, 5th B
USSR Cup:  4th AA
World Championships:  1st Team, 1st AA, 1st FX, 2nd UB, 2nd B
 
1979
European Championships:  4th AA, 1st UB, 2nd FX, 4th V
USSR Championships:  14th AA, 1st UB, 5th V
USSR Spartakiade:  18th AA

1980
USSR Cup:  14th AA


This page was last updated on July 25, 2022.
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