Gymn Forum: Innovators in Gymnastics

Who was the first to...?

Being the first to execute a gymnastics skill in international competition is an accomplishment highly regarded in the sport. Moves are often named after the gymnast who first performs them. Here is our list of "who was the first to...?". Our main source of reference for this section is the book "Flickflack" (Andreas Götze and Hans-Jürgen Zeume, Sportverlag Berlin, GDR, 1986). Other sources include videos, "International Gymnast" magazine, and first-hand knowledge.

Women

Vault:

- Tsukahara
Ludmila Turischeva (URS), '74 Worlds
- Full twist on, full twist off
Olga Korbut (URS), '74 Worlds
- Full-twisting tucked Tsukahara
Nelli Kim (URS), '76 Olympics
- Tucked front
Marta Egervari (HUN), Maria Filatova (URS), '76 Olympics
- Piked front
Carola Dombeck (GDR), '76 Olympics
- Layout Tsukahara
Kevn Mabrey (USA), '76 USGF Senior Natl. Championships
- Full-twisting layout Tsukahara
Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS), '78 Worlds
- Tucked front with 1/2 twist
Christa Canary (USA), '78 Worlds
- Cuervo
Christa Canary (USA), '79 Worlds
- Layout Cuervo
Sang Lan (CHN), '96 American Cup
- Tucked double front
Choe Jong Sil (PRK), '80 Olympics
- Full twist on, front tuck off
Elena Davydova (URS), '80 Olympics
- Layout Yurchenko
Natalia Yurchenko (URS), '82 World Cup
- Full-twisting layout Yurchenko
Natalia Yurchenko (URS), '82 World Cup
- 1.5-twisting layout Yurchenko
Elena Shushunova (URS), '84 Olomouc
- Double-twisting layout Yurchenko
Elena Gurova (URS), '84 DTB Cup
- 2.5-twisting layout Yurchenko
Simona Amanar (ROM), '00 Olympics
- Yurchenko on, 1/2 twist to immediate layout front off
Snejana Hristakieva (BUL), '92 Olympics
- Layout front
Irina Evdokimova (KAZ), '93 Worlds
- 1/4 on, 1/4 off to layout front salto
Jaycie Phelps (USA), '94 Dortmund Worlds
- Layout Rudi
Vanessa Atler (USA), '98 Goodwill Games

Uneven Bars:

MOUNTS:

- Front salto over LB to sit on LB
Marta Egervari & Krisztina Medveczky (HUN), '74 Worlds
- Jump to clear hip on HB to handstand with 1/2 turn
Julianne McNamara (USA), '81 Worlds
- Round-off, Arabian over LB to brief sit on LB
Michelle Goodwin (USA), '81 Worlds
- Round-off, tucked back somersault over LB to recatch LB
Birgit Senff (GDR), '84 Olomouc

DISMOUNTS:

- Toe on, 1/2 twist to tucked back
Nadia Comaneci (ROM), '75 Europeans
- Tucked double back
Nadia Chatarova (BUL), '76 Olympics
- Hecht to immediate full-twisting tucked back
Natalia Tereschenko (URS), '78 American Cup
- Hecht, 1/2 twist to immediate tucked front
Ma Yanhong (CHN), '79 Worlds
- Double twisting flyaway
Kathy Johnson (USA), '81 Worlds
- Tucked full-in
Maiko Morio (JPN), '83 Worlds
- Double Layout
Diana Dudeva (BUL), '87 Worlds
- Tucked double front
Lacramioara Filip (ROM), Sarah Mercer (GBR),'89 Worlds
- Tucked full-out
Oksana Chusovitina (URS), '91 Worlds
- Layout full-out
Elena Piskun (BLR), '96 Worlds
- Tucked full-in full-out
Oksana Fabrichnova (RUS), '93 Worlds

ELEMENTS:

- FF from HB to recatch HB (Korbut)
Olga Korbut (URS), '72 Olympics
- Deltchev
Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS), '77 World Cup
- Giant swing
Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS), '77 World Cup
- Full-twisting Korbut
Elena Mukhina (URS) and Lyubov Bogdanova (URS), '77 USSR Championships
- Back stalder to handstand with full turn in handstand
Marcia Frederick (USA), '78 Worlds
- Tkachev
Elena Davydova (URS), '80 Olympics
- Tkachev to immediate Deltchev
Natalia Yurchenko (URS), '83 Worlds
- Underswing from HB with 1.5 twists and flight over LB to hand on LB (Strong)
Lori Strong (CAN), '89 Worlds
- Swing forward on HB (facing out), counter salto forward to recatch in reverse grip (Kim)
Kim Gwang Suk (PRK), '89 Worlds
- Def (full-twisting Gienger)
Snejana Hristakieva (BUL), '91 Junior Europeans
- Gaylord I Salto
Mo Huilan (CHN), '94 Brisbane Worlds

Balance Beam:

MOUNTS:

- Press to handstand
Larissa Latynina & Tamara Manina (URS), '62 Worlds
- Front tuck
Stella Zacharova (URS), '79 World Cup
- RO, FF
Maxi Gnauck (GDR), '81 Europeans
- RO, full-twisting tucked back
Kelly Garrison (USA), '85 Worlds
- RO, layout
Natalia Yurchenko (URS), '85 Worlds
- RO, full-twisting FF
Patricia Luconi (ITA), '87 Worlds
- Jump to 1-armed handstand
Janine Rankin (CAN), '87 Worlds
- Front handspring immediate tucked front
Anastasia Dzyundzyak (UZB), '94 Asian Games

DISMOUNTS:

- Cartwheel, tucked back salto
Vera Caslvaska (TCH), '62 Worlds
- Tucked front
Keiko Ikeda (JPN), '62 Worlds
- Cartwheel, full-twisting layout
Vera Caslavska (TCH), '68 Olympics
- Cartwheel, double-twisting layout
Nadia Comaneci (ROM), '75 Europeans
- Tucked double back
Elena Mukhina & Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS), '77 World Cup
- Piked double back
Maria Filatova (URS), '77 World Cup
- Full-twisting tucked double back
Albina Shishova & Tatiana Frolova (URS), '83 Worlds
- Triple twist
Iva Cervenkova (TCH), '83 Worlds

ELEMENTS:

- Cartwheel
Eva Bosakova (TCH), '56 Olympics
- Flick flack
Erika Zuchold (GDR), '66 Worlds
- Front handspring
Karin Janz & Erika Zuchold (GDR), Vera Caslavska (TCH), '68 Olympics
- Tucked back salto
Olga Korbut (URS) and Nancy Thies (USA), '72 Olympics
- FF to swing down and straddle beam (Korbut)
Olga Korbut (URS), '72 Olympics
- Layout salto
Aurelia Dobre (ROM), '74 Worlds
- Two consecutive layout stepout saltos
Jana Gajdosova (TCH), '81 Intl. Junior Championships
- Tucked front salto
Carola Dombeck (GDR), '76 Olympics
- Tucked side salto
Elena Davydova (URS), '76 American Cup
- Side FF to back hip circle under beam (Yurchenko loop)
Natalia Yurchenko (URS), '79 Spartakiade
- Side FF to stand
Tatiana Groshkova (URS), 1989 USSR Championships
- Full-twisting Korbut (Rulfova)
Jana Rulfova (TCH), '81 Worlds
- Tucked back salto with full twist (from RO)
Albina Shishova (URS), '83 Worlds
- Tucked back salto with full twist (from a stand)
Aleftina Pryakhina (URS), '86 Junior Europeans
- Layout salto with full twist (from RO)
Olessia Dudnik (URS), '89 American Cup
- Triple pirouette (Okino)
Betty Okino (USA), '91 Worlds

Floor Exercise:

- Full-twisting back layout
Muriel Grossfeld (USA), '60 Olympics
- Double-twisting back layout
Zdenka Bujnackova (TCH), Joan Moore (USA), & Ludmila Turischeva (URS), '72 Olympics
- Full twisting front layout
Margit Toth (HUN), '76 Olympics
- Tucked double back
Elena Abramova (URS), '74 Moscow News
- Tucked full-in
Elena Mukhina (URS), '78 Worlds
- Triple twisting back layout
Maxi Gnauck (GDR), '79 Worlds
- Full-twisting back layout, punch front
Heidi Anderson (USA), '79 Moscow News
- Double layout
Diana Dudeva (BUL), '83 Worlds
- Double-twisting back layout, punch front
Oksana Omelianchik (URS), '85 Europeans
- 1 3/4 piked side salto
Elena Shushunova (URS), '85 Europeans
- Full-in, full-out
Aleftina Pryakhina (URS), '86 Junior Europeans
- Double front salto
Olga Strazheva (URS), '86 Junior Europeans
- Double back layout with full twist in 1st salto
Tatiana Tuzhikova (URS), '87 Worlds
- Double full-in, back out
Tatiana Groshkova (URS), '89 Chunichi Cup
- Double back layout with full twist in 2nd salto
Oksana Chusovitina (URS), '91 Worlds
- Double front salto with 1/2 twist in 2nd salto
Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR), '95 Worlds

MEN

Floor Exercise:

- Full twisting back layout
Nobuyuki Aihara, Takashi Mitsukuri & Takashi Ono (JPN), '60 Olympics
- Tucked double back
Lasse Laine (FIN), '67 Europeans
- Double twisting back layout
Takashi Ono (JPN), '68 Olympics
- Triple twisting back layout
Eizo Kenmostu (JPN), '70 Worlds
- Piked double back
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '73 Europeans
- Piked full-in
Vladimir Marchenko (URS), '74 Riga Intl.
- Double layout
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '77 World Cup
- Double front salto
Jiri Tabak (TCH), '77 Europeans
- 1.5 twisting 1.5 side salto
Kurt Thomas (USA), '78 Worlds
- Triple back
Valery Lyukin (URS), '87 Europeans
- Double twisting front layout
Neil Thomas (GBR), '90 Europeans
- Double twist, punch front
Dick Browning (USA), '54 AAU Championships (tumbling)

Pommel Horse:

- Flairs
Kurt Thomas (USA), '76 Olympics
- Magyar Travel
Zoltan Magyar (HUN), '76 Olympics
- Handstand in the middle of a routine
Bart Conner (USA), Peter Vidmar (USA), Alexander Ditiatin (URS), and Yuri Korolev (URS), '82 World Cup
- Flairs to handstand and back down to Flairs
Sven Tippelt (GDR), '88 Olympics
- Tucked back salto dismount
Lance Ringnald (USA), '88 Olympics

Rings:

- Tucked full-in dismount
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '73 Europeans
- Double back layout dismount
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '77 World Cup
- Triple back tucked dismount
Yuri Korolev (URS), '81 Europeans
- Double back salto to a hang (Guczoghy)
Gyorgy Guczoghy (HUN), 82 World Cup
- Double front salto to a hang (Yamawaki)
Kyoji Yamawaki (JPN), '84 Olympics
- Double front salto with 1/2 twist dismount
Yuri Balabanov (URS), '84 Olomouc
- Layout Guczoghy
Paul O'Neill (USA), '92 Worlds

Vault:

- Handspring, 1/2 twist to tucked back salto (Cuervo)
Jorge Cuervo (CUB), '73 University Games
- Cartwheel, layout side salto
Roberto Richards (CUB), '80 Olympics
- Handspring, double front salto
Ricardo Richards (CUB), '80 Olympics
- Layout Tsukahara with full twist
Ron Galimore (USA), '78 (?) NCAA Champs.
- Layout Tsukahara with double twist
Artur Akopian (URS), '81 Worlds
- One-arm handspring to front tucked salto
Laszlo Boda (HUN), '82 Junior Europeans
- Layout Cuervo with full twist
Lou Yun (CHN), '84 Olympics
- Handspring, front salto with 1.5 twists
Sylvio Kroll (GDR), 85 Europeans
- Layout Yurchenko
Li Jing (CHN), '89 American Cup

Parallel Bars:

- Tucked double back
Mauno Nissinen (FIN), '67 Europeans
- Piked double back
Bodgan Makuts (URS), '79 Worlds
- Backwards giant swing to double back salto between the bars
Koji Sotomura (JPN), '81 Worlds
- Backwards giant swing with full twist
Yuri Balabanov (URS), '84 Olomouc

High Bar:

ELEMENTS

- Back salto straddled and piked with 1/2 twist to recatch
Stoyan Deltchev (BUL), '77 Europeans
- Reverse Hecht over HB to recatch (Tkachev)
Alexander Tkachev (URS), '77 Europeans
- Piked back salto with 1/2 twist to recatch
Eberhard Gienger (FRG), '78 Worlds
- One-arm giant swing to Tkachev
Miguel Arroyo (CUB), '79 Worlds
- Tucked double back salto over bar to recatch
Kovacs (HUN), '79 Europeans
- Full-twisting Gienger
Jacques Def (FRA), '81 Worlds
- Tucked front salto over bar to recatch
Mitch Gaylord (USA), '81 Worlds
- 2 consecutive Tkachevs
Yuri Korolev (URS), '82 World Cup
- One-arm giant swing to Deltchev (one-hand recatch)
Zsolt Borkai (HUN), '84 Olomouc

DISMOUNTS

- Double twisting back layout
Gerhard Dietrich (GDR), '66 Worlds
- Piked double back
Andrzej Szajna (POL) & Mitsuo Tsukahara (JPN), '70 Worlds
- Tucked double back with full twist
Mitsuo Tsukahara (JPN), '72 Olympics
- Tucked triple back
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '74 Worlds
- Double back layout
Nikolai Andrianov (URS), '77 World Cup
- Double back layout with full twist
Yuri Korolev (URS), '81 Europeans
- Double twisting double layout salto
Mas Watanabe (JPN), '83 Worlds
- Tucked triple back with full twist in 1st salto
Maik Belle (GDR), '87 Europeans
- Triple twisting double back layout
Alexander Fedorchenko (KAZ), '95 Worlds