Oksana Omelianchik

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Oksana Alieksandrovna Omelianchik (Russian:Оксана Александровна Омельянчик; alternative transliterations: Oksana Omiel'jantchik; Oksana Omeliantchik; is a retired Soviet gymnast and the all-around gold medalist of the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships.

Omelianchik was born on January 2, 1970 or December 31, 1969 in Ulan-Ude, USSR). She trained at the Spartak club in Kiev under coach Galina Perskaya. She competed at her first USSR Championships in 1983, placing fifth in the all-around. The next year, she finished fourth at the Championships and was selected as the alternate for the Soviet team at the 1984 Friendship Games (also known as 'Olomouc', after the city in which the competition was held).

In 1985, Omelianchik won the Soviet National Championships beating the future Olympic champion Elena Shushunova. She also competed at the European Championships for the first time, winning the balance beam title showing a triple twist dismount. She also won a bronze medal in the all around behind Shushunova and East German Maxi Gnauck. Her medal count also included a silver medal on the floor exercise and bronze on the uneven bars. She was a member of the first place Soviet team at the 1985 World Gymnastics Championships in Montreal, but struggled in the team competition and did not qualify for the all-around final. However, Soviet team officials decided to pull Olga Mostepanova and Irina Baraksanova, who had both qualified for the finals, and substitute Omelianchik and her teammate Shushunova. The decision proved to be sound; the two Soviet gymnasts tied for the all-around gold and became Worlds Co-Champions. In the event finals, Omelianchik won the floor gold medal with her "Birdie" exercise, which would become her most well-known routine.

Omelianchik continued to compete for the Soviet team after the World Championships, placing third in the all-around at the 1986 Goodwill Games and third all around at the World Cup in Beijing. She also won the balance beam title and placed second on uneven bars and vault and third on floor exercise. The following year at the World Championships the Soviet team lost the title to a domninant team from Romania. Omelianchik debuted her new vault which introduced the half on technique in the roundoff family of vaults. She also showcased a new floor routine to Ballet Russe and a new triple full to a tuck front rebound, but suffered an uncharacteristic fall in the team competition. She placed fifth all around and failed to qualify for any event finals.

Despite maintaining consistent results within the top the 7 in the USSR Cup and USSR Championships for years, she was not selected for the 1988 Olympics. Instead she joined her teammates at the Games as an alternate. Her final competition was the 1989 USSR Cup, where she placed 22nd in the all-around.

Omelianchik was noted for her innovative skills, clean execution and energetic, inspired presentation. On the floor exercise, she poineered back-to-back tumbling (a series of skills in which a gymnast completes one full tumbling run from one end of the FX mat to the other, rebounds, and performs another complete tumbling run in the opposite direction without stopping). The original vault she created is still listed in the Code of Points as "the Omelianchik". She also originated a balance beam move, which is named after her and was a D element in the 2005 Code.

Omelianchik remains heavily involved in gymnastics as a choreographer, coach and judge. She heads the women's technical committee for the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation and choreographs routines for many of Ukraine's top gymnnasts, including Alina Kozich and Olga Roshupkina.

In a poll in Inside Gymnastics magazine, she was chosen as one of the "Top Ten All-Around Gymnasts of All Time."

[edit] Achievements

Year	Event	AA	Team	VT	UB	BB	FX
1984	USSR Championships						3rd
1985	World Championships	1st	1st				1st
	European Championships	3rd			3rd	1st	2nd
	USSR Championships	1st				2nd	2nd
1986	World Cup	3rd		2nd	2nd	1st	3rd
	Goodwill Games	3rd	1st				2nd
	USSR Championships				2nd
1987	World Championships		2nd
	USSR Cup	3rd
	USSR Championships						3rd
1988	USSR Championships					3rd	2nd
1989	USSR Championships						2nd

[edit] External links and sources

• "Oksana and gymnastics". Valentina Pozhilova, Sport in the USSR, July 1986
• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Oksana Omelianchik
• List of competitive results
• "Top 10 gymnasts of all time". Inside Gymnastics magazine.
• Whatever happened to Oksana Omelianchik?
• Video of Oksana Omelianchik performing Omelianchik vault - 1987 Worlds, team optionals
• Animation of a gymnast performing Omelianchik vault