Natalia Yurchenko

Natalia Yurchenko
— Gymnast —
Full name	Russian: Наталья Владимировна Юрченко
Country represented	Soviet Union
Former countries represented	Russia
Born	(1965-01-26) January 26, 1965 Norilsk, Soviet Union
Hometown	Russia
Height	155 cm (5 ft 1 in) (5'1")
Discipline	Artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior Elite Gymnast
Eponymous skills	Yurchenko, Yurchenko loop
Medal record Competitor for  Soviet Union World Championships Gold 1983 Budapest Team Gold 1983 Budapest All-Around Gold 1985 Montreal Team World Cup Final Gold 1982 Zagreb All-Around Gold 1982 Zagreb Vault Gold 1982 Zagreb Balance Beam Silver 1982 Zagreb Uneven Bars Friendship Games Gold 1984 Olomouc Team Gold 1984 Olomouc Vault Silver 1984 Olomouc Uneven Bars

Natalia Vladamirovna Yurchenko (Russian: Наталья Владимировна Юрченко) (born January 26, 1965 in Norilsk, Russian SFSR) is a retired Soviet artistic gymnast, who was the women's all-around gold medalist at the 1983 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Renowned for her innovative and daring gymnastics, she is best known as the originator of the Yurchenko vault family, which is a round-off back handspring entry onto the vault, and then performing a series of twists and flips off.

Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR, she was coached by Vladislav Rastorotsky at the Dinamo sports society in Rostov on Don. Her first international competition was the 1978 Junior Friendship Tournament, where she placed 5th all-around and won gold medals in the team competition and on bars. In the same year she debuted in the senior Riga International meet, earning the bronze on the floor.

The great series of successes began four years later, when she won the all-around title at the USSR Championships, USSR Cup, at the prestigious Moscow News tournament and the World Cup. Perhaps even more successful was the year 1983. She won almost complete gold medal complects (except the floor exercise) at the University Games and the USSR Championships. She also became the all-around World Champion, achieving two perfect 10s in the process.

At the Friendship Games in Olomouc, Yurchenko battled with Olga Mostepanova and managed to win the gold medal on the vault and in the team competition. In 1985 she once again won almost all events at the University Games (except vault and the balance beam) and contributed to the team's gold medal at the World Championships.

Apart from being one of the strongest gymnasts of the 1980s, she originated such popular gymnastics elements as Yurchenko vault and Yurchenko loop. She retired from gymnastics in 1986, but made a surprise appearance at the World Professional Championships (Fairfax, VA) in 1991. In 1999 Yurchenko emigrated to the USA and coached there since that time. She coached at LVSA, a gymnastics club in Pennsylvania, for almost 9 years and at Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She lives with her family consisting of her husband Igor Sklyarov and daughter Olga.

She is now the head women's coach at Lakeshore Academy in Chicago, IL. See Natalia's Official Site for photos and news.

Achievements

External links and sources

• Natalia Yurchenko Official Site
• Natalia Yurchenko at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
• Whatever happened to Natalia Yurchenko?
• Video of Natalia Yurchenko performing Yurchenko vault - 1985 Summer Universiade in Kobe, all-around

World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition     1934:  Czechoslovakia 1938:  Czechoslovakia 1950:  Sweden 1954:  Soviet Union 1958:  Soviet Union 1962:  Soviet Union 1966:  Czechoslovakia 1970:  Soviet Union 1974:  Soviet Union 1978:  Soviet Union 1979:  Romania 1981:  Soviet Union 1983:  Soviet Union 1985:  Soviet Union 1987:  Romania 1989:  Soviet Union 1991:  Soviet Union 1994:  Romania 1995:  Romania 1997:  Romania 1999:  Romania 2001:  Romania 2003:  United States 2006:  China 2007:  United States 2010:  Russia 2011:  United States 2014:  United States 1983:  Soviet Union (URS), Olga Bicherova, Tatiana Frolova, Natalia Ilienko, Olga Mostepanova, Albina Shishova, Natalia Yurchenko 1985:  Soviet Union (URS), Irina Baraksanova, Vera Kolesnikova, Olga Mostepanova, Oksana Omelianchik, Yelena Shushunova, Natalia Yurchenko

This article contains information from the website http://www.gymnast.ru/, incorporated into the Wikipedia with permission from its author E.V.Avsenev.