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Henrietta Onodi gymnastics montage

March 17th, 2010 | ethics, Gymnastics

A fan favourite, for sure.

Henrietta is one of five “Gymnastics Legends to be honored by the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame“.

• Cathy Rigby (USA) -1970 World Championships, Silver medal on Balance Beam
• Henrietta Onodi (HUN) – 1992 Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist
• Yuri Korolev (RUS) – 1981 and 1985 World All-Around Champion
• Mikhail Voronin (RUS) – Winner of 9 Olympic medals in 1968 and 1972 (deceased)

• Eileen Langsley (GBR) will be awarded the International Order of Merit for her contributions as the most prolific photographer of major gymnastics competitions for nearly 30 years.

FIG

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks, yet again, to MunchTheSilivasFan.

Fantastic Yuri Korolev being included. He’s one of my favourite gymnasts of all time.

… Should Cathy Rigby be on that list? How many other World Championships single apparatus Silver medalists have been inducted?

I loved Cathy too, … but is this some sort of pro-American bias on the part of selectors?

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5 comments ↓

#1 Coach M on 03.17.10 at 11:22 am

I wondered about that when I saw your list. A silver medal soesn’t seem like a HOF-worthy achievement. Is there a bio of the inductees that explains their achievements. maybe she was considered an ambassador of gymnastics through her coaching, broadcasting, etc. ???

#2 Jim from Seattle on 03.17.10 at 1:29 pm

of course there’s a somewhat American bias….the site, for better or worse is located in the US….
Rigby: maybe questionable based on international competitive achievements, but in the USA was the immediate forerunner to Olga K. in terms of visibility and publicity for the sport (especially WAG)…on that basis, her far reaching “influence”, i don’t have any strong objection…..
now, if you really want a questionable inclusion, ask how or why a certain current FIG President got voted into this pretty prestigious group….

#3 Dee on 03.17.10 at 4:56 pm

I think Rigby is being included because she was the first American gymnast to ever win a world championship medal…it was a big breakthrough for non-Eastern European gymnasts.

#4 NadiuaBart_BLAH on 03.17.10 at 5:36 pm

I’ll consider the Hall of fame anything but a joke when they add Milo (who I thought was overscored and overrated and not worthy of half her medals) before they add Dominique Dawes. Since that can never happen that means the hall of fame will always be a joke to me.

#5 TP on 03.18.10 at 12:18 am

Winning a medal in Rigby’s time was a big deal – it may have been gold without eastern bloc bias.

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