gymnast Svetlana Khorkina – cover girl

From yet another Romanian gymnastics blog, GymFever.

Sadly, Google Translate is terrible going from Romanian to English:

… I do not know if there are any gymnastics (outside Nadia Comaneci, perhaps) that appear in many magazines. Svetlana I was pretty horrid when they compete, always seemed to receive notes marry well, not really smiling outside the ground where they excel in Chapter difficulty but have attitude and charisma. Every time I look at her land in Athens memorable pass me shivers. …

I believe the topic is the astounding number of magazine covers featuring Khorkina.

GymFever – Again Svetlana Khorkina (translated to English)

Never accused of being shy, Svetty posed nude for the Russian version of Playboy in November 1997 and almost nude for the Russian version of Maxim right before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

As comedy site Uncyclopedia expains:

Svetlana Khorkina (pronounced WHORE-kina, aka: ‘The Queen’) is a Russian-born gymnast known for her long lines and innovation (often born out of her inability to do most other skills).

‘Sveta’, as she is known, is one of the most decorated gymnasts in the history of gymnastics, due in part to her longevity and her ability to seduce the judges into giving her massively inflated scores.

Sveta earned a reputation as a fierce competitor who remained focused in competition. This focus was often complimented by her excessive whining and uncomfortably dramatic performances on the floor exercise. Her Russian teammates were often warned to keep themselves at least five feet from Sveta at all times during a competition, as she had a tendency to slap, and occasionally bite other competitors when things didn’t go her way.

For the record, I feel Khorkina was one of the most interesting and entertaining gymnasts in history. I love her Bars, her Bars, her Bars.