One of our favourite gymnasts all time.
Video recap of Natalia Yurchenko‘s career and achievements, as she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame on May 17, 2014, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Natalia:
Indeed, I was the first gymnast to do this vault during an official competition. It was in Moscow during the Competition in 1982. I am very proud and very happy that there are many gymnasts today who perform my vault.
Few people know that the first gymnast who performed this vault was a male gymnast! It was invented by Russian gymnast Victor Levinkov during a national competition in Former USSR. But this vault was not well accepted in the male Russian gymnastics. So my trainer has decided that I should do it and I began to learn it.
First I thought that my coach has gone crazy and wanted me to break my neck. I did not even succeed in imagining how I could arrive on the board back to the horse and spring without seeing where I should put my hands. …
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