Svetlana Boginskaya
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{{Copyedit|date=July 2007}}
{{MedalTop}}
{{MedalSport| Women's [[Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics|Artistic Gymnastics]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]]|[[Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Team competition]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]]|[[Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Vault]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona]]|[[Gymnastics at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Team competition]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]]|[[Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Floor exercise]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]]|[[Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics|All-around]]}}
{{MedalWorldChampionships}}
{{MedalGold|[[1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1989 Stuttgart]]|Team}}
{{MedalGold|[[1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1989 Stuttgart]]|All-around}}
{{MedalGold|[[1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1989 Stuttgart]]|Floor Exercise}}
{{MedalGold|[[1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1991 Indiana]]|Team}}
{{MedalGold|[[1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1991 Indiana]]|Balance beam}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1987 Rotterdam]]|Team}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1991 Indiana]]|All-around}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1992 Paris]]|Vault}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1987 Rotterdam]]|Balance beam}}
{{MedalEuropeanChampionships}}
{{MedalGold|1989 Brussels|All-around}}
{{MedalGold|1989 Brussels |Floor exercise}}
{{MedalGold|1989 Brussels|Vault}}
{{MedalGold|1990 Athens |All-around}}
{{MedalGold|1990 Athens |Balance beam}}
{{MedalGold|1990 Athens |Floor exercise}}
{{MedalGold|1990 Athens |Uneven bars}}
{{MedalGold|1990 Athens |Vault}}
{{MedalGold|1992 Nantes |Balance beam}}
{{MedalSilver|1996 Birmingham |All-around}}
{{MedalBottom}}
'''Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya''' born [[February 9]], [[1973]] in [[Minsk]]) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]/[[Belarus]]ian [[gymnast]]. She was called the "Belarusian Swan" and the "Goddess of Gymnastics" due to her height, balletic grace, and long lines. She is especially renowned for the drama and artistry she displayed on floor exercise. Boginskaya is a three-time Olympic Champion, winning gold medals in [[Vault (gymnastics)|Vault]] at the [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988]], and Team golds in 1988 and [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992]].
==Career==
Boginskaya was a [[figure skater]] for several years, but began gymnastics at age eight. Two years later she moved from Minsk to train full-time at the Moscow Round Lake Gymnastics Center. By age fourteen she was a member of the Soviet national team. She won her first medal, a bronze for [[Balance beam (gymnastics)|balance beam]], during the [[1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1987 World Championships]]. She became one of the best gymnasts on the Soviet team and was expected to place very well at the 1988 Olympic Games in [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]. She finished the games with 4 medals--team gold, gold on Vault, silver on the [[Floor (gymnastics)|Floor]] and the All-Around bronze. It was a huge accomplishment for the young athlete in an Olympic Games that revolved around the duel between her teammate [[Elena Shushunova]] and Romania's star [[Daniela Silivaş]].
However, the joy from her success would be short-lived. Svetlana's long-time coach [[Lyubov Miromanova]] tragically committed suicide just three days after the Olympics. Miromanova had been a surrogate mother to Sveta, as she coached and cared for Boginskaia since she moved from Minsk to train full-time in Moscow. Boguinskaya has always been reluctant to discuss this devastating time in her life. To this day, the reason for Lyubov's suicide remains a mystery.
A heartbroken Svetlana pressed on, and began training with a new coach, [[Ludmilla Popkovich]]. Under her tutelage, Boginskaya became World Champion in [[1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1989]] and later dedicated her performance to her late mentor.
In 1990, Boginskaya became only the third woman to sweep the [[European Gymnastics Championships]] (after Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1965 and 1967, and Ludmilla Tourischeva of the USSR in 1973), winning the gold medal in every individual event. In doing so, she defended her titles in the All-Around, Vault, and Floor Exercise, and added titles in the [[Uneven bars (gymnastics)|Uneven Bars]] and Balance Beam. In 1991, in a controversial finish, Boginskaya fell short of defending her world title, losing the gold medal to [[Kim Zmeskal]] of the [[United States]]. However, she earned gold medals in the Team and Balance Beam competitions.
In 1992, Boginskaya, then 19 years old, had a disappointing performance at the 1992 European Championships, falling on her final event, floor exercise. She finished in fifth place, while her young teammate [[Tatiana Gutsu]] won the all-around title. Nevertheless, she was still a favorite to win the all-around title at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Gymnastics fans anticipated a duel between Boginskaya and her nemesis, American [[Kim Zmeskal]]. However, while Boginskaya won her third Olympic gold medal in the team competition, Zmeskal finished fifth in the Individual All-Around. Instead of the anticipated showdown between Boginskaya and Zmeskal (who faltered on floor and beam in the all-around), [[Tatiana Gutsu]] and [[Shannon Miller]] provided one of the most dramatic competitions in Olympic history.
Boginskaya retired after the 1992 Olympics, but decided to make a comeback in 1995. She said that she was inspired by [[Katarina Witt]] who had made a memorable comeback of her own at the [[1994 Winter Olympics]]. She stunned audiences worldwide by competing with more difficult routines than ever before, and with an endlessly positive attitude. In 1996 the 23-year-old Boginskaya nearly won the European All-Around Title, placing second behind then defending World All-Around Champion (and future Olympic All-Around Champion) [[Lilia Podkopayeva]] of [[Ukraine]]. She then progressed to the [[1996 Olympics]] in [[Atlanta]] where she delighted the crowds and was one of a number of 'older' gymnasts competing. Svetlana led her [[Belarus]] team to sixth place and competed in the all-around and vault finals, though medals were not forthcoming.
Svetlana Boginskaya is one of very few women in gymnastics history to have competed in three Olympic games. Others include [[Larissa Latynina]], [[Věra Čáslavská]], [[Ludmilla Tourischeva]], [[Svetlana Khorkina]], [[Dominique Dawes]], [[Lisa Skinner]] and [[Oksana Chusovitina]]. (It should be noted however, that Svetlana Boginskaya is the only one of the three-time Olympic participants in recent history to have competed where Compulsories were a requirement at each Olympic Game she participated in, and that she was the only gymnast who competed on 3 Olympic teams: Soviet Union, Unified Team, and Belarus). She was inducted into the [[International Gymnastics Hall of Fame]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web | title = SVETLANA BOGINSKAYA | work = International Gymnastics Hall of Fame | url = http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_boginskaya.html | accessmonthday = May 12 | accessyear = 2007 }}</ref>
After the 1992 Olympics, Svetlana appeared alongside compatriot [[Vitaly Scherbo]] in the music video, "Revolution Earth," by [[The B-52's]].
== Trademarks ==
Svetlana was noted for having more artistic and wildly different choreography than most of her competitors, especially on her floor exercise routines.
Another of her trademarks included dismounts in which she would land with her right foot placed slightly in front of her left.
==References==
<references />
==External links==
*{{fig|id=4963|name=Svetlana Boginskaya}}
*[http://www.gymn-forum.net/bios/women/boginskaya.html Bio and Competition Results]
*[http://members.aol.com/taml/Bogibio.htm Biography]
*[http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/gymnastics/0597cbs/boguinskaia.htm CBS Sports bio]
*[http://gym-wear.com/svetlana/ Svetlana Boginskaya Official Site]
{{NavigationOlympicChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenTC}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenTC}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenAA}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Boginskaya, Svetlana
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Boguinskaya, Svetlana
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Belarusian gymnast
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[February 9]], [[1973]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Minsk]], [[Belarus]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boginskaya, Svetlana}}
[[Category:Soviet gymnasts]
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Belarusian gymnasts]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic gymnasts of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic gymnasts of the Unified Team]]
[[Category:Olympic gymnasts of Belarus]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Artistic gymnasts]]
[[Category:World champion gymnasts]]
[[Category:Medalists at World Gymnastics Championships]]
[[de:Swetlana Leonidowna Boginskaja]]
[[es:Svetlana Boguinskaya]]
[[fr:Svetlana Boginskaia]]