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Svetlana Boguinskaya in Â鶹APP. Photo by David Thevenot –

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Svetlana Boginskaya

Svetlana Boginskaya is a former Soviet/Unified Team/Belarusian gymnast who was famously known as the ‘Goddess of Gymnastics’.

Svetlana Boginskaya, or The Belorussian Swan, as she was known, because of her height, balletic grace, and long lines, was especially renowned for the drama and artistry she displayed on floor exercise.

1. Boginskaya did some figure skating before taking up gymnastics

Palais Omnisport de Â鶹APP Bercy en 1988. De gauche à droite : Valeriy Lyukin, Mroz Malgorzata (Pologne), Svetlana Boginskaya, Christian Chevalier, Sophie Darrigade, Kolman, Cuber et Artemov. Photo by Wayne77 –

Boginskaya did some figure skating before taking up gymnastics at the age of six and she made it to the Soviet national gymnastics team at the age of 14. At her first international tournament, the 1987 World Championships, Boginskaya won bronze on the balance beam and silver in the team event.

2. She won four medals at the 1988 Olympics

Someone wearing an Olympic medal. Photo by Ethan Wilkinson on

At the 1988 Olympics, she won four medals, golds in vault and team event, silver in the floor exercise, and bronze at individual all-around.

In 1989, Boginskaya won the European individual all-around, vault, and floor exercise titles and later that year won three more golds at the World Championships, this time in individual all-around, floor exercise, and team events.

3. Boginskaya became only the third woman to sweep the European Championships

Someone playing a sport. Photo by Gonzalo Facello on

 In 1990, Boginskaya became only the third woman to sweep the European Championships (after VÄ›ra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia in 1965 and 1967, and fellow Soviet Lyudmila Turishcheva in 1973), winning the gold medal in all five individual events.

4. Svetlana Boginskaya is a three-time Olympian

Iowa State Gymnast examines the beam before performing. Photo by Jacob Rice on

Three-time Olympian. Svetlana Boginskaya was the oldest of the team (19 years old) and was attending the second of what would become three Olympic Games.

5. Boginskaya also won the World Cup in the floor exercise

Aerobics. Photo by bruce mars on

In 1990, Boginskaya also won the World Cup in the floor exercise. In 1991, Boginskaya won the World balance beam, team event titles, and individual all-around silver.

 In 1992, she won the European balance beam title and World Championships vault silver and was selected to Unified Team’s 1992 Olympic team, where she won her third Olympic gold in the team event.

6. Boginskaya retired from gymnastics after the 1992 Olympics

Items to use while in the gym. Photo by Eduardo Cano Photo Co. on

Boginskaya retired from gymnastics after the 1992 Olympics but decided to make a comeback in 1995, saying she was inspired by Katarina Witt, who had made a memorable comeback at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

7. Boginskaya won individual all-around silver at the 1995 European Championships

Svetlana BOGUINSKAYA. Â鶹APP-Bercy (1992?). Photo by David Thévenot –

Boginskaya won individual all-around silver at the 1995 European Championships and competed at the 1996 Olympics, where she led the Belarus team to sixth place and competed in the all-around and vault finals, before retiring from gymnastics for good again.

8. Boginskaya was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame

A woman taking part in the gymnastics. Photo by Eugene Lim on

Boginskaya was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2005, and she currently lives in Houston, Texas, where she runs two businesses, an online gymnastics apparel retailer and a summer camp for gymnastics students.

9. Svetlana Boginskaya represented Belarus

Olympic Rings. Photo by Bryan Turner on

Returning Olympians in Atlanta 1996. Svetlana Boginskaya represented Belarus; Oksana Chusovitina represented Uzbekistan and Rozalia Galieva represented Russia.

10. Svetlana Boginskaya serves as a mix of coach and manager

A little girl taking part in gymnastics. Photo by Andre Ouellet on

 Still friends. Svetlana Boginskaya serves as a mix of coach and manager for Oksana Chusovitina.