Svetlana Khorkina


Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career, Khorkina won seven Olympic medals and twenty World Championship medals. Over time, she medaled in every event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She was also the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the World Championships and only the second female artistic gymnast ever, after Nadia Comăneci, to win three European All-Around titles. Khorkina is often regarded as one of the most successful female gymnasts of all time.
At the opening ceremony of the 2019 Winter Universiade she lit the fire, together with bandy player Sergey Lomanov.

Senior career

1994–1996

In April 1994, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia. She placed ninth in the all around with a score of 38.805. In the event finals, she placed second on vault scoring 9.800, second on uneven bars scoring 9.875, and eighth on floor scoring 8.487. In November 1994, Khorkina competed at the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany. She contributed an all-around score of 39.450 toward the Russian team's third-place finish.
In October 1995, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Sabae, Japan. In the all around final, she placed second with a score of 39.130. In the event finals, she placed fifth on vault scoring 9.618 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.900. In April 1996, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She placed fifth on vault scoring 9.637 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.787. In May 1996, Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She helped Russia win the silver medal in the team final and came sixth in the all around final with a score of 38.549. In the event finals, she placed fourth on vault scoring 9.725 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.825.

Atlanta Olympics (1996)

Khorkina competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. In the team final, she contributed a combined compulsory and optional score of 77.648 toward the Russian team's second-place finish. In the all-around final, she fell on the uneven bars in the final rotation and finished fifteenth in the standings with a total score of 38.455. Three days later, Khorkina redeemed herself by winning the gold medal in the uneven bars final with a score of 9.850.

1997–2000

In September 1997, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. She helped Russia placed second in the team final and individually she won the all around final with a score of 38.636. In event finals, she placed eighth on vault scoring 4.537, first on uneven bars scoring 9.875, second on balance beam scoring 9.787, and second on floor scoring 9.800. In November 1997, Khorkina caused a scandal by posing for the Russian edition of Playboy. She said, "I changed people's attitudes. It's very good to be sexy. My career made it clear that tall girls can do incredible things. I opened the way. Now I'm famous all over the world". In May 1998, Khorkina competed at the European Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia. She helped the Russian team finish second and individually she won the all around final with a score of 38.624. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.900 and first on floor scoring 9.787.
In October 1999, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Tianjin, China. She helped Russia place second in the team final and individually she placed twelfth in the all around final with a score of 37.611. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.837 and third on floor scoring 9.787. In May 2000, Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Paris, France. She helped the Russian team win the gold medal and individually she won the all around final with a score of 38.749. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.837 and first on balance beam scoring 9.837.

Sydney Olympics (2000)

In September, Khorkina competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In qualifications, the Russian team placed first and individually Khorkina placed first in the all around with a score of 39.005. She also qualified for the vault, uneven bars, and floor event finals. In the team final, Khorkina contributed an all-around score of 38.261 toward the Russian team's second-place finish.
In the all around final, Khorkina placed tenth with a score of 37.929. During the final the vault was set five centimeters lower than it should have been, causing many gymnasts, including Khorkina, to fall. Subsequently, she fell on the uneven bars for unrelated reasons. In the third rotation the vault height was corrected. The gymnasts who had already vaulted were invited to vault again, but Khorkina refused, knowing that it would not put her in medal contention.
In the event finals, Khorkina gave up her spot in the vault final to teammate, Elena Zamolodchikova, who went on to win the gold medal. Khorkina said, "I thought she could win the gold. I'm glad I could give her that opportunity." She then won the uneven bars final with a score of 9.862. Commenting on the all-around final, Khorkina said, "If I didn't get over the disappointment, I wouldn't be Khorkina. I wouldn't be standing here with the gold medal. It still hurts a lot. It was cruel to all the participants, to vault on a nonstandard height. It's quite possible to get killed. The five centimeters could decide the future of a sportsperson. But I was fortunate to have many people to help me get through it. Tomorrow, I will dance for Russia. I will leave what happened on the vault far behind me, like the North Pole." She then won the silver medal in the floor final with a score of 9.812.
Vladimir Putin on 8 June 2001.

2001–2004

In October 2001, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium. She helped the Russian team win the silver medal and individually she won the all around final with a score of 37.617. In event finals, she placed first on vault scoring 9.412, first on uneven bars scoring 9.437, and third on floor scoring 9.375. In April 2002, Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Patras, Greece. She helped Russia win the first place in the team competition and individually she won the all around competition with a score of 37.592. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.550, second on balance beam scoring 9.262, and fifth on floor scoring 9.075. In November 2002, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. She placed seventh on uneven bars scoring 7.387 and fourth on balance beam scoring 9.462.
In March 2003, Khorkina competed at the World Cup event in Thessaloniki, Greece. She placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.425. In August 2003, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Anaheim, United States. She won the all around final for with a score of 38.124 This was the first time a gymnast had won three World all around titles. In November 2003, Khorkina competed at the World Cup event in Stuttgart, Germany. She placed third on vault scoring 9.268, third on uneven bars scoring 9.425, third on balance beam scoring 9.225, and second on floor scoring 9.187. At the end of April 2004, Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She helped the Russian team place third and individually she placed fourth in the all around final with a score of 36.848. In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.662, third on balance beam scoring 9.325, and seventh on floor scoring 9.112.

Athens Olympics (2004)

In August, Khorkina competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In the team final, she contributed an all around score of 38.062 toward the Russian team's third-place finish. In the all around final, she won the silver medal with a score of 38.211.
Khorkina qualified in first place for the Uneven Bars Final, with a score of 9.750. However, she placed eighth in the uneven bars final with a score of 8.925 after turning late on a pirouette and coming off the apparatus. This meant that she failed to defend her two time Olympic Uneven Bars Title from the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics, with the title going to Émilie Le Pennec of France instead.

Eponymous skills

Khorkina has nine eponymous skills with difficulty scores in line with the FIG's most recent 2017-2020 Code of Points for WAG:
ApparatusNameDescriptionDifficultyNotes
VaultKhorkina IYurchenko ½ on – ½-twist to back pike4.8
VaultKhorkina IIYurchenko ½ on – 1½-twisting front tuck5.4
Uneven BarsKhorkina IBack uprise and straddle flight over high bar with ½ turn to hangD Also called a Markelov
Uneven BarsKhorkina IIInner front support on low bar, clear hip circle through handstand with ½ turn in flight to hang on high barE Also colloquially called a "Shaposh Half"
Uneven BarsChow-Khorkina III or Khorkina III-ChowStalder backwards with 1½ turnE Also named after Amy Chow at the 1996 Olympics
Balance BeamKhorkina IGainer back handspring with a full twist before hand supportD
Balance BeamKhorkina IIGainer 2½-twisting back layout dismountD
Balance BeamKhorkina IIIGainer triple-twisting back layout dismountF
Floor ExerciseKhorkinaJump with 1½ twist on horizontal plane to land in front supportB

Personal life

Svetlana Khorkina was born on 19 January 1979, the daughter of Vasiliy and Lyubov. She has a younger sister, Yulia, who was also a gymnast. Khorkina said, "As a child, I was very picky with my food. My mother hoped, that if she puts me into gymnastics, I would start eating breakfast without frowning, after having spent a lot of energy in the gym. This is how, by simple nutritional reasons, I started my gymnastics career at the age of four."
At 5’5", most people thought that Khorkina was too tall to be an artistic gymnast. However her coach, Boris Pilkin, saw her potential and created alternative training methods and skills to accommodate her taller body. Khorkina has more skills named after her in the Code of Points than any other gymnast.
Khorkina was known for her dramatic and opinionated personality, often being called a diva. She said, "I wouldn't have been called a diva or a queen if I wasn't creative. My costume and make-up were always important to me. When people come to see gymnastics they want a performance, not just a sport. I have a talent. I have accomplished so much in sport it will take dozens of years before anyone else achieves as much".
After retiring from gymnastics, in December 2005 Khorkina was named vice-president of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation. In 2008, she was a commentator for the Beijing Olympics' gymnastics competition for the Russian TV station NTV+ and released her autobiography entitled, "Somersaults in High Heels" published by Olma-Press. She was also an ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Khorkina has been a member of the political party of United Russia since 2003. She was elected as a deputy for the Russian State Duma in 2007 and served until 2011.
On 21 July 2005, Khorkina gave birth to a son, Svyatoslav Khorkin at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, United States but refused to name the father of the child. In April 2011, Khorkina married Oleg Kochnev. He is a former general in Russia's Federal Security Service and 23 years her senior.

Competitive history

†1998 Goodwill Games: mixed pairs silver medal with Alexei Nemov.
YearCompetition descriptionLocationApparatusRank-FinalScore-FinalRank-QualifyingScore-Qualifying
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmTeam2115.422
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmAll-Around239.224
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmVault59.749
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmUneven Bars19.887
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmBalance Beam59.775
1994European ChampionshipsStockholmFloor Exercise89.350
1994World ChampionshipsDortmundTeam3194.5464385.515
1994World ChampionshipsBrisbaneAll-Around938.805
1994World ChampionshipsBrisbaneVault29.80059.693
1994World ChampionshipsBrisbaneUneven Bars29.87539.812
1994World ChampionshipsBrisbaneFloor Exercise88.48799.587
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeTeam4384.689
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeAll-Around239.1301077.224
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeVault59.618719.312
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeUneven Bars19.900119.637
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeBalance Beam1519.100
1995World ChampionshipsSabaeFloor Exercise3119.175
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamTeam2115.659
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamAll-Around638.549738.437
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamVault49.72539.825
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamUneven Bars19.82519.812
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamBalance Beam229.175
1996European ChampionshipsBirminghamFloor Exercise119.625
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanVault59.637
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanVault 49.662
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanVault 29.668
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanUneven Bars19.787
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanUneven Bars 19.825
1996World ChampionshipsSan JuanUneven Bars 19.825
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaTeam2388.404
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaAll-Around1538.455977.648
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaVault1619.350
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaUneven Bars19.850219.662
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaBalance Beam619.312
1996Olympic GamesAtlantaFloor Exercise2319.324
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneTeam2153.1971153.401
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneAll-Around138.636
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneVault84.53729.762
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneUneven Bars19.87529.650
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneBalance Beam29.78719.775
1997World ChampionshipsLausanneFloor Exercise29.80099.637
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgTeam2112.720
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgAll-Around138.624338.074
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgVaultWD49.562
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgUneven Bars19.90019.862
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgBalance Beam209.075
1998European ChampionshipsSaint PetersburgFloor Exercise19.78779.575
1998World Cup FinalSabaeVault59.343
1998World Cup FinalSabaeUneven Bars29.825
1998World Cup FinalSabaeBalance Beam49.512
1998World Cup FinalSabaeFloor Exercise49.162
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinTeam2153.2092153.576
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinAll-Around1137.611338.699
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinVault79.587
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinUneven Bars19.83719.837
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinBalance Beam229.475
1999World ChampionshipsTianjinFloor Exercise39.78729.800
2000European ChampionshipsParisTeam1115.760
2000European ChampionshipsParisAll-Around138.749238.818
2000European ChampionshipsParisVault79.468
2000European ChampionshipsParisUneven Bars19.83719.850
2000European ChampionshipsParisBalance Beam19.83729.775
2000European ChampionshipsParisFloor Exercise69.725
2000Olympic GamesSydneyTeam2154.4031154.874
2000Olympic GamesSydneyAll-Around1037.929139.005
2000Olympic GamesSydneyVaultWD39.731
2000Olympic GamesSydneyUneven Bars19.86219.850
2000Olympic GamesSydneyBalance Beam129.662
2000Olympic GamesSydneyFloor Exercise29.81229.762
2001World ChampionshipsGhentTeam2109.0234144.134
2001World ChampionshipsGhentAll-Around137.617137.224
2001World ChampionshipsGhentVault19.41219.562
2001World ChampionshipsGhentUneven Bars19.43719.662
2001World ChampionshipsGhentBalance Beam348.600
2001World ChampionshipsGhentFloor Exercise39.37529.400
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasTeam1111.833
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasAll-Around137.592137.524
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasVault89.262
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasUneven Bars19.55019.787
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasBalance Beam29.26239.150
2002European ChampionshipsPatrasFloor Exercise59.07529.325
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenUneven Bars77.387
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenUneven Bars 19.762
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenUneven Bars 19.737
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenBalance Beam49.125
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenBalance Beam 39.462
2002World ChampionshipsDebrecenBalance Beam 158.625
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimTeam6108.9855145.572
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimAll-Around138.124337.249
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimVault69.331
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimUneven Bars129.450
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimBalance Beam149.262
2003World ChampionshipsAnaheimFloor Exercise119.312
2004European ChampionshipsAmsterdamTeam3110.423
2004European ChampionshipsAmsterdamAll-Around436.848137.686
2004European ChampionshipsAmsterdamUneven Bars19.66219.687
2004European ChampionshipsAmsterdamBalance Beam39.32559.262
2004European ChampionshipsAmsterdamFloor Exercise79.11289.200
2004Olympic GamesAthensTeam3113.2354149.420
2004Olympic GamesAthensAll-Around238.211537.836
2004Olympic GamesAthensVault209.106
2004Olympic GamesAthensUneven Bars88.92519.750
2004Olympic GamesAthensBalance Beam279.137
2004Olympic GamesAthensFloor Exercise159.437