Yelena Produnova
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Yelena Sergeyevna Produnova, also known as Elena (russian: Елена Серге́евна Продунова; born 15 February 1980), is a Russian former competitive
gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...
. Her senior international career lasted from 1995 to 2000 and earned her multiple world and Olympic medals. She was known for her innovative and powerful skills on the
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
and
floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
. One of the most difficult vaults in women's gymnastics, the Produnova, is named after her. With a D-score of 6.4, the Produnova vault is tied with the Biles as having the highest D-score in women's vault in the 2017–2020
quadrennium A unit of time is any particular time interval, used as a standard way of measuring or expressing duration. The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) and by extension most of the Western world, is the second, defined as ab ...
.


Personal life

Produnova was born on 15 February 1980. She lives in
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
,
Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...
, Russia. She currently works as a gymnastics coach.


Gymnastics career


1995–96

Produnova's first major senior competition was the 1995 World Championships in
Sabae, Fukui is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,338 in 24,167 households and the population density of 820 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Sabae is located in central Fukui ...
, Japan where the Russians finished fourth. Inexperienced, she made little impact on the international scene. A heel injury hampered her chances of being chosen for the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, and she stayed at home.


1997

At the 1997 World Championships in
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Russia took team silver behind Romania, and Produnova claimed a pair of bronzes in the all-around and floor exercise.


1998

In 1998, Produnova overcame an ankle injury. That year she also qualified 1st at the 1998 Russian Nationals and finished 5th in the all-around and 3rd on the
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
. During the 1998 Cottbus event, Produnova finished 2nd on the vault, 1st on the balance beam, and 2nd on the floor. She was unable to compete at the European Championships because of her injury.


1999

At the 1999 University Games, Produnova won vault and beam titles, and also finished 2nd in the AA and first in the team competition. It was here that she debuted her handspring double front vault, since known as a
Produnova The handspring double salto forward tucked, known as a Produnova in women's artistic gymnastics and a Roche in men's artistic gymnastics, is a vault consisting of a front handspring onto the vaulting horse and two front somersaults in a tucked p ...
. It is among the highest rated vaults in the Code of Points, and as of August 2016 only four other female gymnasts have attempted this vault in competition –
Yamilet Peña Yamilet Peña Abreu (born 4 December 1992 in Santo Domingo) is an elite artistic gymnast from the Dominican Republic who won a gold medal at the 2014 World Challenge Cup and the 2012 Pan American Championship in vault and a bronze medal at the ...
from
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
, Fadwa Mahmoud from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Oksana Chusovitina Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is an eight-time Olympic gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany. Chusovitina's care ...
from
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
and
Dipa Karmakar Dipa Karmakar (born 9 August 1993) is an Indian Gymnast from Tripura State. She is the first gymnast of India who competed in the Olympics. In her debut 2016 Summer Olympics, in the final she reached till 4th position. At the Rio Olympics, sh ...
from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The 1999 World Championships in
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, China, Produnova finished fourth in the vault, bars, floor and all-around finals. The overall champion was
Maria Olaru Maria Olaru (born 4 June 1982)
Maria Olaru
is a ...
. Russia once again finished second to Romania.


2000

The 2000 European Championships saw Russia, with the help of Produnova, beat Romania for gold for the first time ever. Produnova also took a bronze on beam, behind teammate
Svetlana Khorkina Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (russian: Светлана Васильевна Хоркина; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the 2004 Summer Ol ...
, and a silver on floor behind Ludivine Furnon of France. These results and her victory in the Russian national championships gained Produnova a place on the team for the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. In the preliminary round at the Olympics, the Russians were dominant. The quartet of Produnova, Khorkina,
Yekaterina Lobaznyuk Ekaterina Vladimirovna Lobaznyuk (russian: Екатерина Владимировна Лобазнюк; born June 10, 1983 in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, USSR) is a former Olympic gymnast who competed for Russia in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Au ...
and world vault champion
Elena Zamolodchikova Elena "Zamo" Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova (russian: Елена Михайловна Замолодчикова; born 19 September 1982) is a Russian former artistic gymnast, and four-time Olympic medallist. In 2015, she was inducted in the Inte ...
all qualified for multiple finals. Though the Romanians were world champions, the Russians had beaten them earlier in the year. Four of Russia's six gymnasts fell in the team final; only the two least known members of the team performed without major errors. Produnova sat down only one of two vaults and her score was dropped (at this time, teams could drop the lowest score on each apparatus therefore one fall was not too drastic). After her one error, she recorded the team's highest scores on beam and bars. The same principle applied to Khorkina's fall from bars since the score did not have to count towards the team title, the mistake did not have to cost them the gold. Both Zamolodchikova and Lobaznyuk fell on the beam, and it was not until Produnova's solid performance that the Russians showed a clean routine. The Russians were the top scoring team on floor, but it was not enough for the gold. Romania were victorious by a margin of only two tenths. Produnova and Khorkina both removed their silver medals as they walked off the podium. Produnova had qualified for the all-around finals, where she was a legitimate medal threat. However, she had broken her foot during the Olympics and had to withdraw. Teammate Elena Zamolodchikova took her place. Two of the three Russians fell, and none managed to make the podium. Produnova competed in both of the finals to which she had qualified, bars and beam. A mistake kept her out of the medals on bars. She hit her beam routine solidly and stuck her difficult double front dismount, winning a bronze medal, behind Liu Xuan of China and Lobaznyuk. Sydney was Produnova's last major competition.


Eponymous skills

Produnova currently has two eponymous skills listed in the Code of Points.


Floor music

Produnova's
floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
music at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
was "The Ride" from James Horner's
The Mask of Zorro ''The Mask of Zorro'' is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the character of the masked vigilante Zorro created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jone ...
soundtrack. "The Ride" is the third track of the soundtrack CD, before and after two songs with "Elena" in their names.


Competitive history


See also

*
List of Olympic female gymnasts for Russia Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1896 with Russian female gymnasts having participated in every Olympic Games since Gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996. A total of 32 female artistic gymnasts have represente ...


References


External links

*
Elena Produnova
at Gymn Forum *

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Produnova, Yelena 1980 births Living people Russian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Russia Olympic silver medalists for Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Sportspeople from Rostov-on-Don Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics Universiade medalists in gymnastics Universiade gold medalists for Russia Universiade silver medalists for Russia Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics European champions in gymnastics 21st-century Russian women