Nellie Vladimirovna Kim (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: , also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

Nelli, born 29 July 1957) is a retired

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Belarusian gymnast of

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and

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descent who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

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, and two gold medals at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. She was the second woman in Olympic history to earn a perfect 10 score and the first woman to score it 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 (enclosur ...

and on the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, considered an apparatus. The floor exercise (English abbreviation FX) is the event performed on the floor, in both women's and men's artistic gymnastics (WAG and MAG). The same flo ...

, rivaling

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score ...

Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, U ...

, and other strong competitors of the 1970s. Kim worked for a long time as a coach, training several national teams, and judged many major international competitions. As president of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee, she coordinated the introduction of new rules in women's gymnastics, as provided by the new '' Code of Points'', developed by the

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in 2004–2005 and in effect since 2006. Her gymnastic appearances are remembered for "her strong feminine, temperamental and charismatic appeal".

Early life

Nellie Kim was born in Shurab,

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. She is the daughter of a

father, Vladimir Kim, and a

mother, Alfiya Safina. Later the family moved to

Kazakh SSR The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...

, where her father worked in the

Chimkent Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...

slate factory. At age 9, she entered

City

Children and Youth Sports School A sports school () is a type of educational institution for children that originated in the Soviet Union. Sports schools were the basis of the powerful system of physical culture (fitness) and sports education in the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, pa ...

3 of the Spartak Sports Society. Two other children in the family, her younger brother Alexander and her sister Irina, also entered a gymnastics school and trained for some time. Alexander was harassed by his classmates in the secondary school for his small stature and retired from gymnastics in favor of boxing. Irina, whom Nellie considered more talented than she, retired because of the demands of the frequent training sessions. Kim's trainers were Vladimir Baidin and his wife, Galina Barkova. Initially, she did not have the required flexibility of many of her fellow gymnasts, but was soon able to compensate with superior technique and the difficulty of her exercises. Kim excelled and quickly became one of the best in Soviet gymnastics. One of Kim's earliest successes was her victory in the republican Spartak's competition, held in

in 1969. Nevertheless, a year later she was said to "have no future" by celebrated gymnast

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 List of multiple Olympic medalists, individual Olympic medals and four team medals for the Sovie ...

. After that verdict, Kim was close to leaving gymnastics but persevered with support from Baidin. At the 1971 Junior USSR Championships, her first national competition, she placed fifth in the all-around. Success in the national junior circuit, as well as senior national and international debuts, followed two years later. Kim won the all-around title and two more gold medals at the All-Union Youth Sports Games, placed eighth in the all-around and first on the

uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...

at the USSR Cup; she also won the prestigious Chunichi Cup in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. After a second-place finish at the USSR Cup in August 1974, Kim was added to the team roster for the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, held in October, where she earned the gold medal in the team competition. Afterwards, and until 1980, she successfully competed in numerous top-level international events. Kim's nickname among USSR teammates and team coaches was "Kimanellie," which she earned when a trainer

Vladislav Rastorotsky Vladislav Stepanovich Rastorotsky (; 14 June 1933 – 2 July 2017) was a Soviet and Russian female artistic gymnastics coach, ''Honoured Trainer of the USSR'', who worked at the ''Dynamo'' sports society. Sportswomen trained by him earned more than ...

called her very quickly: "Kim, Nellie, to the phone!"

Olympics and World Championships

Nellie Kim became one of the main medal prospects for the upcoming Olympics and actual leader of the Soviet team after the 1975 Canadian Pre-Olympics Test competition. At the Test she placed second in the all-around to

, but won three golds in the event finals (vault, balance beam, floor exercise), while Comăneci won the remaining one on bars.

, who had already changed her opinion about Kim earlier, described her gymnastics style as sparkling and cheerful. She also cited a comment by Canadian newspapers about Kim's performance: "There are moments, when a natural smile is more worth, than triumph". However, although Kim also won the 1976 USSR Cup, beating famous compatriots such as

Olga Korbut Olga Valentinovna Korbut (born 16 May 1955) is a Belarusian retired gymnastics, gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Old World sparrow, Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olymp ...

and

, they were still considered leaders by the media. Even the Coach Council of the Soviet team failed to define her as the leader. That was to prove a mistake, as later recognized by Soviet experts. At the

, the rivalry between Nellie Kim and Nadia Comăneci became the focal point of the women's gymnastics competition. Kim's teammates Ludmilla Tourischeva and Olga Korbut, the Olympic champions of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, were overcome by the two rising stars in the battle for the gold. Kim won three gold medals, one in the team competition and two in the event finals: on the vault and floor exercise. Music for her floor routine, choreographed by Valentina Kosolapova, was a fiery

Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, and one of the elements was the double back salto, performed for the first time in Olympic women's events. Kim also won a silver medal in the all-around, receiving the perfect 10 for the Tsukahara vault with the full twist, which was also performed for the first time in Olympic history. She was praised for her feminine beauty and the flamboyant, graceful and intense style. Comaneci won the gold in the all-around, on bars and

balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. The apparatus and the event are sometimes simply called "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB. The bal ...

. Nellie's weak performance on the beam together with a lower preliminary score, led her to place second in the all-around, after Nadia. After the 1976 Summer Olympics, Kim moved to the

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(joining the Armed Forces sports society in

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) and represented her new club on the USSR team. Two years later Kim successfully competed at the

. She won gold medals on the vault, floor exercise and in the team competition, and placed second in the all-around to

Elena Mukhina Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina (; first name sometimes rendered "Yelena", last name sometimes rendered "Muchina"; 1 June 196022 December 2006) was a Soviet Union, Soviet gymnast who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Stra ...

, overcoming Nadia Comăneci. The greatest success came at the 1979 World Championships, where Kim became the all-around champion, beating

Maxi Gnauck Maxi Gnauck (born 10 October 1964) is a German former artistic gymnast who represented East Germany. With a total of 27 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, and European Championships she is considered one of the most s ...

, Melita Ruhn and her teammate

Maria Filatova Maria Evgenievna Filatova () (born July 19, 1961) is a retired Russian gymnast who competed at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. Career Filatova began competing for the USSR junior team in 1974. In 1976 she placed fourth at the USSR National Champi ...

. Her floor exercise routine, choreographed by Galina Savarina, was accompanied by a new piece of music,

House of the Rising Sun "The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the ...

Santa Esmeralda Santa Esmeralda is a French-American disco group formed in the 1970s. The group had hits with its remakes of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "House of the Rising Sun". Santa Esmeralda featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez ...

, which would also be used one year later at the Olympics. In 1980, Kim won the all-around title at the USSR Championships and successfully competed in the Moscow Olympics, her last competitive performance. She tied for the gold medal on the floor with Nadia Comăneci after scoring 9.95 in that event finals, and won gold in the team competition. As of the

2020 Summer Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

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, she and

are the only female gymnasts to defend their Olympic gold medal in the floor exercise event. After the Moscow Olympics, Kim appeared with a roster of other top-class gymnasts at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

in January 1981 for a popular exhibition of gymnastic performances on floor and apparatus.

Later life

After her competitive career ended, Nellie Kim worked as a coach and a judge. She coached the

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and

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national teams. In 1984, Kim became an International Brevet Judge and judged numerous international competitions, including European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games. On one occasion, her judging license was suspended by the FIG for a time, after the 1990 World Cup, due to allegations of cheating and fixing scores. After her suspension ended, she was judging again at the

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Games. Since 1993, she has served as President of the Judging Committee in Artistic Gymnastics of the Republic of Belarus. Kim's first marriage was to fellow gymnast Vladimir Achasov, but the marriage did not last. She met her second husband, Soviet cyclist Valery Movchan, at the 1980 Olympics, in which he had also won a gold medal. Together they had a daughter (also named Nellie), born in the mid-1980s. In 1996, Kim was elected to the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the

International Gymnastics Federation The International Gymnastics Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 ...

(FIG), and moved to

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soon afterwards. In 1999, Kim was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IG ...

. At the FIG Congress of 22 October 2004 in

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, Kim was elected President of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee. She helped draft the 2006 changes to the '' Code of Points'', ending the use of the perfect 10 and introducing uncapped scoring for gymnasts. Some of the main causes for the changes were judging scandals at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

involving

Alexei Nemov Alexei Yuryevich Nemov (; born 28 May 1976) is a Russian retired artistic gymnast. During his career, he won five world championships, three European championships and twelve Olympic medals. Early life Born in Barashevo, Mordovia, Alexei Nem ...

and other gymnasts. FIG officials, including Kim and

Bruno Grandi Bruno Grandi (9 May 1934 – 13 September 2019) was an Italian sportsman who served as president of the FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique) from 1996 to 2016 and was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2000 to 2004. ...

, believed one of the ways to prevent such scandals in the future, and make clean execution and artistry the main priorities, was a radical overhaul of the old Code. The move was controversial among fans and athletes alike. Kim and other FIG officials pointed out that the changes were undertaken with the help and advice of FIG member federations and many judges, as had all previous codes. They also highlighted that the system would be tested on major international events before final adoption. In a 2005 interview, Kim said that unlike her WAG TC President predecessor, Jackie K. Fie, she did not receive any salary from the federation of the country, represented by her in the FIG. And that she works for the FIG on the basis of pure enthusiasm. In 2013, Kim was accused by Russian coaches of favoring American gymnasts, a view she vehemently refuted and criticized. Kim was the subject of a half-hour

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary ''Nelli Kim'', co-directed by

Georges Dufaux Georges Dufaux (; March 17, 1927 in Lille, France – November 8, 2008 in Switzerland) was a Canadian documentary film director and cinematographer. Biography After graduating in 1953 from the École nationale de photographie et de cinémato ...

and Pierre Bernier, which was filmed at the 1976 Summer Games and released in 1978. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she took Belarusian citizenship.

Eponymous skills

Kim has a total of seven eponymous skills in the Code of Points.

Competition History

References

External links

* * * * *
Official website
(archived 2011)

Montreal 1976 Official Olympic Film - Part 3 , Olympic History
- The Olympic Channel
Online documentary film on Kim
at the NFB.ca * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Nellie 1957 births Living people People from Sughd Region Soviet female artistic gymnasts Kazakhstani female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1976 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1980 Summer Olympics Sakhalin Korean people Kazakhstani people of Korean descent Kazakhstani people of Tatar descent Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic gymnasts for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Spartak (sports society) sportspeople World champion gymnasts Olympic medalists in gymnastics European champions in gymnastics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian people of Korean descent Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics