Svetlana Khorkina

At 45 years old, Svetlana Khorkina has this physical status:

Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (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 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 Comaneci, to win three European All-Around titles.

Svetlana Khorkina has to be regarded as one of the very 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.

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.

In 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. The father was later revealed to be businessman Kirill Shubsky, who was married to actress and film director Vera Glagoleva. In April 2011, Khorkina married Oleg Kochnev. He is a former general in Russia's Federal Security Service and 23 years her senior. Khorkina and Kochnev have a son, Ivan, born in October 2019.

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Senior career

Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia, in April 1994. With a score of 38.805, she came in second place in the all around. She finished second on vault scoring 9.800, second on uneven bars scoring 9.875, and eighth on floor scoring 8.487. In November 1994, Khorkina took part in the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany. She earned the Russian team's third-place finish with a 39.450 all-around score.

Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Sabae, Japan, in October 1995. With a score of 39.130, she came in second place in the all around final. She finished fifth on vault scoring 9.618 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.900, and fifth on uneven bars placing 9.900. Khorkina appeared at the World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April 1996. She ranked fifth on vault scoring 9.637 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.787. Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in May 1996. With a score of 38.49, she helped Russia win the silver medal in the team's final and ended sixth in the all-around final. She finished fourth on vault scoring 9.725 and first on uneven bars scoring 9.825.

Khorkina competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. She earned a total compulsory and optional score of 77.648 for the Russian team's second-place finish in the team's second-place finish. She ended up in the all-around final on the uneven bars in the final rotation and finished 15th in the standings with a total score of 38.455. Khorkina recovered herself by winning the gold medal in the uneven bars final three days later with a score of 9.850.

Khorkina competed in the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, in September 1997. She was a member of Russia's second place in the team's final, and she went all-around final with a score of 38.636. She finished eighth on vault scoring 4.937, first on uneven bars scoring 9.875, and second on floor scoring 9.800. Khorkina caused a scandal in November 1997 by posing for the Russian version of Playboy. "I changed people's lives," she said. It's very good to be sexy. Tall girls can do amazing things, as my experience showed. I opened the way. Now I'm everywhere in the world.

Khorkina competed at the European Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia, in May 1998. She played for the Russian team and won the all-around final with a score of 38.624. She came in first on uneven bars scoring 9.900 and first on floor scoring 9.787 for the event finals.

Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Tianjin, China, in October 1999. She assisted Russia in qualifying and finished second in the team's final, while individually placing twelfth in the all around final with a score of 37.611. She came in first on uneven bars scoring 9.837 and third on floor scoring 9.787 in the event finals. Khorkina competed at the European Championships in Paris, France, in May 2000. She aided the Russian team win the gold medal and also dominated the all around final with a score of 38.749. She placed first on uneven bars scoring 9.837 and first on balance beam scoring 9.837 in the event finals.

Khorkina competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in September. The Russian team came first in qualifying, and individually, Khorkina came first in the all around with a score of 39.05. She has also registered for the vault, uneven bars, and floor finals. Khorkina scored 38.261 to assist the Russian team's second-place finish in the team final.

Khorkina came in tenth in the all around final with a score of 37.929. During the final, the vault was five centimeters lower than it should have been, causing several gymnasts, including Khorkina, to fall. She eventually became addicted to the uneven bars for unrelated reasons. The vault height was adjusted in the third rotation. The gymnasts who had already vaulted were allowed to vault again, but Khorkina declined, knowing that it would not put her in medal contention.

Khorkina gave up her spot in the vault final to colleague Elena Zamolodchikova, who went on to win the gold medal. "I thought she'd win the gold," Khorkina said. "I'm glad I could afford her the opportunity." She then secured the uneven bars final with a score of 9.862. Polina Astakhova, who won in 1960 and 1964, became the second gymnast to win the competition in two straight Olympic games. "I didn't get over the disappointment," Khorkina wrote about the all-around final. I would not be here with the gold medal. It still hurts a lot. To vault at a non-standard height was cruel to all participants. It's very possible to be killed. A sportsman's life could be decided by the five centimeters. However, 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 a long behind me, like the North Pole." She earned the silver medal in the floor final with a score of 9.812, upstaged by Zamolodchikova who scored a 9.850.

Khorkina appeared at the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, in October 2001. She helped the Russian team win the silver medal and also won the all-around final with a score of 37.617. She finished 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 was instrumental in Russia's first place in the team competition, as well as her individual victory in the all-around tournament with a score of 37.592. She finished first on uneven bars scoring 9.550, second on balance beam scoring 9.262, and fifth on floor scoring 9.075.

Khorkina appeared in Debrecen, Hungary, at the World Championships in November 2002. She came in seventh on uneven bars scoring 7.387 and fourth on balance beam scoring 9.462.

Khorkina participated in the World Cup event in Thessaloniki, Greece, in March 2003. She came in first on uneven bars scoring 9.42 percent. In August 2003, Khorkina competed at the World Championships in Anaheim, United States. She earned the all around final with a score of 38.124 This was the first time a gymnast had won three World all around titles. Khorkina appeared at the World Cup event in Stuttgart, Germany, in November 2003. She came in third on vault scoring 9.268, third on uneven bars 9.425, and second on floor scoring 9.187.

Khorkina participated at the European Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, at the end of April 2004. She assisted the Russian team in finishing third and placing fourth in the all around final with a score of 36.848. She came in third on uneven bars scoring 9.662, third on balance beam scoring 9.325, and seventh on floor scoring 9.112.

In August, Khorkina competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She had a 38.062 average on the Russian team's third-place finish in the team final. She gained the silver medal in the all-around final with a score of 38.211.

With a score of 9.750, Khorkina qualified for the Uneven Bars Final in first place. 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 machine. This meant she failed to defend her two-time Olympic uneven bars gold medalist from the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, but instead she lost the title to Émilie Le Pennec of France.

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