Soviet gymnast Elena Shushunova was called the brightest sports star of the eighties, incredible and amazing. She happened to become the absolute record holder at the 1987 World Universiade. The athlete has won all six gold medals.
The art of mastering the body to perfection has always evoked admiration. Gymnastic exercises were originally intended for men. And the sport was included in the Olympics program only for them. Official permission for women to compete in this discipline was received only in 1928.
Takeoff start
Biography of Elena Lvovna Shushunova began in 1969. The future celebrity was born in Leningrad on May 23 in an ordinary family. From an early age, parents taught their daughter to achieve everything by their own labor.
Lena has been fond of sports since childhood. The trainers who were selecting the students drew attention to her. The first grader was noticed by Galina Ivanovna Rubtsova at a physical education lesson at school. The first trainings began. They turned out to be so heavy that the girl fell off.
Due to the lack of visible results, she did not want to continue her studies. Yes, and the mentors did not promise the student any achievements: Elena was called "average", solid and solid, but not higher. The mother was able to support the young gymnast, explaining that it takes a very long time to train to win.
Training continued with a new mentor, Yatchenko. The future champion was even more persistent in her studies with Gavrichenkov. Under his leadership, the gymnast's talent was fully revealed. At ten, Shushunova fulfilled the master of sports standard. Three years later, Elena won the floor exercise at the 1982 European Junior Championships.
Triumph
The hard training met all the expectations of the coaches and the athlete herself. Elena won all national competitions in artistic gymnastics. In 1983 she won the All-Around National Cup. Fifteen-year-old Elena was called one of the most promising young athletes in the world. She received bronze only in 1984, and the rest of the awards, from 1985 to 1988, were gold.
All world championships ended in triumph. Shushunova nevertheless decided to end her career, choosing a quiet life, but the coach convinced the pupil to continue performing. In 1985, in Montreal, Canada, the Soviet gymnast won three gold medals, having managed to come forward from 17th place after a free program.
The team championship brought Elena to the 5th position. Despite the fact that only the first three places were selected for the final, the coaches risked betting on Shushunova. She became a three-time world champion, having won victories in the vault, team jump and absolute championship.
In Helsinki, at the European championship, the gymnast, being an honored master, received four top awards. She was the best in the all-around, floor exercise, on the uneven bars and in the vault. The most difficult performance for a girl on a balance beam brought her bronze.
1987 became rich in impressions. In Zagreb, Shushunova set a world record by winning all the gold at the World Universiade. At the European championship, she won the vault, becoming the third in the all-around. Disappointment brought the athlete to participate in the world championship in Rotterdam.
Completion of a career
She received gold for vault and floor exercise, took silver in the team championship, for all-around and floor exercise, and won bronze for the uneven bars. However, the world team championship was lost: gymnasts from Romania became the winners with a minimal margin.
Elena diligently prepared for the most decisive competition for her in 1988. In the Olympics held in Seoul, she won gold in the all-around and team championship. Elena received all the samples of awards in her personal piggy bank. The log brought her silver, and the bars brought her bronze. The gymnast again announced the end of her career in sports. This time, no one tried to persuade her to continue performing, but she was immediately offered to start a slightly different work.
In the new national team, Shushunova became an assistant mentor. Her duties included demonstrating the correctness of the exercises. This activity turned out to be so alien to the champion that she left gymnastics for good.
A new element in artistic gymnastics was called "Shushunova's jump", and in 2005 the performer herself was included in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
After a big sport
The athlete received a higher education. In 1991 she graduated from the Lesgaft State Institute of Physical Education and Sports in her hometown. The champion's personal life was also successful. Elena and her chosen one, a car service employee, became husband and wife, a child, a son Mikhail, appeared in their family.
The ex-gymnast was able to fully recover from a brilliant but exhausting career. After that, Elena Lvovna took up a completely new type of activity for her. Shushunova began holding various championships in a discipline that was fateful for her. She held a post in the committee of physical culture and sports until 2014 in St. Petersburg.
The champion tried her hand at refereeing, became a referee of the international category. She also took part in professional tournaments and gymnastics shows.
After the end of her career, Shushunova tried herself in refereeing, participated in gymnastic shows, in tournaments among professionals. In 2014 Elena Lvovna took part in the Olympic torch relay.
The famous athlete passed away in 2018, on August 16. She became the second in the world who managed to become the absolute champion of Europe and the world, as well as the Olympic Games, and win the World Cup. So far, no athlete has been able to repeat this.
