Yelena Shushunova

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Yelena Lvovna Shushunova (May 23, 1969 – August 16, 2018) was a Soviet-Russian artistic gymnast known for her exciting and difficult routines. She was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and started gymnastics when she was about six or seven. She joined the Soviet national team in 1984 but could not compete in the 1984 Olympics because of the boycott. She did compete at the 1984 Friendship Games.

Her big successes began in the mid-1980s:
- 1985 European Championships: she won the all-around title and golds on vault, floor, and uneven bars.
- 1985 World Championships: she won the all-around (shared with Oksana Omelianchik) and earned medals on vault, beam, and floor.
- 1986 Beijing World Cup: she won the all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor; she also showed new, difficult moves on beam and bars.
- 1986 Goodwill Games: team gold; plus vault, uneven bars, and floor golds in event finals; beam silver.
- 1987 European Championships: bronze in the all-around and gold on vault.
- 1987 World Championships: team silver; vault gold; floor gold (tied with Daniela Silivaș); bronze on uneven bars and silver on balance beam.
- 1988 Seoul Olympics: she earned three perfect 10s in optional events, won the all-around and team titles, and took silver on balance beam and bronze on uneven bars. She retired from competition soon after.

Shushunova helped push the sport forward with high difficulty and consistent performances. She has two eponymous skills named after her in the Code of Points: on floor, a straddle pike landing in planche; and on uneven bars, a swing forward with half turn followed by another half turn to counter straddle in flight over the high bar.

After retiring, she lived in Saint Petersburg and worked with the city’s sports committee. She helped organize the 1994 Goodwill Games and the 1998 European Championships. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2004 and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Shushunova died on August 16, 2018, from complications of pneumonia, at the age of 49.