Baby face ... Born 30 December 1972, Elena Gurova was one of the Soviet Union's gymnastics prodigies who blossomed early, but never quite showed her full flowering. At the age of 14, Elena took multiple medals at the Soviet Cup and Soviet Championships to qualify as a member of her country's team at the World Championships in Rotterdam. Despite a stunning floor routine, including a double layout opener and a final tumble of full twisting double back, Elena received just one medal there, a silver for her team contribution. She failed to qualify to any individual final, thanks to the incredible depth of a Soviet team that included eventual World - and Olympic - Champions Shushunova, Omelianchik, Boguinskaia and Baitova. The following year she competed at the World Sports Fair, taking the AA gold with, by her standards, watered down routines. Sadly she was not named to the Soviet Olympics team and her competitive record then runs dry - does anyone know any ...
Reporting and analysing Russian gymnastics since 2010. Includes original and exclusive interviews with leading coaches and gymnasts, and historical issues dating back to the Soviet Union. The first blog to report extensively on the sport using Russian language sources. I read, I argue, and I have opinions. Be warned.