Natalia Yurchenko

 

 

                                           

 

 

 

Natalia Yurchenko, the 1983 World AA Champion was one of the favorites to win the AA title at the 1984 Olympics but due to the Soviet boycott, she never got a chance to compete at an Olympic games.  She managed, however to leave her mark in the sport with many inovative skills which are named after her in the code of points including and entire group of vaults used by most of the top gymnasts to this day and the Yurchenko loop on balance beam.  She also performed a release move combination of Tkatchev, Delchev in a bar rutine where the bars were so close, she was able to do a beat in the same rutine.  For her inovativeness, originality, difficulty and grace, she will be remembered in her sport.