Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya

Famously known as the Belarusian Swan for her grace, Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya is a former artistic gymnast who has represented the Soviet Union and Belarus in the competitions.

Born on 9^th February 1973 in Minsk, Svetlana took up figure skating before opting for gymnastics at the age of six. She did her initial full-time training in Moscow, and by the age of 14, she became a part of the Soviet national team. She bagged her first international medal in 1987 and went on to gain numerous achievements in her career.

Svetlana’s graceful performances helped her in gaining the title of the Goddess of Gymnastics. She was widely recognised for her long lines, balletic grace and the artistry she used to display on floor exercise. Svetlana is among those female gymnasts who have competed in three Olympic Games, but due to the break-up of the Soviet Union, she had to represent different teams in every edition – the Soviet Union, CIS (Unified Team) and Belarus.

After gaining innumerable achievements, she announced her retirement in 1992 but made a comeback in 1995, taking inspiration from the figure skater Katarina Witt who made an impressive comeback at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She participated in the 1995 European Championships and 1996 Olympics before retiring finally.

Svetlana was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2005. She now resides in Houston, Texas, with her husband and kids and runs two businesses, a summer camp for gymnastics students and an online gymnastics apparel business.

Have a look at some of her major career achievements:

Representing the Soviet Union –

• Bagged gold medals in team and vault events, a silver medal in the floor exercise and a bronze medal in all-around at the 1988 Seoul Olympics
• Won a silver and a bronze medal in 1987, three gold medals in 1989 and two gold medals and a silver medal in 1991 at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships
• Earned three gold medals in 1989 in the all-around, vault and floor exercise and five gold medals in 1990 in all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise events at the European Women’s Gymnastics Championships
• Secured a gold medal in floor exercise, a silver in all-around and a bronze medal in the vault event at the World Cup Final in 1990
• Bagged two gold medals in team and floor exercise, a silver medal in all-around and a bronze medal in balance beam at the 1990 Goodwill Games

Representing the CIS (Unified Team) –

• Won a gold medal in team event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games
• Earned a silver medal in the vault event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships
• Bagged a gold medal in the balance beam event at the 1992 European Women’s Gymnastics Championships

Representing Belarus –

• Won a silver medal in the all-around event at the 1996 European Women’s Gymnastics Championships
• Earned a silver medal in the all-around event at the 1996 American Cup