Items18The creator’s order
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Mitsuo TsukaharaThe Tsukahara vault, a round-off or quarter turn on to the horse followed by a back salto off, was first shown by the Japanese gymnast in the early 1970s and became one of the most widely used vault families in both men's and women's gymnastics. He also won Olympic high bar gold in 1972 and 1976…0i - 2
Olga KorbutBorn 16 May 1955At the 1972 Munich Olympics Korbut showed the world the Korbut flip, a standing back salto on the high bar of the uneven bars, and a back salto on the balance beam that few women had attempted in competition. She won three golds and changed women's gymnastics from a graceful exhibition into an…0i - 3
Nadia ComăneciComăneci is remembered for the first perfect 10 at the Montreal 1976 Olympics, a score the scoreboard could only display as 1.00, but her lasting technical legacy is on the uneven bars. The Comăneci salto, a straddled front salto from the high bar to catch it again, and her dismount set new…0i - 4
Kurt Thomas (gymnast)Born 29 Mar 1956The Thomas flair, a circling of the legs in a wide straddle supported on the hands, began on the pommel horse and spread to men's floor routines, where it is still a staple; breakdancers later borrowed it too. Thomas turned it from a novelty into a standard element, and in 1978 he became the first…0i - 5
Elena MukhinaBorn 1 Jun 1960The 1978 world all-around champion introduced the Mukhina, a release on the uneven bars, and tumbled a full-twisting double back on floor years ahead of most rivals. In 1980, practising the Thomas salto on floor before the Moscow Olympics, she crashed and was left quadriplegic. Her injury remains…0i - 6
Natalia YurchenkoBorn 26 Jan 1965Yurchenko's vault entry, a round-off on to the springboard and a back handspring on to the vault, was first performed by her in 1982 and transformed women's vaulting. Almost every high-difficulty vault since, including the Amanar and the Biles, starts from it. Its danger also led to the…0 - 7
Valeri LiukinBorn 17 Dec 1966Liukin was the first gymnast to land a triple back salto on floor in competition, in 1987, a skill that took men's tumbling into new territory, and his high bar release work was just as ambitious. He won Olympic team and high bar gold at Seoul 1988. As coach of his daughter Nastia, the 2008 Olympic…0i - 8
Svetlana KhorkinaBorn 19 Jan 1979Khorkina has more skills named after her on the uneven bars than almost anyone, mostly releases and transitions that suited her unusually tall frame. Rather than adapt to a sport designed for smaller gymnasts, she used her long lines to invent elements others had not considered. She won Olympic…0i - 9
Lilia PodkopayevaBorn 15 Aug 1978Podkopayeva won the Atlanta 1996 all-around and floor titles, and her floor routine included the Podkopayeva, a double front salto with a half twist, which remains one of the hardest tumbles a woman has competed. Front-rotating double saltos with a twist land blind, so the skill demanded…0i - 10
Simona AmânarBorn 7 Oct 1979The Amanar, a Yurchenko entry with two and a half twists, takes its name from the Romanian who first performed it at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. For more than a decade it was the vault that decided women's all-around and team titles, performed by McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles and many others.…0
