Elena Zamolodchikova
Elena Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova (Russian: Елена Михайловна Замолодчикова; born 19 September 1982)[3] is a Russian former artistic gymnast and four-time Olympic medallist. She is the 2000 Olympic champion on vault and floor exercise, and she is a two-time World champion on vault (1999, 2002). She also competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she won a bronze medal with the Russian team. She is a two-time World Cup Final vault champion (2000, 2002) and a two-time European champion with the Russian team (2000, 2002). In 2015, she was inducted in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[2]
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mikhailovna and the family name is Zamolodchikova.Elena Zamolodchikova
Elena Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova
Yelena Zamolodchikova
Zamo
19 September 1982
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
154 cm (5 ft 1 in)[1]
1996-2009 (RUS)
Nadesha Maslennikova
2009[2]
Early life[edit]
Zamolodchikova was born on 19 September 1982 in Moscow. Her father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, was a member of the Soviet Army and was one of the first Chernobyl liquidators, and her mother, Irina Nikolaevna, was a teacher.[4] She began gymnastics at the age of six.[2] She wanted to start gymnastics after watching a competition on television.[5] She briefly quit gymnastics after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, but this diagnosis was refuted by another doctor, and she returned to training.[4]
Post-gymnastics[edit]
After retirement, Zamolodchikova became a gymnastics coach and a certified judge.[56] She graduated from Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health with a coaching degree.[4] She had a heart attack in 2013.[57] She gave birth to her first child on 21 April 2021.[58]