Svetlana Boguinskaya
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Svetlana Leonidovna Boguinskaya (born February 9, 1973 in Minsk) (Russian: Светлана Леонидовна Богинская) is a Soviet/Belarusian gymnast. Known alternately during her career as the "Belarusian Swan" due to her height, balletic grace, and long lines, Boguinskaya was three times an Olympic Champion winning the Horizontal Vault Gold Medal in 1988 and Gold in the Team All-Around in 1988 and 1992.
In 1989, Boguinskaya, who in addition to her two Gold medals in Seoul won Silver on the Floor Exercise and Bronze in the Individual All-Around Competition, became the Women's World All-Around Gymnastics Champion. She also won Gold medals in the Team All-Around and Floor Exercise competitions. Earlier that year she won the European Women's All-Around title as well as the European Vault and Floor Exercise crowns.
In 1990, Boguinskaya became the first, and to date only woman, to sweep the European Gymnastics Championships. In addition to defending her titles in the All-Around, on Vault and on Floor Exercise, she added titles in the Uneven Bars and the Balance Beam. In 1991, Boguinskaya fell short of defending her World Title, losing the Gold medal to Kim Zmeskal of the United States. She earned Gold medals in the Team All-Around and Balance Beam competitions.
In 1992, Boguinskaya, then 19 years old, won a third Olympic Gold Medal in the Team All-Around competition. She finished fifth in the Individual All-Around event; an identical placement to her 1992 European Championship result. Four years later, a 23 year old Boguinskaya nearly won the European All-Around Title, eventually earning Silver behind then-defending World All-Around Champion (and future Olympic All-Around Champion) Lilia Podkopayeva of the Ukraine.
She competed in three Olympic Games representing three different teams—the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics, the Commonwealth of Independent States Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and then Belarus at the 1996 Summer Olympics becoming the first Soviet gymnast to do so since 1972 Olympic All-Around Champion Ludmilla Tourischeva.