Total Medals:
Olympics:
Worlds:
Euros:
World Cup:
Appearances:,

Back to Biographies Page:

Oksana Omelianchik was an icon of 1980s gymnastics and had a lasting impact on the sport. Omelianchik won a share of the AA title at the 1985 World Championships. She has the distinction of having not one, but two different floor routines (1985 & 1987) that are regarded as amongst the most iconic in WAG history. Omelianchik helped popularized the trend of “marathoning” on floor where gymnasts perform tumbling passes that went from corner to corner, and then continue back towards the corner they originally started from. For a time marathoning was a popular trend, but has since fallen out of favor in recent decades.

Omelianchik never made an Olympic team, but was an Olympic alternate on two different occasions. The first occurring in 1984 as a member of the Soviet team that did not appear in Los Angeles due to an Olympic boycott. The second occurring when she was an alternate on the 1988 team. Omelianchik’s failure to make the 1988 Olympic team came under dubious circumstances in which she was scored harshly despite suffering an equipment malfunction (broken grip).

Despite her status as an aging veteran, Omelianchik returned for the 1989 season and even won a medal on floor at the USSR Championships. Her career came to an end in late 1989 when Omelianchik “retired.” Omelianchik’s retirement did not appear to be voluntary, but was forced on her by Soviet officials.

World Championships & Olympic Competition:

Results:

1984
USSR Championships: 3rd-FX
Alternate Olympics: Alternate

1985
European Championships: 3rd-AA, 3rd-UB, 1st-BB, 2nd-FX
USSR Championships: 1st-AA, 2nd-BB, 2nd-FX
World Championships: 1st-Team, 1st-AA, 1st-Floor

1986
World Cup: 3rd-AA, 2nd-VT, 2nd-UB, 1st-BB, 3rd-FX
Goodwill Games: 3rd-AA, 1st-Team, 2nd-FX
USSR Championships: 2nd-UB

1987
World Championships: 2nd-Team
USSR Cup: 3rd-AA
USSR Championships: 3rd-FX

1988
USSR Championships: 3rd-BB, 2nd-FX
Olympics: Alternate

1989
USSR Championships: 2nd-FX

Articles Featuring Oksana Omelianchik:
The Lesser Known Leotards of Oksana Omelianchik

Gallery:

Back to Biographies Page:

Results are taken from Score for Score, The Gymternet, GymnasticGreats, My Meet Scores, Gymn-Forum, the official websites of various national gymnastics federations, newspaper clippings, classic gymnastics magazines, and in some cases, were provided by the gymnasts themselves. An explanation for the meaning of these symbols can be found here.