
INSPIRATION
The diverse Class of 2010
represents four decades of gymnastics history
Written by Dwight Normile, Editor IG Magazine

(Left to right) Eileen Langsley (UK, AAI International
Order of Merit Recipient), Henrietta Onodi (Hungary)
and Cathy Rigby (USA) were honored at the 14th annual
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame induction
dinner May 15 in Oklahoma City. Also honored were fellow
Class of 2010 inductees Yuri Korolev (Russia) and
Mikhail Voronin (Russia). Photo, courtesy of IG
Magazine
Their stories are as different as the apparatus
on which they made history. The four gymnasts honored
at the 14th annual induction ceremony of the International
Gymnastics Hall of Fame combined to win 35 world
and Olympic medals. Yuri Korolev, Henrietta Onodi,
Cathy Rigby (who was inducted in 1998 but could
not attend that year) and the late Mikhail Voronin
were the latest to join the growing list of legends
in the Hall of Fame, while former FIG photographer
Eileen Langsley received the AAI International
Order of Merit. And as each was honored at the
exclusive Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City on May
15, a common theme emerged. Yes, the emotional
acceptance speeches transported the gathered guests
back in time, but they also ushered them forward
with a new sense of inspiration. Here are their
stories…
Mikhail Voronin (Russia)
At a time when Japan was ruling men’s gymnastics,
Mikhail Voronin was often able to keep the Soviet
Union on the medal podium. And though his USSR
teams always finished second at world and Olympic
competitions during his career, Voronin emerged
a champion more than once.
Born March 26, 1945, in Moscow, Voronin was dominant
at the 1966 world championships in Dortmund. After
winning the silver with his team, he won the all-around
title and the gold on rings. He also won silver
medals on pommel horse and parallel bars.
Two years later, Voronin won Olympic gold medals
on vault and horizontal bar in Mexico City, where
he and his wife, Zinaida Druzhinina Voronina, both
won silvers in the all-around.
Voronin competed in the 1970 world championships
and 1972 Olympics before retiring, but his name
lives on in the Code of Points for the piked flank
vault he invented on high bar.
In 1973 Voronin earned a degree in physical culture
from the Lenin Sports Institute, and in ’79
he received the title of Honored Coach of the Soviet
Union.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s,
Voronin was instrumental in saving the prestigious
Dynamo-Moscow, which is now called the Voronin
Gymnastics Club.
Today, the club is Russia’s best.
“Dynamo was able to stay successful because of Voronin,” said Alexander
Tkatchev, who trained under Voronin. “He was really confident in his
beliefs. He knew what he wanted and he always achieved his goals.”
Voronin passed away on May 29, 2004, but his name
lives on at the gym he kept alive.
Henrietta Onodi (Hungary)
Though she competed during one of the most competitive
eras of women’s gymnastics, the slight
but mighty Henrietta Onodi knocked off many of
the sports biggest names with regularity.
Born May 22, 1974, in Békéscsaba,
where she was coached by Mihaly and Julia Unyatyinszki,
Onodi accented her high degree of difficulty with
original elements to stand out from her peers.
And though she won gold medals on vault and silvers
on floor exercise at both the world championships
and Olympics in 1992, she never forgot who had
helped her along the way.
“Somehow, I always felt a little bit lonely [on the awards podium],” she
said. “I never did gymnastics for the awards. I enjoyed what I was doing,
and it gave me great pleasure to achieve better results each time. But once
I was up there, I always felt that the people who supported me should be standing
up there. So today, I’d like to thank those people.”
Onodi first mentioned her coaches. “They
always knew I wasn’t the most talented gymnast,” she
said of the Unyatyinszkis. “I was what was
called the ‘B Group.’ But they saw
something in me and worked with my abilities, which
is what great coaches do.”
Then she thanked her grandmother, “who is
a little bitty person but [has] the biggest heart,
and I hope I can be as kind and understanding as
she is.”
When Onodi began to credit her parents as “the
biggest support throughout my career,” her
emotions finally spilled forth. “My mom was
always just my mom,” said a choked-up Onodi,
who is expecting her third child in September. “She
was very relieved when I stopped gymnastics. She
wanted me to succeed, but she wanted me to be happy.
“I want to thank my dad, who was the greatest dad ever. He was always
there for me. He was there when I was born, and I had some hip problems. And
[when] the doctor told him that I will never walk straight, he told him, ‘Just
watch and see.’”
Onodi said her father was the only person who believed
in her comeback for the 1996 Olympics at age 22,
despite the fact that she was past her medal-winning
prime. “Unfortunately, he passed away the
same year after the (1996) Olympics,” she
said. “I know I can’t see him today,
but I know he’s here.
“So this award goes to all of those people who have supported me, and
I hope they are proud of me, because I am very proud. And thank you very much.”
Today Onodi, who earned a marketing degree in 2001
from the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio,
Texas, runs Olympic Health Chiropractic in Jacksonville,
Fla., with her husband, Dr. James Haley.
Yuri Korolev (Russia)
If not for politics and poor luck, Yuri Korolev
could have added a chapter or two to his legend,
but the two-time world all-around champion never
got to prove himself on the sport’s biggest
stage: the Olympics. The Soviet Union boycotted
the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and Korolev tore
an Achilles’ tendon at the 1988 Soviet
Olympic trials. Still, his collection of 13 medals — including
nine gold — across four world championships
is remarkable.
Born Aug. 25, 1962, in Vladimir, Russia, Korolev
was both a consummate all-arounder and cool competitor.
His routines were cleverly choreographed to maximize
his unique abilities, and they often were completed
with a cat-like dismount landing.
Korolev also was an innovator. He was the first
to dismount from rings with a triple flyaway (1981),
and he performed consecutive Tkatchevs (the first
from one arm) on high bar as early as 1986. He
also was one of the first to perform handstands
on pommel horse and vaults using only one arm,
and his name is in the Code of Points for a skill
on parallel bars: back giant to immediate straddle
cut to support.
Korolev’s resume is filled with several major
victories besides those at the world championships.
In 1986, he won the inaugural Goodwill Games in
Moscow and tied rival Li Ning for the World Cup
title in Beijing. He also won three University
Games (1981, ’83, ’87).
Though Korolev’s ill-timed injury in 1988
ended his Olympic dreams, he returned to competition
in 1989. However, he was unable to qualify to his
fifth consecutive world championships that year.
No, Korolev never competed in the Olympics. But
among fellow gymnasts and loyal fans, he was truly
admired and respected like few others before or
since.
Unfortunately, Korolev experienced more misfortune
when visa complications prevented him from attending
this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony.
Cathy Rigby (USA)
Officially inducted in 1998 but unable to attend
because of her starring role in Peter Pan, Cathy
Rigby closed the evening with the style and grace
that defined her gymnastics.
“I’m so grateful to be here,” said Rigby, 57, who then quipped, “I’m
sorry it took me 12 years; I was stuck in that harness all that time.”
Yes, before she was flying above stages as “the
boy who never grew up,” Rigby spoke of her
unusual upbringing as a gymnast in Southern California.
And like Onodi, Rigby remembered those who enabled
her career, which included the first world championship
medal by an American gymnast (silver on beam in
1970).
“It’s really difficult to stand up here and thank all the people
who have touched your life and helped you achieve certain goals, but I have
to tell you that the last three days have been—(Rigby paused to collect
her emotions)—extraordinary, because I’ve been away from the sport
for a very long time. And part of that was because I wanted to get away at
one point to kind of take on another identity and figure out who I was. I had
an amazing time in the sport, and I will thank those people for that … it’s
like coming home to family. It’s something I will cherish forever.”
Rigby first thanked her husband, Tom McCoy, with
whom she continues to work in entertainment. Then
she recognized Frank Bare (first executive director
of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation): “He was
like a dad. He was just so wonderful….”
Next, Rigby offered telling vignettes of her late
coach, Bud Marquette. “He was a pain in the
you-know-what sometimes to deal with, but he gave
his heart and soul to the sport of gymnastics and
to me,” she said.
Finally, Rigby spoke fondly of her mother. “She
was an example of how to be and how to act and
how to persevere,” said Rigby, a mother of
four and grandmother of three. “Whenever
I would come home from a competition, my mom was
just there. There was no judgment. It was just
a hug and, ‘Honey, how are you?’ and ‘Good
job.’ And I never realized how much that
meant to me. So I am forever grateful to this amazing
woman.”
Rigby also said she was “so grateful and
proud to be part of the International Gymnastics
Hall of Fame,” which now has 72 members
representing 20 countries.
Before the inductees and gathered guests mingled
for photo opportunities and autographs, emcee Bart
Conner closed the evening with these fitting words: “Excellence
to us is inspiring, and that’s all we try
to capture on this night.”
Yet once again, the overall impact on those in
attendance was so much more.
AAI International Order of Merit
Eileen Langsley
Before the Internet spawned myriad windows into
the world of gymnastics, fans relied on print publications
to follow their favorite sport. And more than likely,
their love for gymnastics was not only sustained,
but deepened, too, by the photographic brilliance
of Eileen Langsley.
From 1984-2001 Langsley chronicled the sport on
film as the official photographer for the International
Gymnastics Federation. And while national federation
photographers had the luxury of shooting only gymnasts
from their own countries, Langsley created an extensive
photo library of every FIG member nation. That
meant shooting every team in every session at every
major competition, most of which came before auto-focus
and digital cameras.
In addition to promoting gymnastics through her
beautiful photography, Langsley also worked diligently
to improve conditions for all photographers. She
never abused her privileged position of shooting
from the actual competition floor, but instead
remained as inconspicuous as possible. Such was
the deep respect she held for the sport and its
participants.
A native of Sheffield, England, Langsley fell into
photography by accident. As head of girls’ P.E.
at a secondary school in Sheffield, she began taking
photos to assist with her coaching skills and to
inspire her students. Once she made a career of
it, success followed despite working in a field
dominated by men at the time. In the 1980s, Langsley
was a prize winner in the AIPS International Sports
Photo contest five years in a row. Her shot of
a North Korean rhythmic group won British Sports
Photo of the Year in 1985.
“This is really overwhelming,” said Langsley, whose images graced
93 covers of IG. “I have had a wonderfully long relationship with International
Gymnast magazine. First of all, with the great Glenn Sundby, who encouraged
me so much, and then latterly with Paul (Ziert, IG publisher), who’s
been a tremendous support.
“It’s wonderful for me, but I also see this as recognition for
the role that photography itself plays in the sport of gymnastics and everything
it does to promote it. And I’ve worked with some great colleagues … and
I hope that they all feel that they’re part of this award too.”
Langsley also thanked her husband, Gerry, whom
she met in the 1960s while taking a walk in scenic
Derbyshire, England. They still live there today. “Without
his love and support over 40 years, I couldn’t
possibly have achieved anything that I have done,” Langsley
said.
After retiring from the FIG, Langsley devoted more
time to gardening and eventually sold her photo
library of more than 500,000 images to IG. “It’s
thanks to the vision of Paul Ziert that my archives
have a great place.”
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10th Anniversary Induction Ceremonies
Celebrate the Class of
2006 — Four Legends
from Japan, Russia and the U.S.A.
Oklahoma City, OK, USA – The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame (IGHOF) held its 10th annual Induction Ceremony on Friday, April 28, 2006. The black-tie event—in which four legends of gymnastics possessing 67 world and Olympic medals were formally inducted into the Hall of Fame—was held in Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
The IGHOF Class of 2006 included Olympic champions Vladimir Artemov (Russia), Eizo Kenmotsu (Japan), Natalia Kuchinskaya (Russia) and Shannon Miller (USA). Germany’s Ulrich Spieth, who has been managing director of the Spieth equipment company since 1971, received the IGHOF International Order of Merit.
A highlight of the Induction Ceremonies was the presentation of an exquisite music box and the World Championship silver medal from Mr. Jack Gunthard (IGHOF Class of 1997). Mr. Gunthard is one of the rarest of individual honorees in the Hall, having been inducted by virtue of his qualifications in both of the required categories: as a World and Olympic medalist and for his lifetime achievements in gymnastics.
The medal and the music box were presented to the Hall on behalf of Mr. Gunthard by Noelle Frey, representing the Swiss Gymnastics Federation.
The 10th annual induction ceremony was the largest in history, and excitement ran high with the inclusion of Oklahoman Shannon Miller, who was raised in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond.
“I feel very honored to be among so many tremendous athletes that have been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame,” Miller said. “And the fact that I got to come home to Oklahoma, the state that stood by me throughout all the highs and the lows of my career, made this event incredibly special.”
The Induction Ceremony was the centerpiece of a week-long celebration of gymnastics in Oklahoma City. Kicking off the festivities was an advance screening for 1,000 local gymnasts of Disney/Touchstone Picture’s gymnastics comedy “Stick It” at Harkins Bricktown Cinemas. More than 1,100 gymnasts from around the nation took part in two competitions over the weekend at the Cox Convention Center: the 2006 USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Women’s National Championships, and the 5th Annual International Gymnastics Hall of Fame Age-Group Classic.
About the IGHOF Class of 2006
Vladimir Artemov (born Dec. 7, 1964, Vladimir, Soviet Union) – The prestigious career of Vladimir Artemov includes a combined total of 18 world and Olympic medals—10 of them gold—from 1983 to 1989. Artemov’s crowning achievement came at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where he won four gold medals (team, all-around, parallel bars and high bar) and one silver medal (floor exercise). Known for his outstanding technique on parallel bars, he won the world title on that event three times (1983, 1987, and 1989). Artemov, appropriately born in the Russian town of Vladimir, finished second in the all-around at the 1985 World Championships and 3rd in the all-around at the 1987 World Championships. Artemov is now the head coach at Brown’s Gymnastics in San Antonio, Texas.
Eizo Kenmotsu (born February 13, 1948, Japan) - Kenmotsu was a member of the legendary Japanese school of gymnastics that dominated the sport in the 1960s and 1970s. His lengthy career spanned a decade, and he was a member of the gold-medal winning Japanese team at three Olympics (1968, 1972 and 1976) and three world championships (1970, 1974 and 1978). Individually Kenmotsu won world championship gold medals in the all-around and high bar (1970) and on the parallel bars (1974 and 1978). He has an incredible 23 world and Olympic medals to his credit, 10 golds, seven silvers, and six bronzes. Since he retired he has been one of Japan’s top coaches, and his pupil, Hisashi Mizutori, finished second in the all-around at the last world championships. He is currently the chief director of Nippon Sports Science University Sports Clubs and a vice president of the Japan Gymnastics Association.
Natalia Kuchinskaya (born March 12, 1949, Leningrad, Soviet Union) – A gymnast known for her grace and charm, Natalia Kuchinskaya won 10 world and Olympic medals. At her first major international competition, the 1966 World Championships, she won three individual gold medals (uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise). At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, she won gold medals with the Soviet team and on the balance beam event, and a bronze medals in the all-around and on floor exercise. Dubbed “the Bride of Mexico” at those Olympic Games, she became an audience favorite of the Mexican crowd, and fans serenaded her with a song “Natalie” during her stay. Kuchinskaya was also the Soviet all-around champion on four consecutive occasions (1965-1968). Kuchinskaya emigrated to the United States in the early 1990s and now coaches at her own gym, International Gymnastics, in Mount Prospect, Ill. She has been married to Alexander Kotliar, an optician, for three decades.
Shannon Miller (March 10, 1977, Rolla, Mo.) - With seven Olympic and nine World Championships medals in her collection, Miller is the most-decorated gymnast in U.S. history. Miller moved to Edmond at a young age and trained at Dynamo Gymnastics in Oklahoma City under Steve Nunno and Peggy Liddick. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the 15-year-old Miller won five medals, including the silver medal in the all-around. She earned all-around national titles in 1993 and 1996 and world all-around titles in 1993 and 1994. She also won world titles on the uneven bars and floor exercise (1993) and on the balance beam (1994). She struck Olympic gold twice in 1996, as a member of the U.S. team and individually on the balance beam. Miller now attends law school in Boston and has expressed interest in returning to Oklahoma and entering politics. She remains active in gymnastics as a commentator, and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005. |