Yekaterina Lobaznyuk
Encyclopedia
Yekaterina Ludmilovna Lobaznyuk (born June 10, 1983 in Fergana
, Uzbek SSR
, USSR) is a former Olympic
gymnast
who competed for Russia
in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
, Australia
, winning three medal
s. Her name is sometimes written Ekaterina Lobazniouk.
) and a sports school director, Lobaznyuk grew up in Uzbekistan
amid the strife and turbulence of the 1980s. She began her gymnastics
career at the young age of six, when her mother brought her to a gym in Fergana
; everyone who watched the tiny little girl was captivated by her charm and ability to enthrall. In the 1990s, after the USSR fell apart, the Lobaznyuk family fled to Tashkent
due to violence
and riots in the Fergana Valley
area. The family attempted to join a circus
there but, failed. Help came in 1994 thanks to her grandmother, living in Russia
at the time; the Lobaznyuks eventually settled in Rubtsovsk
, a city of some 170,000 people located in southwestern Siberia
.
It was in Rubtsovsk that Yekaterina (known as Katya to her friends and family) met her future coach, Valery Fyodotovich Dianov, and the two quickly became a team. Known for her stubborn character, Katya was nevertheless able to work with coach Dianov while being able to express herself in the feisty and "cute" way she would eventually be known for.
in a children's meet sometime prior to 1996. Although Lobaznyuk fell 11 times during the meet, Russian National Team coach Leonid Arkayev was very impressed with her. In 1996 she placed first in the all-around and first on floor exercise at the Russian Youth Championships (in the Candidate for Master of Sport category) and the next year won four gold
and one silver
medal
at the Russian Cup's junior competition. Arkayev subsequently invited her to the national team's training center, located at Round Lake
.
's national team, Lobaznyuk quickly became a standout thanks to her well-choreographed routines and her spunky personality. In 1997 she won the all-around title at the Charleroi TopGym meet in Belgium
, as well as finishing fifth in the all-around (with two additional titles in vault and balance beam) at the International Junior Tournament in Japan
. It was at this meet in Japan
that she gained the attention of fans worldwide with her cutesy appearance and her amazing floor exercise, choreographed to the music "Hava Nagila
".
1998 proved to be a bad year for Lobaznyuk, as she broke her right arm (resulting from a fall off her least favorite event, the uneven bars), and her subsequent absence from the two biggest junior events of the year (Junior European Championships and World Youth Games) led some people to write her off as finished. Fans had nothing to fear, as she healed completely enough at the end of the year to grab a win over Ukrainian
gymnast
Viktoria Karpenko
at the Acapulco Cup in Mexico
.
that won a silver
medal
, as she picked up the most points overall for her team in the team final. Needless to say, coach Dianov was thrilled. "She performed wonderfully", he was quoted as saying afterwards. Once again, she garnered a lot of attention and many more fans, partly due to ESPN
's broadcast of the competition. Without her impressive performance at the World Gymnastics Championships
, she might not have made it to the Olympics
the next year.
Sydney
, Australia
was the site of the 2000 Olympic Games, and the location of the highest point in Yekaterina's career. She immediately charmed loads of Aussies with her pretty smile, short hair, and constant bounciness. She was also perhaps the top gymnast on the Olympic
team, surpassing Svetlana Khorkina
and Elena Zamolodchikova
, the best known members of the team at the time. Winning a pair of silver
medal
s (on the beam and on team final) and a bronze
on the vault was the highlight of many gymnastics fans' Olympics
. She did make a few mistakes that probably cost her team a shot at the gold medal
in team final. After Zamolodchikova
fell off the balance beam, Lobaznyuk wanted to get a 10.0 SV (start value) so badly that she included a move not originally in her beam routine and promptly fell off the side of the beam. Dianov remarked afterwards, "It was a noble impulse and so it was impossible to rebuke her for it". In the all-around final, mistakes also cost Lobaznyuk a medal. Finishing fifth, had she not stepped out of bounds on her floor routine, or misstepped on beam, it was likely she would have won a medal.
vaults, she landed very hard on the mat and collapsed in extraordinary pain; she had to be picked up and carried off by one of her coaches. It was revealed later that she had torn the ACL
and MCL
in her right knee, and surgery
would be needed, which would sideline her for the remainder of the year. She had not one, but two surgeries, since the first one in Moscow
, Russia
was not performed properly; the second was done in Johannesburg
, South Africa
, while visiting the city and country for a rehabilitation
stint. The second seemed to go well, and she returned to training in late January 2002.
The next month Lobaznyuk attempted a comeback at the Russian National Championships, performing on beam
and floor exercise only while her surgically repaired knee attempted to heal. She did OK in the eyes of national team coaches, but not well enough to rejoin the team, as other, younger gymnast
s were coming along to take her place. With very little chance to come back for her country, Lobaznyuk made a hard decision and decided to call it quits, retiring
shortly thereafter.
, Canada
where she trains as a coach alongside her mother Ludmila, who herself is a coach at the Omega Gymnastic Academy. Yekaterina gave birth to a boy named Alexei.
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
, Uzbek SSR
Uzbek SSR
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Uzbek SSR for short, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union since its creation in 1924...
, USSR) is a former Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
who competed for Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, winning three medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s. Her name is sometimes written Ekaterina Lobazniouk.
Lobaznyuk's beginnings
The second daughter of a gymnastics coach (who is also a former gymnastGymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
) and a sports school director, Lobaznyuk grew up in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
amid the strife and turbulence of the 1980s. She began her gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
career at the young age of six, when her mother brought her to a gym in Fergana
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
; everyone who watched the tiny little girl was captivated by her charm and ability to enthrall. In the 1990s, after the USSR fell apart, the Lobaznyuk family fled to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
due to violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
and riots in the Fergana Valley
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley or Farghana Valley is a region in Central Asia spreading across eastern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Divided across three subdivisions of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse, and in the early 21st century was the scene of ethnic conflict...
area. The family attempted to join a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
there but, failed. Help came in 1994 thanks to her grandmother, living in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
at the time; the Lobaznyuks eventually settled in Rubtsovsk
Rubtsovsk
Rubtsovsk is a city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 ; 111,000 ; 38,000 ....
, a city of some 170,000 people located in southwestern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
It was in Rubtsovsk that Yekaterina (known as Katya to her friends and family) met her future coach, Valery Fyodotovich Dianov, and the two quickly became a team. Known for her stubborn character, Katya was nevertheless able to work with coach Dianov while being able to express herself in the feisty and "cute" way she would eventually be known for.
Lobaznyuk's national debut
Young Lobaznyuk made her debut as a junior elite gymnastGymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
in a children's meet sometime prior to 1996. Although Lobaznyuk fell 11 times during the meet, Russian National Team coach Leonid Arkayev was very impressed with her. In 1996 she placed first in the all-around and first on floor exercise at the Russian Youth Championships (in the Candidate for Master of Sport category) and the next year won four gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and one silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
at the Russian Cup's junior competition. Arkayev subsequently invited her to the national team's training center, located at Round Lake
Round Lake
-Communities:United States* Round Lake, Illinois, a village* Round Lake, Minnesota, a city* Round Lake, New York, a village* Round Lake, Wisconsin, a town-Lakes:Canada* Round Lake , near Pembroke* Round Lake United States...
.
National team member
As a member of RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's national team, Lobaznyuk quickly became a standout thanks to her well-choreographed routines and her spunky personality. In 1997 she won the all-around title at the Charleroi TopGym meet in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, as well as finishing fifth in the all-around (with two additional titles in vault and balance beam) at the International Junior Tournament in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was at this meet in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
that she gained the attention of fans worldwide with her cutesy appearance and her amazing floor exercise, choreographed to the music "Hava Nagila
Hava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.-History:...
".
1998 proved to be a bad year for Lobaznyuk, as she broke her right arm (resulting from a fall off her least favorite event, the uneven bars), and her subsequent absence from the two biggest junior events of the year (Junior European Championships and World Youth Games) led some people to write her off as finished. Fans had nothing to fear, as she healed completely enough at the end of the year to grab a win over Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
Viktoria Karpenko
Viktoria Karpenko
Viktoria Karpenko , is a World Championships silver medalist and 2000 Olympian in artistic gymnastics...
at the Acapulco Cup in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Rise to fame at 1999 Worlds
1999 and 2000 were the best years of Yekaterina's competitive career. She was an integral part of the 1999 World Championships team from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
that won a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
, as she picked up the most points overall for her team in the team final. Needless to say, coach Dianov was thrilled. "She performed wonderfully", he was quoted as saying afterwards. Once again, she garnered a lot of attention and many more fans, partly due to ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's broadcast of the competition. Without her impressive performance at the World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
, she might not have made it to the Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
the next year.
Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was the site of the 2000 Olympic Games, and the location of the highest point in Yekaterina's career. She immediately charmed loads of Aussies with her pretty smile, short hair, and constant bounciness. She was also perhaps the top gymnast on the Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
team, surpassing Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina is a popular Russian gymnast and seven-time Olympic medalist, who is now a deputy at the Russian State Duma. With an unprecedented nine gold, eight silver, and three bronze World Championships medals, she is one of the most successful female gymnasts of her era and has...
and Elena Zamolodchikova
Elena Zamolodchikova
Elena Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova , nicknamed "Zamo", was a two-time Olympic gymnast. She began gymnastics at the age of six. In 1999 she participated in her first major senior competition, the World Gymnastics Championships, where she won the gold in vault, the bronze in the all-around...
, the best known members of the team at the time. Winning a pair of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s (on the beam and on team final) and a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
on the vault was the highlight of many gymnastics fans' Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. She did make a few mistakes that probably cost her team a shot at the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in team final. After Zamolodchikova
Elena Zamolodchikova
Elena Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova , nicknamed "Zamo", was a two-time Olympic gymnast. She began gymnastics at the age of six. In 1999 she participated in her first major senior competition, the World Gymnastics Championships, where she won the gold in vault, the bronze in the all-around...
fell off the balance beam, Lobaznyuk wanted to get a 10.0 SV (start value) so badly that she included a move not originally in her beam routine and promptly fell off the side of the beam. Dianov remarked afterwards, "It was a noble impulse and so it was impossible to rebuke her for it". In the all-around final, mistakes also cost Lobaznyuk a medal. Finishing fifth, had she not stepped out of bounds on her floor routine, or misstepped on beam, it was likely she would have won a medal.
Injury derails Lobaznyuk's career
2001 was a year Lobaznyuk would love to forget. At the Russian Cup that year, while performing one of her signature YurchenkoYurchenko (vault)
Yurchenko is the name of both a specific vault and a vault family in artistic gymnastics. The Yurchenko was named after Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, who originated the vault in the early 1980s....
vaults, she landed very hard on the mat and collapsed in extraordinary pain; she had to be picked up and carried off by one of her coaches. It was revealed later that she had torn the ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
and MCL
MCL
- Medicine :* Mantle cell lymphoma* Mast cell leukemia* Maximum comfortable levels of auditory stimuli* Medial collateral ligament* Medical Center Leeuwarden* Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans* Midclavicular line* Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis...
in her right knee, and surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
would be needed, which would sideline her for the remainder of the year. She had not one, but two surgeries, since the first one in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
was not performed properly; the second was done in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, while visiting the city and country for a rehabilitation
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
stint. The second seemed to go well, and she returned to training in late January 2002.
The next month Lobaznyuk attempted a comeback at the Russian National Championships, performing on beam
Balance beam (gymnastics)
The balance beam is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes referred to as simply "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB....
and floor exercise only while her surgically repaired knee attempted to heal. She did OK in the eyes of national team coaches, but not well enough to rejoin the team, as other, younger gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
s were coming along to take her place. With very little chance to come back for her country, Lobaznyuk made a hard decision and decided to call it quits, retiring
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
shortly thereafter.
Post-gymnastics life
Lobaznyuk now resides in Coquitlam, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where she trains as a coach alongside her mother Ludmila, who herself is a coach at the Omega Gymnastic Academy. Yekaterina gave birth to a boy named Alexei.
External links
- Lobaznyuk's photos at GymBox
- Lobaznyuk Set for Monday Surgery an article in International Gymnast Online, January 27, 2002