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Alexei Bondarenko

Alexei Bondarenko
Country represented  Russia
Born (1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 (age 38)
Kostanay, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Discipline Men's artistic gymnastics
Retired 2004

Alexei Bondarenko (born August 23, 1978) is a gymnast who competed for Russia from 1996 to 2004. He won two medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics – silver on the vault and bronze in the team event.

Bondarenko was born August 23, 1978 in Kostanay, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union.

Bondarenko started gymnastics in 1987 at age 9. During his career, he was coached by Valery Alfosov at Dynamo Moscow.

Bondarenko made his international debut in the 1996 European Junior Championships at 17 where he won the gold medal in the all-around. The next year, in 1996, he ranked sixth in the all-around in the Russian Championships but he was not selected to compete in the 1996 Olympics. In the 1997 Russian Championships, he ranked second in the all-around and first in the pommel horse, still rings and vault, although Alexei Nemov was not in this competition. He then qualified to the World Championships team where he helped Russia obtain a bronze in the all-around, and where he won a silver in the all-around, and ranked fifth in the vault finals.

In the 1998 Goodwill Games, Bondarenko won another silver in the all-around, and the pommel horse and still rings, and a bronze on floor exercise. The 1998 European Championships in St. Petersburg was a successful competition for Bondarenko where he won the gold in the all-around and on parallel bars, a silver on pommel horse and a bronze on floor exercise, as well as a silver on the team competition.

In the 1999 World Championships, Bondarenko contributed to the silver medal in the team competition for Russia. He won a silver on parallel bars, and was 10th in the all around and 8th on floor exercise.

Bondarenko was fourth in the all-around at the 2000 European Championships leading into the 2000 Olympics and was considered a good contender for several medals in the Olympics. During the 2000 Olympic Games, Bondarenko was part of the silver medal Russian men's team. He was seventh in the all-around and won a silver on vault.

Bondarenko won a silver in the all-around in the 2000 American Cup and the 2000 World Stars in Moscow. He was seventh in the all-around in the 2001 Brisbane Goodwill Games, and won a bronze medal on floor exercise, and was a finalist on pommel horse, still rings, vault and parallel bars. During the World Championships in 2001, however, Bondarenko was 18th in the all-around and did not medal in the other event finals where he qualified, on floor exercise and on the vault. He won the all-around in the 2004 Russian Cup in Moscow leading into the Olympics.


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