Alexei Nemov

Alexei Nemov
— Gymnast —
Personal information
Full name	Alexei Yurievich Nemov
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1976-05-28) 28 May 1976 (age 40) Barashevo, Mordovia
Hometown	Tolyatti
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Club	Trade Union
Head coach(es)	Evgeny Nikolko
Assistant coach(es)	A. Shestakova
Retired	Fall of 2004
Medal record Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team 1996 Atlanta Vault 2000 Sydney All-Around 2000 Sydney High Bar 1996 Atlanta All-Around 2000 Sydney Floor 1996 Atlanta Floor 1996 Atlanta High Bar 1996 Atlanta Pommel Horse 2000 Sydney Team 2000 Sydney Pommel Horse 2000 Sydney Parallel Bars World Championships 1995 Sabae Vault 1996 San Juan Vault 1997 Lausanne Floor 1999 Tianjin Floor 1999 Tianjin Pommel Horse 1994 Dortmund Team 1996 San Juan Parallel Bars 1999 Tianjin Team 2003 Anaheim Parallel Bars 1994 Brisbane Parallel Bars 1996 San Juan Pommel Horse 1997 Lausanne Team 2003 Anaheim High Bar European Championships 1994 Prague Parallel Bars 1998 St. Petersburg Floor 2002 Patras Floor 1998 St. Petersburg All-Around European Team Championships 1999 Patras Team 2003 Moscow Team

Alexei Yurievich Nemov (Russian: Алексей Юрьевич Немов; born 28 May 1976 in Barashevo, Mordovia) is a former gymnast from Russia and one of the most awarded gymnasts of all time. During his career, he won 5 world championships, 3 European championships and 12 Olympic medals.

Alexei Nemov grew up in Tolyatti on the Volga River. His father left him and his mother when Nemov was just a baby, and Nemov has never seen him since. Alexei started gymnastics at age five.

As a 16-year-old he made his debut at the 1993 World Championships, placing fifth on floor. The following year, he stamped himself as a true all-around contender, winning his qualifying session at the Worlds. He later faltered and dropped to 12th overall. He won his first major all-around title at the Goodwill Games in Saint-Petersburg, beating his 2nd-place teammate and World Silver Medalist Aleksei Voropaev by over one point. Nemov's style of gymnastics was considered very well-rounded; he had complex acrobatics, a unique style, and elegance when he performed.

Despite promising initial international success, in 1995 he gained a reputation for having inconsistent performances. In the all-around at the 1995 European Cup, Nemov, then 19, was the leader after five events and had put up the high score on three events. When he came to high bar, he only needed an 8.75 to win the title. He missed his two major release moves, crashed into the bar on another release move, botched a required element, and stopped in the middle of his routine. He scored a 7.35 and dropped to ninth overall.

A few months later, Nemov competed in the World Championships in Sabae, Japan. The Russian team had a disastrous showing during the qualifying round—finishing in 11th place. Nemov was in 96th all-around. The team rebounded in the finals to finish 4th overall (still a disappointment since it marked the first time in decades that the Russians failed to medal in the team competition), while Nemov put up the highest optional score of all the competitors. His compulsory round ranking prevented him from qualifying to the all-around finals, however.

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