Oksana Omelianchik

Oksana Omelianchik
Oksana Omelianchik
Personal information
Full name	Oksana Alexandrovna Omelianchik
Country represented	Soviet Union
Born	January 2, 1970 Ulan-Ude, Russian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Weight	31 kg (68 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international
Gym	Round Lake national training center; Spartak Kiev
Head coach(es)	Valentina Panchenko, Valery Tupitsy, Galina Perskaya
Music	1987: Ballet Russe
Retired	1989
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union World Championships 1985 Montreal Team 1985 Montreal All-Around 1985 Montreal Floor Exercise 1987 Rotterdam Team World Cup Final 1986 Beijing Balance Beam 1986 Beijing Vault 1986 Beijing Uneven Bars 1986 Beijing All-Around 1986 Beijing Floor Exercise European Championships 1985 Helsinki Balance Beam 1985 Helsinki Floor Exercise 1985 Helsinki All-Around 1985 Helsinki Uneven Bars

Oksana Omelianchik (Ukrainian: Окса́на Oлекса́ндрiвна Омелья́нчик; alternative transliterations: Oksana Omiel'jantchik; Oksana Omeliantchik; Oksana Omelyanchyk born January 2, 1970) is a retired Soviet gymnast and the all-around gold medalist of the 1985 World Championships. Omelianchik was most known for her enthusiastic showmanship, difficulty and originality, including pioneering back-to-back tumbling.

Omelianchik was born on January 2, 1970 in Ulan-Ude, USSR. She was originally a figure skater, and participated in her first skating meet at the age of 6. She began gymnastics on the recommendation of her skating choreographer, who believed she had potential in the sport. She trained at the Spartak club in Kiev, where her coaches included Valentina Panchenko, Valery Tupitsy and Galina Perskaya.

By 1983, Omelianchik was competing internationally for the USSR. At that year's Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important meet for junior gymnasts, she earned gold medals on the floor exercise and uneven bars and placed fourth in the all-around competition. At her first USSR Championships in 1983, she placed fifth in the all-around. The next year, she competed in both the junior and senior USSR Championships, winning the all-around silver medal at the former and finishing fourth at the latter, and was selected as the alternate for the Soviet team at the 1984 Friendship Games (also known as 'Olomouc', after the city in which the competition was held).

In 1985, Omelianchik won the Soviet National Championships, beating the future Olympic champion Elena Shushunova. She also competed at the European Championships for the first time, winning the balance beam title showing a triple twist dismount. She also won a bronze medal in the all-around behind Shushunova and East German Maxi Gnauck, silver on the floor exercise and bronze on the uneven bars.