Born in Minsk, modern day Belarus, Svetlana was involved in ice-skating before watching the gymnastics competition at the Olympic Games in Moscow and deciding that she wanted to be an Olympic Champion. Seven years later she was named to her first World Team in Rotterdam, there she contributed to the team silver medal and earned a bronze on the balance beam.
Given her good performances, expectations for her at the Olympics in Seoul were very high and she fulfilled them all by earning four medals. She was golden with her team and on the vault, she also earned a silver on floor and a bronze in the all-around.
1989 was a particularly successful year for Boginskaya as she collected only gold from Europeans and Worlds. At Europeans she took the titles in the AA, VT and FX and at Worlds she was first with her team, in the AA and on the FX. Her crowning as an All-Around Champion would be the last ever for a Soviet gymnast. Her winning streak extended to 1990 when she swept all the titles available at Europeans. She won gold in the AA and at all the individual event finals.
By the time Worlds in 1991 rolled around Svetlana was the veteran that led her team to their last ever World Team Title. Individually she came second in the all-around behind local gymnast Kim Zmeskal but bounced back in the apparatus finals by claiming the title on the beam. Rivals in gymnastics twenty-something years ago, Kim Zmeskal and Svetlana Boginskaya are close friends nowadays.
By 1992 the USSR had dissolved and the gymnasts represented their native countries at the 1992 Europeans. There Boginsakaya fell on her last event, floor, and was not able to defend her title as all-around champion, but once again bounced back in the apparatus finals to win gold on the balance beam.
At the Olympics in Barcelona, the team competed as the Unified Team where the former Soviet Union won their last ever Team Olympic Title. Svetlana was the only gymnast of the 1988 Olympic squad that made it all the way to the 1992 Olympics. Individually she placed fifth in the all-around and on beam and also finished fourth on vault.
Svetlana retired after the Olympics but only for a couple of years. She made a successful comeback in 1995 when she placed 16th in the all-around representing her native country, Belarus, at Worlds in Sabae, Japan.
In early 1996 at age 23, Svetlana was in top shape and she came second in the all-around at Europeans, only behind future Olympic Champion, Lilia Podkopayeva. She also qualified to all the event finals; she finished fourth on beam and sixth on vault, bars and floor.
Later that year she became a three time Olympian when she attended the Olympics in Atlanta. There she finished 15th in the all-around and 5th on vault.
Svetlana currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband of 16 years and a daughter and a son. She remains active in gymnastics with the Svetlana Boginskaya Invitational (dates for 2015 are Feb 20 – 22) and coaching at summer camps. Most recently she has also been coaching her former teammate Oksana Chusovitina as she heads for her seventh Olympic Games.
A true all-arounder Svetlana could perform strongly on all the events, but was particularly noted for her original and theatrical choreography on the floor exercise. Here she’s performing to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero in 1990
Article by: Isabel Iz