Ever hear the expression, “You don’t win silver, you lose the gold”? Well, not necessarily. Sometimes the silver medal truly is the silver lining- an unexpected podium finish, the comeback after injury, or the coming together of routines in a way that goes beyond what was expected. These moments truly do provide a sweet silver feeling. While we have seen the disappointments and frustrations at getting SO CLOSE to gold, let’s look at the silver medals that were met with true joy and celebration.
Svetlana Boginskaya BLR European Championships 1996 AA
After a legendary career, including five Olympic medals (three gold), nine World Championships medals (five gold), and nine European Championship medals (ALL gold!), Svetlana surprised the gymnastics community with her comeback at watching Katarina Witt skate at the 1994 Winter Olympics. In an era where two Olympics seemed to be a gymnast’s max (Chuso was only on her second Olympics herself in 1996), Svetlana’s bid for the Atlanta Games at first seemed like wishful thinking. But there she was at the 1995 World Championships, placing eighth with her team and sixteenth in the all-around. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Svetlana’s chances of competing with her native Belarus seemed possible after training in Houston, TX with Bela Karolyi and then Alexander Alexandrov. She showed up to the European Championships in the Olympic year looking incredibly fit and with some impressive upgrades. Her solid turn on all four events gave her the silver, behind reigning World (and eventual Olympic) champion Lilia Podkopayeva. While Lilia’s name goes down in the record books as the champ, everyone remembers Svetlana’s joie de virve and consistency.
Here she is on her ‘weak’ event, showing off a stellar double layout dismount-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSBsz4rUP3c
Oksana Chusovitina GER Olympic Games 2008 VT
Speaking of legendary careers, Oksana’s journey has been well documented, and we are all awaiting to see the next chapter in Rio. But back at her fifth Olympic Games, representing her adopted country at a mere thirty-three years old, Oksana won a medal for the country that helped save her son’s life. Not only did she win silver, but she did so showing two very difficult vaults. How could you not celebrate with this woman?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_jF37j6Hg
Teodora Ungureanu ROM Olympic Games 1976 UB
It’s hard to compete against a friend and a teammate who is making history, but Teodora definitely could hold her own while Nadia was getting a lot of attention. As the gymnast who competed in the lineup before Nadia, Teodora also had great tricks and star potential. After winning a silver with her team, she finished fourth in the all-around, a mere .250 behind the podium. But she stayed strong through event finals, most notable on bars, where her smooth routine earned a 9.9 (for a 19.800 total).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYBNY0Y_OU
Aleftina Priakhina URS European Championships 1987 AA
One of the greats in the 1980’s, Priakhina unfortunately could not break through her own team due to the depth of the Soviet Union. But she got her chance in 1987, challenging Daniela Silivas for the European title. After her teammates Elena Shushunova and Svetlana Baitova had errors, attention was brought the Aleftina’s daring routines. The first to perform some of the standard difficulty tricks today, her name remains off the Code of Points due to her lack of World or Olympic appearances. But, fortunately, we have her 1987 routines to savor.
Lacking some of the Soviet polish, but an action packed set-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCygPRYDtHo
Terin Humphrey USA Olympic Games 2004 UB (Thanks to @sj0126 on Twitter for this suggestion!)
By no means the ‘star’ of the team, Terin was a hard worker that watched Carly Patterson and Courtney Kupets win the big world medals, Mohini Bhardwaj and Annia Hatch mount improbably comebacks (including Annia’s own sweet silver moment), and her own teammate Courtney McCool steal everyone’s hearts with her toe point and technique. But Terin’s impressive work on bars, beam, and floor earned her a well-deserved spot on an Olympic team that left behind other Worlds medalists and champions (Memmel, Vise, Schwikert……) Humphrey’s supremely consistent and clean routines in team preliminaries put her in position to make finals, but the two-per-country rule kept her out….except on bars. I remember first seeing Terin in 2000 at the International Team Championships, and her bars really impressed me then. Fast forward to 2004, and her great skills and combinations were on display. With the attention on Svetlana Khorkina, Courtney Kupets, Li Ya, and Lin Li, it was Terin who quietly put together a medal worthy set.
Her glittery performance-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrdSK7Eaapg
Larisa Iordache ROM World Championships 2014 AA (Thanks to @GymnasticsRosie on Twitter for this suggestion!)
The fan favorite and oft-touted ‘New Nadia’, Larisa had run into injury and consistency problems at the start of her senior career. After leading her team in a dominate fashion at the 2014 European Championships, Larisa showed up the World Championships with something to prove in the all-around. Despite a step out on floor, she truly performed and amped up the difficulty. Her apparent joy and excitement for her overall performance made the hearts of gym fans everywhere glow with pride. (And, of course, she saved Simone Biles from the bee on the podium. Thankfully, Larisa was there to help her!)
Pretty in pink-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7ZzyyRYAhU
Article by: Kristen Ras
Photo cover: Zimbio
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