Svetlana Khorkina - 2000 Olympics Team Finals - Floor Exercise

[mlc2005]

Damn, I love watching the triple twist! Amazing. I agree that the best floor routines are ones, like this, that actually create an emotional connection between athlete and viewer. Sadly, such routines are scarce these days.

[juankfirst1]

Si hubo alguna vez una gimnasta sobre valorada en todo Fue y siempre sera es Svetlana Khorkina.Solo elegante e innovadora, nada poderoza.A sus rutinas finales siempre les falto, fallo en 2000 ni siquiera se acerco al trio rumano y en 2004 superada por Petterson claramente, aunque ella nunca lo admitira!.

La gimnacia artistica tiene que perder subjetividad!.Los ornamentos se pueden ir a la ritmica!, la meca de la gimnacia hoy por hoy es USA.

[DrRaphaelMeireles]

divaaaaaaaaa

[nicki446]

she's just so classy and regal.

beautiful routine from a legend of gymnastics.

[zeldafreak701]

Loved this routine. Too bad when she got off the mat, none of her team came up to congratulate her. She had given them all a very hard time.

[LaVoix555]

Absolutely  AMAZING!!

[dannyradar]

I love Svetlana, but its true. if she had caught the bar in her bar routine, the russians would have won (even with the beam falls). but i dont think hes blaming her for the loss at all. hes just sayin.....

[MrJST94]

this may be the end of artistic gymnastics but what for an end!

it couldend be better!

[secretme127]

Her body is so oh oh oh gorgeous! SHe has the legs and the lines of a dancer (not sure about the artistry), and the strength of a bull!

[LMA629]

@secretme127 beautiful? she looks painfully thin, esp in her face.

[mrsspanner14]

@LMA629 she's the same sort of build - and strength - as a ballerina. I wouldn't call her painfully thin.

[kras118]

@LMA629 omg, you should see her in '04- so skinny! And I do think she's quite beautiful here! =)

[LMA629]

@kras118 yeah, I know right? she looked like a skeleton in '04?

[mkoury83]

favorite olympic floor routine to date... completely classic. Can't wait to see someone match this, yet alone surpass... Khorkina knows exactly what she's doing.

[spartyutube]

The Russians were the strongest team, but too bad in the final, they all made mistakes. I loved the chinese team though!

[iCmi9706]

*elegance*

[Gr33nkiwi]

The Russians and Romanians.

True gymnastic beauty <3

[markedexclusive]

@Gr33nkiwi The Russians definitely embodied gymnastics beauty, but most of the Romanians of that quadrennium were, in my opinion, lacking in the expression category. Andreea Raducan would be an exception though.

[Gr33nkiwi]

No, the Romanians WERE beautiful. They were just in a different way.

The Romanians and the Russian contrasted so well together showing off both sides of gymnastics.

[comanecisalto1]

@Gr33nkiwi I agree somewhat, but not all of Romanian gymnasts have lost artistry. Sandra Izbasa's 2008 floor what pretty artistic (especially next to Shawn Johnson's). But yeah, artistry is almost non-existent these days :/

[intldawn]

I don't think it's fair for Tim to blame Sveta for taking the Russians out of gold medal contention. His math is correct, but Lobaznyuk's mistake on beam was the most costly. Katya scored .6 to .7 less than what's she capable of doing and hers was the only miss they had to count. If anything, Sveta saved them from making it worse by doing the very best beam routine she could. Shame, though. All four superstars had one major mistake.

[MrGemini1983]

This routine back to back with Produnova's routine is one of my favorite memories of these Olympics. The absolute end of "artistic" gymnastics.

[intldawn]

I'd add Lobaznyuk's routine to that line, as well. This, in a way, is why it was so tragic that the Russians didn't win because they embodied what gymnastics is supposed to be.

[MrGemini1983]

I couldn't agree more. And you are right about Lobaznyuk.

[wwefan116]

I agree with that statement that Produnova's and Khorkina's back to back routines in the TF was the end of artistic gymnastics.

[Pagan1123]

Khorkina always looks so harsh. If we're talking grace & artistry... well, I'd say late 90's were the end of that = ( There are a few gymansts from time to time that pull off an amazing floor exercise, but almost no one has the same magnetism as Podkopaieva, Dawes, Korbut or Comaneci =)

[lexx0703]

This would have to be the best Female Artistic Gymnastics Floor Routine ever.

Even though Svetlana did have a couple hick-ups being that she's pretty much too tall for Gymnastics.

But she pulls it off pretty well because she used her height and added an element of grace with her dancing, and even her Tumbling lines looked "graceful". She chose just the right combinations in her Tumbling to complete the feel of everything.

[TheAprilSunday]

This is my old floor music. I love it.

[MexGurly]

That was beautiful, love the music !

[superminaa]

oooh...I so much loved that dancing

[iloveyourstory]

she looks too thin

[kras118]

I know!! especially compared to '98-'99 Khorkina.. at least she looks happy and healthy today!

[cryssbest]

Except she isn`t 一位女王/王后 !!!!!!!

[alliangzhang]

女王就是女王！！！！！！！！！！！！

[Selecious]

i think anyone who thinks this routine was overscored probably needs to back to gymnastics kindergarten or something and learn that gymnastics isn't about acrobatics.

[hjaidar]

I'm totally agree with you, it's Artistic Gymnastics not Acrobatic Gymnastics and Sveta had one of the most beautiful choreograph that I've ever seen in many years

[WSggs]

Isn't about acrobatics?

It's a sport, not a cultural art. ART is not competed in the Olympics.

Art is a big part of it yes, dance elements, grace, and good execution. But at the end of the day those 3/4 tumbling passes are the most important part of your routine.

And also if gymnastics isn't about acrobatics how do you explain the vault? beam? and even bars?

If you went up and danced on them, well. LOL.

[Selecious]

how old are you? i didn't say gymnastics was about dance either. yes there's acrobatics in gymnastics. everyone here does nothing but rag on khorkina's low par acrobatics. but gymnastics isn't about acrobatics any more than it is about dance either. gymnastics by pure definition is a sport of the human physique, encompassed by the showcasing of one's agility, coordination, rhythm, movement, all intertwined in a specific style that is called a 'gymnast's artistry' in the time of the greeks

[Selecious]

...in the time of the greeks gymnasts performed nude because the entire sport was nothing but a celebration of the human body, form and grace.

[cryssbest]

Let`s stick on the 21th century, shall we?

[Selecious]

OoooKayyy?!

[WSggs]

Gymnastics is not what it was during the time of the Greeks. And bringing it up is irrelevant to this floor exercise.

In 2000 there were acrobatic requirements that had to be met, and Khorkina simply didn't meet them.

[Selecious]

I brought the Greeks up to reference the history of the sport and the root of what defines it. I don't see how irrelevant that is if the FIGs moto is pulled straight from Greek methodology.

and Khorkina absolutely full-filled the requirements. the code was different back then. you are arguing against a professional panel of judges who qualified her 1st in the AA and Russia first in the TF.

[WSggs]

Gymnastics as it is today, and how it was in 2000 requires a balance of dance and tumbling on FX. Khorkina had the dance but her tumbling was ghastly. The execution of it was poor and thus deserved deductions, more deductions than what was taken.

That is my argument.

[Selecious]

her tumbling being ghastly in your opinion is far from accusing her of not meeting the requirements of a floor exercise. my aunt is in the FIG and the judges are hugely pushed to be on the side of the gymnast. a lot of judges were accused of favoring khorkina when all it was was leniency for her height. judges give brownie points to all gymnasts, don't call it out on only the gymnasts you personally don't like.

[WSggs]

What the hell?

I actually LIKE Khorkina, thank you.

You seem to think it incomprehensible that someone would think she was over-scored and have a legitimate reason other than bias.

Khorkina's form does not warrant the the scores she gets on FX. I'm sorry, whether it be height or weight, this is the Olympics. Brownie points have no place.

I prefer her on bars; there she is perfect.

FX and BB she was almost always over-scored.

[Selecious]

thanks. i disagree.

[WSggs]

Oh well.

[Darkangel127]

I wouldn't call a whip-double pike, a triple twist and a 2.5 twist-punch front ghastly. Sure, she wasn't nearly as powerful as Produnova, Zamo, Amanar or Raducan but her FX met the requirements and was scored accordingly. And if we want to be fair, it's a good thing that at least one out of 5 Russian routines was overscored! Russia was robbed big time in Sydney!

[WSggs]

This routine received something like a 9.800. Which is ridiculous. The level of difficulty and execution did not warrant that at all. The judges sucked the extra points that rightly belonged to Produnova and Lobazniouk and heaped them on Khorkina because of her reputation.

Her floors were being scored in the same range as Raducaan, who's difficulty was on another planet from Khorkina!

Well, I wouldn't say they were robbed. They had a chance to take it all, Team, AA(sweep), EF's. But chocked.

[Darkangel127]

I'm not saying she wasn't ovescored, she often was (can't complain, though, after years of watching the Russians being underscored). Blame the CoP failing to reward difficulty and judging on reputation (Gina Gogean anyone?). If we want to be fair, neither Raducan's difficulty&execution on UB warranted the scores she got. In fact, the whole Romanian team was overscored on bars whereas the Russians were robbed on FX. In my book, the gold should have gone to Russia, falls and all.

[WSggs]

Well, I think in a way the Russians were scored semi-fair, Khorkina and Zamo got massive bonuses that they didn't deserve. So you cut those out to fill in the gaps that Produnova and Lobazniouk deserved and it evens out.

But I can pretty much agree the Russians should have won. The Romanians were really sucky on bars, and rode Russia's falls to the TF gold.

Ugh, don't even get me started on Gogean.

[cryssbest]

According to your book, you`re living on another planet! Gold for Russia?! Have you forgot all their mistakes they`ve made?

If you want gold, then your routine must almost perfect! I mean: No mistakes, no "almost out of bounds", no falls on UB AND vaults etc!

And you`re quite far from "being fair"! BTW, in 1998 was an event - Khorkhina fell on the BB and Gina sticked. Romanians overscored on bars! Am trait sa o aud si pe asta!

[Darkangel127]

Russia was heavily deducted for the falls (deservingly so) and yet lost by a mere 0.2 margin. If you're willing to go through the routines, you'll probably realise that Kolesnikova's BB, Tchepeleva's, Produnova's and Lobaznyuk's FX were underscored by more than 0.2. And we can both agree that both Gogean&Khorkina were often overscored.

PS: Please stop giving negative feedback to those who don't agree with you. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, much more when they express it in an educated way.

[cryssbest]

I agree to you, up to a point.

[cindyirene2001]

FINALLY. Someone who gets it.

[cryssbest]

9.812

[WSggs]

Thanks.

[cryssbest]

Raducan should`ve got a 10, in my humble opinion ! I agree with you!

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

Khorkina was the most intelligent gymnast the world of gymnastics has EVER seen! She was renowned for coming up with routines, that maybe didn't seem as difficult but always met the requirements for SV of 10.00. Do you really believe she hadn't gone through the CoP before going to the Olympics? And if we want to be fair, Liu Xuan, Olaru and Ray's tumbling were easier than Khorkina's and yet they all had a full SV.

[WSggs]

I strongly disagree she is the most intelligent gymnast ever. A lot of her moves aren't really that innovative, it doesn't take a genius to do a straddled markolov, sorry. As for your comment about Xuan, Olaru and Ray, well, they were really about the same. She may have had a 10 SV but the execution didn't warrant it in the least. People see her grace and emotion and get caught up in it, this is a sport after-all. You can't really get a high score for being emotional...

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

Let me define "intelligence": I mean she used to built her routines in a way that they both met the requirements for a full SV and carry as little risk as possible (punch front out of the tumbles and dance combinations on FX, swing down on BB, etc) or she came up with original skills that suited her long body. She was a master at covering up wobbles and unsteady landings and she was the best at changing the composition of a routine while she was performing it! That requires intelligence, IMHO.

[WSggs]

I'm sorry but I cannot agree. Natalia Yurchenko, imo, has to be the most innovative and intelligent gymnast ever. She was 'innovative', yes. As well as being good at coming up with moves for her body type, very versatile but I simply have not seen anything to make me change my mind that she is a very over-rated gymnast. People seem to hand her the benefit of everything, well, simply because she is Khorkina.

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

Natalia Yurchenko was amazing indeed (although I feel that the most innovative-and underrated-gymnast ever is Aleftina Priakhina) but when it comes to Khorkina, we just have to agree to disagree; I personally believe that she had a huge impact to the sport and that she's not considered a legend for nothing. And you seem to forget, quite conveniently, that the majority of the media have treated her horribly throughout her career. I really can't see "people hand her the benefit of everything".

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

PS: Apparently, it DOES take a genius to do a Ricna-Pak-Khorkina II combination considering that no one has even come close to performing it.

[WSggs]

A very challenging combo indeed. However, body type really plays into that one and not many gymnasts have the same body type as Khorkina. She at least had some power with her height and not just noodle-ey legs like Liukin.

[WSggs]

I mean that her execution didn't warrant her scores, sorry. Not the start value.

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

I agree, her execution was not up to a 9.787 score but I would have definitely given her over 9.700 for having spent more than 10 minutes on the choreography as opposed to say Amanar, who obviously hadn't. FX is more than tumbling; I think that excellent tumbling should be rewarded but so should excellent presentation! After all, that's what differentiates women's FX from men's, the gymnasts are supposed to dance TO the music, not DESPITE the music!

[WSggs]

I would have given this routine a 9.650-9.675. I agree that presentation is a part of the routine but in the end it's the tumbling that really makes the difference. Presentation and composition can't really count for more than a fraction of the score since it really doesn't demonstrate the gymnasts ability in the sport at hand.

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

I'm afraid I disagree again; presentation should definitely count for the final score. Although there doesn't seem to be any artistry left, the sport is called ARTISTIC gymnastics, there's music and dance, so the gymnast might as well bother do something else than mere tumbling. I'm sorry, but I'd never give the gold medal to Amanar considering she had no choreography (nor to Khorkina for that matter). I'd prefer someone with a combination of tumbling and artistry (Raducan, Lobaznyuk, Zamo, etc)

[EdGringo78]

I definitely agree with that. I really like Amanar but all she did was tumble. Svetlana Boginskaya didn't have hard routines but the elements she performed were done PERFECTLY and with such control and beautiful dance!!

[AnnaPavlovaFan]

I have a HUGE respect for Amanar, she's one of the most reliable and consistent gymnasts ever. Unfortunately, one of the most boring too. On the other hand, Boginskaya is a GODDESS! You couldn't take your eyes off her. I don't care if she played it safe (not the only one to do so), as long as her gymnastics looked beautiful. And boy, was it beautiful...

[isaimoreno666]

I love Svetlana...

[EdGringo78]

I absolutely LOVE the crowd reaction at the end of this routine. Nobody captivates an audience like Khorkina!! A true crowd pleaser :-)

[trix678]

that was no way as good as elenas performance on the floor that year

[cryssbest]

I agree! Zamo and Raducan were so much better!

[HoneyGotMeHooked]

Few gymnasts move like Svetlana.

[901234565432109867]

she always seems to tall and lanky to be a gymnast in my eyes

[akawhippy]

I think the same too. But I wish I could have her long thin legs.

[skatekwan6]

I'm glad she didn't listen to you.

[mustasha]

she's only 5 5 iv heard

[cryssbest]

"Only"?! You`re funny! 5`5 means 1,64, I think ... 6`0 is almost 1,80. She was a very tall gymnast!

[mustasha]

i know that she was a tall gymnast but if she's tall at 5'5 (im 5'6 and think im short) then other gymnasts must only be what 5'2 which to me seems tiny ...

[Darkangel127]

6'0 = 1,83m and as crazy as it may sound, there are male gymnasts who are just as tall. Aleksandr Shatilov is 1.82 and Igor Cassina is 1.80!