It’s already September, which means training camps are underway and the pressure to make the world team is on. From now until the World Championships gymnast of the week will feature a former world champion. To kick off the mini “series within a series” gymnast of the week goes to Natalia Yurchenko, the 1983 world champion.

Natalia was born in 1965 and was a Soviet gymnast. She was coached by Vladislav Rastororsky at the Dinamo sports society, where many USSR gymnasts trained. Natalia’s first international competition was in 1978 at the Junior Friendship Tournament where she placed 5^th in the all-around and won a gold medal on uneven bars and in the team competition. Also in 1978 she debuted at the senior Riga International meet where she won the bronze medal on floor.

Natalia’s success peaked in the early 1980’s when she tied for the 1982 World Cup title, where she also won first place on vault and balance beam and took second on bars. That same year she won the USSR Cup and took first in the all-around at the USSR Championships and captured the gold on three of four events.

In 1983, Natalia won the all-around title at the world championships and defended her title at the USSR Championships. At the 1983 USSR Championships she also won the gold on vault, bars, balance beam and took second on floor. In 1984 she won the gold medal on vault at the Friendship Games and at the 1985 world championships she helped her team win the gold medal.

Many gymnastics fans will recognize Natalia’s last name and attribute her to the first gymnast to compete the yurchenko vault. She not only originated the yurchenko vault, but also the yurchenko loop on balance beam. Natalia retired from gymnastics in 1986, but did manage to complete in the World Professional Gymnastics Championships in 1991. In 1999, Natalia and her daughter immigrated to the U.S. where she took the head coaching spot at Lehigh Valley Sports Academy. After leaving LVSA, Natalia took a job coaching at Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center, home to former gymnast of the week, Kristen Maloney and other former national team members. Natalia still coaches at Parkettes today and lives with her husband, former Olympic soccer player Igor Sklyarov and her daughter.

Here is Natalia performing her own vault at the 1983 World Championships.