Olesya Dudnik

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Olesya [alternate spelling Olessia] Vitalyevna Dudnik (Олеся Витальевна Дудник born August 15, 1974 in Zaporizhia, Ukraine) is a gymnastics coach and former artistic gymnast who competed internationally for the Soviet Union between 1988 and 1990. She was the world champion on the vault in 1989. Her brief but spectacular competitive career was ended by injuries.

When her athletic potential was discovered Dudnik was sent to train at club Dynamo in Kirovograd. She was moderately successful in international junior meets. Her breakout performance came at the 1989 American Cup in Fort Worth, Texas, where she finished second in the individual all-around competition.

At the 1989 World Championships held in Stuttgart, Germany, Dudnik was a member of the gold medal-winning Soviet team, led by Svetlana Boginskaya and considered one of the most powerful women's line-ups ever assembled. The team was so deep with talent that Dudnik did not qualify for the individual all-around competition. However, in the event finals she won the gold medal on the vault, a silver medal on the balance beam, and placed fourth in the floor exercise. She scored four perfect 10.0's during the competition.

Dudnik's gymnastics were a combination of artistic elegance and daring athleticism. In the vaulting event she was the first woman to successfully perform a lay-out, double-twisting Yurchenko. Her balance beam routine included a side aerial to two layouts and an exceptionally difficult round-off, flip-flop, triple-twisting dismount. In Stuttgart, Dudnik was in contention to win the gold medal on the beam, but stumbled during her landing.

Video footage from the World Championships shows Dudnik performing with a bandaged right foot. The foot injury continued to nag her through the 1990 French Internationals. Later, she sustained a serious knee injury, and difficulties with rehabilitation brought her competitive career to a premature end.

In addition to injuries, Dudnik has endured personal tragedies. Her parents died of illnesses they contracted from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In March of 1994 she married Ukrainian wrestler Oleg Chapny, and the couple had a son born in 1995. International Gymnast magazine reported that Chapny, however, died in 2004.

Olesya Dudnik and her son currently reside in Cairo, Egypt. She coaches gymnastics at the Al Gezeera Sporting Club.

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World champions in artistic gymnastics – women's team competition

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1934: Czechoslovakia • 1938: Czechoslovakia • 1950: Sweden • 1954: USSR • 1958: USSR • 1962: USSR • 1966: Czechoslovakia • 1970: USSR • 1974: USSR • 1978: USSR • 1979: Romania • 1981: USSR • 1983: USSR • 1985: USSR • 1987: Romania • 1989: USSR • 1991: USSR • 1992: Not held • 1994: Romania • 1995: Romania • 1996: Not held • 1997: Romania • 1999: Romania • 2001: Romania • 2002: Not held • 2003: USA • 2005: Not held • 2006: