Olena Vitrychenko
Olena Ihorivna Vitrychenko (Ukrainian: Олена Ігорівна Вітриченко, Russian: Елена Игоревна Витриченко; born 25 November 1976), also known as Elena or Yelena Vitrichenko, is a Ukrainian former rhythmic gymnast who primarily competed as an individual. She is the 1996 Olympics bronze medalist, the 1997 World all-around champion, and the 1997 European all-around champion. She now coaches in the United States.
Career
[edit]Olena Vitrychenko was introduced to the sport in 1980 when she was four years old by her mother, Nina, herself a former rhythmic gymnast.[1] Her mother coached her at the Deriugins School in Kyiv,[1] and beginning in 1997, she trained in the Boris Savlokhov club.[2] Her mother alleged that they were essentially kicked out of the Deriugins school by not being allowed full training time and rarely being allowed to practice routines with music.[3]
Vitrychenko made her international debut in 1986. At the 1992 European Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she won a bronze medal as a member of the Ukrainian group.[1] At the 1994 World Championships in Paris, she placed 6th in the all-around.[4]
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Vitrychenko seemed to be a contender for the gold medal, having placed first after preliminaries and second after the semi-finals. She was the only gymnast to perform clean routines on all days of the competition, including during the final; she finished with a good ribbon routine after Kateryna Serebrianska and Yana Batyrshina both dropped their ribbons during the last round of the competition finals. However, she placed third, a result that was controversial.[2][5] Vitrychenko said in a 1998 interview that she felt "there was a little bit of unfair judging" at the event, though she defended having her own mother judge her at other events, pointing to the hoop final at the 1997 World Championships, where her mother scored her under Natalia Lipkovskaya, who won the final.[2]
Vitrychenko won the all-around at the 1997 European Championships, where she also won gold in the hoop final,[6] the 1997 Summer Universiade,[7] and the 1997 World Championships, where she additionally won three of the event finals.[2] The next year, she lost both the 1998 European Championships and the 1998 Goodwill Games titles to Alina Kabaeva.[8] At the 1999 World Championships, she was fifth in the all-around but won the hoop and rope titles with perfect 10 scores.[9]
At the peak of a long and well-publicized feud with the head of the Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Deriugina, Vitrychenko was placed 19th in the qualification round at the 2000 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, and she withdrew in protest.[3] After an official review determined that certain judges had clearly discriminated against Vitrichenko, Deriugina and five other judges were banned for one year.[10] The other 26 judges at the event were not allowed to judge the Olympics.[11]
Afterward, the International Olympic Committee awarded her a spot on the Ukrainin Olympic team. She performed well at the Olympics, finishing in fourth place behind Alina Kabaeva.[12] She retired in 2000.[1]
Coaching career
[edit]Vitrychenko coached rhythmic gymnastics in Spain for ten years. In March 2013, she began coaching at the Illinois Rhythmic Gymnastic Center.[1] In 2014, she opened her own gym, which moved to Libertyville, Illinois in 2024.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Vitrychenko has three children.[13]
Routine music information
[edit]| Year | Apparatus | Music title[14] |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Hoop | Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Vanessa Mae |
| Rope (second) | Bumble Bee Boogie by Robert Wells | |
| Rope (first) | Ty zh mene pidmanula by Vladimir Bustriakov (Ukrainian traditional) | |
| Ball | Apassionata by Secret Garden | |
| Ribbon | Plaza of Execution / Stealing the Map music from The Mask of Zorro by James Horner | |
| 1999 | Hoop | Steppe by Rene Aubry |
| Rope (second) | Ty zh mene pidmanula by Vladimir Bustriakov (Ukrainian traditional) | |
| Rope (first) | Plaza of Execution / Stealing the Map music from The Mask of Zorro by James Horner | |
| Ball | Apassionata by Secret Garden | |
| Ribbon (second) | Harlem Nocturne by Sam Taylor | |
| Ribbon (first) | Theme from Rainman by Hans Zimmer | |
| 1998 | Hoop | Saltimbanco music from Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco by Rene Dupere |
| Clubs | Birimbau (from Mystère, Cirque du Soleil) by Rene Dupere | |
| Rope | Seisouso music from Quidam by Benoît Jutras | |
| Ribbon | One Man's Dream by Yanni | |
| 1997 | Hoop | Saltimbanco music from Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco by Rene Dupere |
| Clubs (second) | Birimbau (from Mystère, Cirque du Soleil) by Rene Dupere | |
| Clubs (first) | Latino by Anatoly Vekshin | |
| Rope | The Heat (from Birdy) by Peter Gabriel | |
| Ribbon | One Man's Dream by Yanni | |
| 1996 | Ball | ? |
| Rope | Sing, Sing, Sing by Benjamin Goodman | |
| Clubs | ? | |
| Ribbon | Pink Panther, by Henry Mancini | |
| 1995 | Ball | Echano by Chuck Mangione |
| Rope (second) | Sing, Sing, Sing by Benjamin Goodman | |
| Rope (first) | Toccata & Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach | |
| Clubs | ? | |
| Ribbon (second) | Carmen SuiteScene from Carmen Suite]] by Rodion Shchedrin/ Bizet | |
| Ribbon (first) | Boléro by Maurice Ravel | |
| 1994 | Ball | Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach |
| Rope | Marche en la by Ennio Morricone | |
| Clubs | Eclipse (from Nouvelle Experience, Cirque du Soleil) by Rene Dupere | |
| Ribbon | Peer Gynt Suite No.1: In The Hall Of The Mountain King music from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg | |
| 1993 | Ball (second) | Marche en la by Ennio Morricone |
| Ball (first) | Peer Gynt Suite No.1: In The Hall Of The Mountain King music from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg | |
| Hoop | ? | |
| Clubs | Rhapsody in Blue / Fascinating Rhythm by George Gershwin | |
| Ribbon | ? |
Detailed Olympic results
[edit]| Year | Competition description | Location | Music | Apparatus | Score-Final | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Olympics | Sydney | All-around | 39.408 | 39.399 | |
| Plaza of Execution / Stealing the Map music from The Mask of Zorro by James Horner | Ribbon | 9.875 | 9.883 | |||
| Sing, Sing, Sing by Benjamin Goodman | Rope | 9.825 | 9.850 | |||
| Pink Dream by Anatoly Vekshin | Ball | 9.875 | 9.866 | |||
| Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Vanessa Mae | Hoop | 9.883 | 9.800 |
| Year | Competition description | Location | Music | Apparatus | Score-Final | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Olympics | Atlanta | All-around | 39.331 | 39.266 | |
| unknown music | Ribbon | 9.816 | 9.866 | |||
| Sing, Sing, Sing by Benjamin Goodman | Rope | 9.866 | 9.750 | |||
| Pink Dream by Anatoly Vekshin | Ball | 9.800 | 9.900 | |||
| unknown music | Clubs | 9.849 | 9.750 |
Honours
[edit]Orders
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e UGC, Chicago Tribune. "Illinois Rhythmic Gymnastic Center Welcomes Ukraine Gymnast and Coach, Olena Vitrychenko". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d Crumlish, John (May 1998). "Yelena Vitrichenko: Woman of the World". International Gymnast. Archived from the original on 5 November 1999.
- ^ a b "Interviews with Nina Vitrichenko".
- ^ "18. World Championships in Paris, France (6.-9. October 1994)". www.rsg.net. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Mitchell, Cynthia (5 August 1996). "Ukrainian drops ribbon, picks up controversial gold". The Atlanta Journal. pp. S.12. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ "13. European Championships in Patras, Greece (22.-25. May 1997)". rsg.net. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Southall, Susan (October 1997). "Miller takes Universiade title; Mink wins Maccabiah games". International Gymnast. Vol. 39, no. 10. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
- ^ Crumlish, John (October 1998). "Grinning combination". International Gymnast. Vol. 40, no. 10. p. 24. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ "Kabayeva, Russia rule RSG worlds". International Gymnast. Vol. 41, no. 12. December 1999. pp. 56–57. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ "Olympic judge Irina Deriugina appeals 8-year ban". ESPN.com. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ "Freeman Runs Season's Best In 400". Philadelphia Inquirer. 19 August 2000. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013.
- ^ BBC. "Olympics 2000 | Results". 1 October 2000. Retrieved on 27 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Meet a Mom: Olena Vitrychenko of Vitrychenko Gymnastics Academy". Libertyville Area Moms Network. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ "Vitrichenko RG music list". rgforum.
- ^ Japan Gymnastics
- ^ Decree of the President of Ukraine from 7 августа 1996 year № 665/96 «Про нагородження Почесною відзнакою Президента України» (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Decree of the President of Ukraine from 10 сентября 1997 year № 997/97 «Про нагородження відзнакою Президента України - орденом "За заслуги"» (in Ukrainian)
External links
[edit]- Elena Vitrichenko at the International Gymnastics Federation
- Elena Vitrychenko on Instagram
- Olena Vitrychenko at Olympics.com
- Olena Vitrychenko at Olympedia
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1976 births
- Living people
- Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts
- Deriugins Gymnasts
- Gymnasts from Odesa
- Olympic gymnasts for Ukraine
- Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Olympic medalists in gymnastics
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
- Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
- Olympic bronze medalists for Ukraine
- Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for Ukraine
- FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Ukraine
- Goodwill Games medalists in gymnastics
- Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade
- Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games