Remembering Alla Misnik - a Soviet star of 1981

Alla Misnik collecting her prize as 1981 Moscow News all around champion.  Courtesy RIA Novosti

I was yesterday reminded of the genius of Alla Misnik, who won three medals at the Madrid European Championships in 1981 (bronze all around, silver uneven bars, silver floor exercise, qualifying to all four event finals).  Misnik had travelled to Madrid with team mate Natalia Ilienko, who here managed a meagre silver medal on beam, but went on to win gold in team and floor exercise at the Moscow World Championships that autumn.  The same year Misnik had won the Moscow News tournament and, later, the USSR Cup, but sadly never competed at a World Championships.

Misnik was born in Kharkov, Ukraine on the 27th August 1967.  She was coached by Valentin Shumovsky, (whose team of young gymnasts also included 1978 Junior European beam and floor exercise champion, Natalia Karamushka).    Zaglada (2010) writes of Shumovsky's care in training Misnik to the peak of her abilities, despite a weakness in the young girl's spine which made her talent on bars, and one -armed balances on beam, all the more extraordinary.

Alla Misnik died of a stroke on July 11th 2006 at the age of 38.  But we can still marvel at these excellent videos of her innovative gymnastics at the 1981 European Championships (with thanks to GymnasticsHVMeets on Youtube).

Uneven Bars




Balance Beam



Floor




Read more on Alla at the Gymnastics Greats website and at Gymn Forum's excellent database.