Unlike teammate and co-champion Yelena Shushunova, Soviet Sensation Oksana Omelianchik did not compete in Olomouc at the Friendship Games. She was the first alternate. Therefore, 1985 was her first year on the international senior circuit.
And she had gotten off to a glorious start--winning three medals at Europeans in Helsinki, including the gold on balance beam.
Oksana was selected for the Soviet Team for the 1985 Worlds in Montréal 🇨🇦. She appeared poised to qualify for the AA Final until disaster struck in the 2nd rotation of Optionals when she found herself on the ground after losing grip of the high bar on her Deltchev re-catch.
As the Soviets had the most depth, that one mistake dropped her to 4th place on her team. With only three spots maximum available to any one country during the AA Final, Oksana was on the outside looking in.
The day of the All Around Final, Head Coach Andrei Rodionenko decided to substitute Oksana into the all-around, along with Yelena Shushunova, who also hadn't originally qualified. Oksana replaced the reigning World AA silver medalist Olga Mostepanova, who had gone through a growth spurt since Budapest and Olomouc. As she was also nursing an ankle injury, Rodionenko felt Omelianchik had a better chance at a medal. The AA Final was Optionals only, and Mostepanova's strength at this point were her beautiful Compulsories.
Not surprisingly, the coach knew best as Omelianchik held the lead going into her last event, vault. She scored a 9.90 and wound up tying for the title with her teammate K8 Shushunova.
This was the first time in gymnastics history that there was a tie for the gold medal in the all-around. As neither gymnast had originally qualified, it was quite the controversial and historic moment.
Omelianchik had also qualified for Floor Finals in Montréal, and the Perfect 10 she received there gave her a third gold medal of the Championships. And unlike the previous two, this one was hers alone.
26 авг 2024
