In one dramatic week, Russian gymnast Elena Produnova was forced to battle injury, time and high-ranking Romanians. With the help of a fast-talking translator, Nancy LePatourel interviews a woman who has never backed down from a fight- a real tiger, stripes and all.
The Olympics is the pinnacle of all sporting events. Combine nerves of steel, outstanding discipline, natural ability and top-notch training, and you might stand a chance of making it to the Games. To win a place on the podium, however, demands nothing less than all-round excellence. Now imagine winning two medals while competing with a broken foot- that's a special kind of greatness.
The Russian gymnastics team landed in Adelaide, Australia in August 2000, to acclimatize for the Games. But what they found at the Aussie training centre were rock-hard surfaces and unforgiving spring boards. After two weeks of constant pounding, Elena Produnova's body had all it could take, and a routine tumbling combination left her crumpled in agony on the mat. "I was crying and in trememdous pain," she says, "but I didn't know anything was broken at the time." A trip to the radiologist confirmed her worst fears: Produnova had a stress fracture in her right foot. "I don't know how it happened," she says, "it just did." At that moment, her Olympic dreams appeared to have vanished.
Although the Russian training team wasn't happy about losing one of its top medal contenders, preparations were made for Produnova's return home. But the athlete wasn't about to give up. Still heart broken by a no-show at the '96 Atlanta Games (due to surgery on her right ankle) the '97 World Champion wasn't about to miss another Olympics. Produnova realized her chance of making it to the 2004 Games was slim. She was already 20 years old. It was now or never. "I knew I must compete." Through tears and pleading, she convinced her coaches not to send her back to Russia.
Less than two weeks after her stress fracture, the 4-foot-11, 86-pound gymnast taped her shattered foot and powered her way through six events, placing in the top 10 in all but the vault. "I don't know how I found the strength to compete," says Produnova. "I still don't understand it now." She credits her bronze medal on the balance beam and her silver team medal to willpower and desire. "I didn't want to go home so I had to prove to my coaches that letting me stay in Sydney was the right decision," she says. "I've prepared for this my whole life, I wasn't about to bow out."
A lifetime in the making
If you'd spent the last 15 years in training, to entertain you fans, prove yourself as a gymnast and take home an Olympic medal, would you give up before your dreams were realized? Produnova's life has revolved around gymnastics since age five, when a coach came to her kindergarten class and spotted her as a potential star. "In Russia, coaches come to the schools and look for kids with a gymnastics body type," says Produnova. "I had that look and I was invited to train." she immediately committed herself to the sport, and at age nine, the Rostov-on-Don native won the Russian Junior Championships. That was the turning point, where gymnastics began to encompass her daily life. "I was invited to the Russian training center in Moscow." She left home, and began a routine that has continued to this day. Wake at 7:30 a.m. to work on building strength and increasing flexibility. A quick breakfast, followed by practice from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lunch and then rest time in the afternoon; followed by another three-hour practice starting at 5 p.m. This schedule may sound tiresome and monotonous to most, but Produnova has never had a problem staying motivated. "I love training and I love competition," she says. "My passion for gymnastics is so strong."
A style all her own
Unique is the word that best describes Produnova, both as a person and a performer. The star who shaved her eyebrow into tiger stripes for the 2000 Games because "it made me look like a warrior," has always stood out from the crowd. Highly superstitious, with a pierced navel and a passion for animals and classical music (she recently graduated from a renowned music school in Russia, with a major in piano), Produnova has a persona that is entirely her own. Her uniqueness has become part of her appeal, especially amongst young Europeans, who voted her "the coolest Russian" in a recent readers poll for Gym Stars magazine.
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