1. Alexei Nemov
A LEGEND OF RUSSIAN GYMNASTICS
Project by Victoria Kazadaeva
Class 11 a
Gymnasium №11 “Harmony”
Novosibirsk
Teacher: Tamara Natanovna Galiulina

3. Alexei Yuryevich Nemov grew up in Tolyatti. His mother first took him to
gymnastics hall when he was five. Naturally gifted, Nemov was equally at
home on every piece of apparatus, and was soon catching the eye of the
national selectors. At the age of 16, he was chosen to represent Russia at the
1993 World Championships in Birmingham , where he finished fifth on floor.
During the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he won his first Olympic gold in
the all-around team competition and a silver in the individual allaround event. He won a second gold in vault, before adding three
bronze medals, in the floor, horizontal bar and pommel horse. His
six podium finishes made him the athlete with the biggest medal
haul at Atlanta 1996.
After Atlanta, Nemov had an injury and was operated on his shoulder in
1997. But that didn’t stop him from participating in Sydney Olympics and
winning two gold medals, one silver and three bronze medals. It meant
that, the second Games in succession, Nemov had finished with more
medals than any other athlete.

4. Between 1994 and 2003 Nemov also won 13 medals in the World
Championships, five of them gold!
At the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 Alexei Nemov produced a real
sensation!
When the judges posted a score of 9.725 for his complex elements on a
horizontal bar, placing him in third with several athletes still to compete,
the entire stadium stood up and cheered his name for 15 minutes in
disagreement with the judges.
After that an extremely unusual thing happened and the two judges –
from Malaysia and Canada – gave Nemov new, higher grades. Anyway, the
public was not satisfied with the new decision either, and they kept
booing in protest. They calmed down only after Alexei Nemov applauded
to the audience with a smile and put his finger to his lips to ask the people
to stop making a noise. He was grateful to the people for support. "It was
a class act by Alexei," said USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi."What
he did was in the true Olympic spirit."
The new grade did not change the overall ranking, and Nemov was in the
5th position.

5. Atlanta Olympics (1996):
two gold medals
one silver medal
three bronze medals
Sydney Olympics (2000):
two gold medals
one silver medal
three bronze medals
World Championships:
five gold medals (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 - twice)
four silver medals (1994, 1996, 1999, 2003)
four bronze medals (1994, 1996, 1997, 2003)
European Championships:
three gold medals (1994, 1998, 2002)
one bronze medal (1998)

6. After the Olympiad in Athens Alexei left professional sport . He got engaged both in
public activities and in popularizing sports, gymnastics in particular. In 2006 Alexei
organized his own sports show “Legends About Sport”, in which Alina Kabaeva,
Irina Tchashina, Elena Zamolodchikova, Nikolai Podgorny and many other famous
gymnasts took part. Then there was the show "Flights of Time" and finally, “The
Pulse of Victory“, which showcased the history of the Olympic Games .
Alexei is a happy father: with his wife Galina he has three sons. They aren’t involved in
elite sport although Alexei thinks that Dmitri, the youngest son, may become a
promising gymnast in future!

7. I’m proud of Alexei Nemov. His life and way to the top in
gymnastics is a wonderful example for us to follow. When doctors
said he couldn’t be a sportsman because of his backbone
problems, he didn’t listen to them. In spite of impossibilities,
acute pain and traumas, he didn’t quit sport but went on training
hard to achieve his goals.
Alexei Nemov is one of the 15 most “medalled” athletes in the
history of the Olympic Games. He is a Laureate of the «World
Sports Awards» , a kind of sports Oscar. He was awarded the
order For Honor and Valor (within the Russian National Olympus
prize). The awarding was held in the Christ the Savior Cathedral.