An Ode to Svetlana Grozdova

Svetlana Grozdova is one of my favorite Soviets and would probably be my favorite if more footage of her existed. She was renowned for her flexibility and balance and a commentator discussing how she was left off the 1980 Olympic team referred to her as a "true beam artist." Her work was absolutely captivating. After competing in artistic gymnastics, Svetlana became and acrobatic gymnast for many years. So here's a post to appreciate an incredibly under appreciated gymnast!

This is an absolutely awesome bar routine from Svetlana which enjoyed a ton of popularity on Tumblr for a while. Sadly, only 14 seconds exist, but it's mind-blowing!

The best ending ever. Everyone else can go home. I also really love how she incorporated so many elements into her choreography. Proof you can use a ton of gymnastics skills and still be artistic.

These are both exhibition routines, the first from 1979 and the second from 1987. This is the essence of Svetlana's glory. So incredibly beautiful, smooth, fluid, leisurely, playful, just wonderful!

Here she is strutting her stuff as an acro gymnast.