10. Kim Zmeskal 1991 Worlds AA
A great, exciting routine! Who doesn't love her triple whip pass? And it goes perfectly with the music! I love the jazz music and Kim expresses it so well. I love how there's never a dull moment in this routine. There is such a density of choreography in this routine. Jazz routines are some of my favorite and this one is the quintessential example.
9. Diana Dudeva 1988 Olympics Team Optionals
Diana was the fortunate Bulgarian to take a bronze on floor, but she and Deliana were both robbed. They both had difficult tumbling way ahead of their time. I know her DLO has form breaks, but I love it anyway. My favorite part of this routine is the surging quality it has. There just seems to be such a strong pulse to it. She uses such sharp and angular movements that work together to create this amazing forward motion. I also love how she uses broken lines and angular shapes to make this innovative routine.
8. Ludivine Furnon 2000 Europeans EF
This was probably the best European event final ever and Ludivine was able to take the title even in a highly decorated field. This was just an electric routine. The first two tumbling runs are dynamic and unique. She hit every movement with power and intention behind it. Ludivine commands this performance and everything worked together to create a lightning-in-a-bottle moment.
7. Olga Bicherova 1981 Worlds AA
I just love this music in this routine! I'ts simple yet mysterious and soulful and yearning. Olga captures that perfectly in her interpretation. She uses fewer movements than a lot of the others on this list and they are simpler, but they mirror the quiet mystery of the music. Olga uses emptiness in her routine to great effect. The stops and starts are as important in this routine as the moving moments. I love twisting combinations of the late 70s and early 80s and this is no exception. It might only be a full at the end, but for some reason coming out of the 1.5 makes it seem so much more special. The twisting jump to the ground is also gorgeous.
6. Elena Shushunova 1988 Olympics Team Optionals
Shushunova was one of the most exciting tumblers of the 80s, and her second pass in this routine is the crowning jewel. This was the only routine to include the back handspring from the knees into the full-twisting back handspring. I love Elena, but I personally don't find her 1985 or 1987 routines very artistic, but this one is just magical. She really tells a story here and her movements, whether short and sharp or long and drawn out, all create a sense of yearning. And I love the Shushunova to end into her final pose!
5. Zoya Grancharova 1983 Worlds EF
Another Bulgarian from the 80s with unique choreography. Her routine is full of quick, frenzied movements. She uses her head quite a lot in her choreography and changes her hand position which add to the overall sense of short and static movements. She has a pretty nice triple twist, which was a pretty big deal in 1983. My favorite part of the choreography is the two back handsprings she includes.
4. Aurelia Dobre 1987 Worlds AA
This routine is the kind of routine that seems right for when a World AA title is on the line. The back-to-back pass is beautiful and exciting as ever, and I love the way she does the second punch front to the ground. The way Aurelia uses hand positions really accentuates the tension in the driving beat of the music. I love the contrast created between the driving rock section where her limbs are always straight and her softer movements in the more lyrical section.
3. Olga Strazheva 1989 Worlds Team Optionals
THE innovative and avante-garde routine. They took a risk and it paid off. Even though they terrify me even in old videos when I know the gymnast will be okay, I love her rollout layout arabian into back handspring. This is the most intriguing choreography ever performed by far. Olga seems at once hunter and hunted, condescending and humiliated. She tells a story of power and suffering, and you can tell she revels in it. If you can't tell by now, I love when a gymnast incorporates broken lines in her choreography, and Olga is the queen. My favorite part is the mirror beginning and end.
2. Sandra Izbasa 2012 Olympics TF
The coolest floor music selection ever. In a list full of routines of tension and driving music, Sandra's creates quite a contrast. Her combination tumbles are gorgeous and exciting and she is the queen of the rebounding stag jump. The music, the choreography, and her performance all elevate each other and build a routine that seems to exist in its own sphere. The tranquil music carries its own intensity and Sandra feeds off it.
1. Ksenia Afanasyeva 2012 Olympics Qual
I go back and forth on this one as my favorite, but I keep coming back to it. The double pike aside, the tumbling in this routine is AMAZING! I love both the combination runs expecially, and I love the stag jump out of the front half. And the double attitude spin is beautiful! The sharp, accented choreography of the dance passage after the first pass is very engaging, and I love how she repeats the idea of kicking up her leg. And who hasn't tried her leg choreo on their bedroom floor? It's my favorite piece of floor choreography ever, and it's removal is the reason I simply can't get behind her 2013 Euros routine. Afan's routine is gorgeous and totally to her style.
Honorable Mentions: Tamara Lazakovich, Maria Filatova, Elena Naimushina, Natalia Ilienko, Kathy Johnson, Eugenia Golea, Svetlana Boginskaya, Elena Sazonenkova, Henrietta Onodi, Laetitia Begue, Esther Moya, Yana Demyanchuk, Mikaela Gerber, Jordyn Wieber, Ruby Harrold, Claudia Fragapane
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