Yurchenko

Yurchenko, also known as round-off entry vaults, are a family of vaults performed in artistic gymnastics in which the gymnast does a round-off onto the springboard and a back handspring onto the horse or vaulting table. The gymnast then performs a salto, which may range in difficulty from a simple single tuck to a triple twist layout. Different variations in the difficulty of the salto lead to higher D-scores. This family of vaults is the most common type of vault in gymnastics and it's named after Natalia Yurchenko, who first performed it in 1982. Background and history The Yurchenko vault family is named after Natalia Vladimirovna Yurchenko, a gymnast who trained under Vladislav Rastorotski. The pair designed a new way of moving onto the vaulting horse. They first tested the new approach by using a foam pit, and then introduced the move to the runway and vault horse. In 1982, she performed the vault for the first time at a competition in Moscow. The move’s popularity grew after Elena Shushunova won the gold medal at the 1985 World Championships with the full-twisting Yurchenko vault. The vault gained popularity quickly with the introduction of the new vault table in 2001 because of a decreased risk of injury. During the 2009 World Championships, all participating females included at least one Yurchenko vault. Yurchenko is now the most commonly mentioned name in gymnastics competitions. Technique The Yurchenko vault has seven steps: the run, the hurdle, the takeoff, pre-flight, the block, post-flight, and the landing.