Olga and Yulia Yurkina (BLR)
Yulia's Competitive Results:
1992 European Championships: 45th AA
1992 Medico Cup: 7th AA
1993 Trophee Massilia: 3rd AA, 1st UB
1993 Worlds: 16th AA
1994 World Championships: 6th T
1995 International Gymnix
1995 USA-BLR-CHN: 3rd T, 11th AA
1995 World University Games: 6th AA
1995 Gymnix Invitational: 1st T, 5th AA
Olga's Competitive Results:
1992 European Championships: 53rd AA
1992 Medico Cup: 4th AA
1992 Belorussian National Championships: 1st AA
1993 Trophee Massilia: 15th AA
1993 DTB cup: 3d UB
1993 Belorussian National Championships: 1st AA
1994 International Gymnix
1994 Cottbus Cup: 3rd UB
1994 Trophee Massilia: 4th AA, 8th UB, 9th BB, 1st FX(tie)
1994 World Championships (Brisbane): 25th AA
1994 World Championships: 6th T
1995 USA-BLR-CHN: 3rd T, 8th AA
1995 Gymnix Invitational: 1st T, 3rd AA
1995 Worlds: 8th T, 26th AA
1996 Olympics: 6th T
Results compiled from Holger Austinat's Gymnastics Gallery and Caroline Paulian.
The 1992 European Championships
marked the first major competition in which ex-Soviet states
competed under their own flags, as newly independent nations.
Like many gymnasts of their time, the Yurkina twins benefitted
greatly from the breakup of the Soviet Union. Never ones to make
the strong Soviet team, Olga and Yulia were easily able to make
the Belorussian team and thus compete internationally. Both girls
represented Belarus in the 1992 European Championships.
Both girls contributed much
success to the Belarus team, although only Olga made the 1996
Olympic team. Their retirement was reported by International Gymnast magazine in March 1997, and at that time Olga was dating Ivan
Ivankov.
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Karpenko,
Olga Yurkina and Ekaterina Lobaznyuk
in Acapulco, Mexico for the 1998
Acapulco Invitational
Photo used with the expressed permission
of Eric Callin-Martel, who coached France's Isabelle Severino at this meet
Following their retirement, the twins lived together in a suburb of Minsk, in Belarus. Full-time university students, they dabbled with modeling and also continued to help with choreography and
coaching for the Belorussian
women's artistic gymnastics team. That November, Olga traveled to Acapulco, Mexico as Tatiana Zharganova's coach for the Acapulco Invitational.
During the summer of 1998 and 1999, the twins spent summers in the United States, performing as part of the International
Snow Flyers, a group that participates in shows for
Sea World. Also joining them in this endeavor was former Belorussian great, Svetlana Baitova!
Olga and Yulia moved to the USA in the late 1990s, and began
coaching at Roswell
Recreation and Parks Gymnastics. Both twins are married to fellow
Belorussians.
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Top:
Yurkina twins, 2001.
Bottom: Yurkina twins with former teammate Alena
Savko, who arrived in Georgia the year before the twins.
Photos courtsey of Coleen Lou.
Many thanks to Caroline Paulian,
Melissa Deck, and Coleen for updates.
. This page was created February 13, 1999 and last updated on November 2, 2002.
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