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Maxi Gnauck

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Maxi Gnauck
Gnauck in 1983
Personal information
Country represented East Germany
Born (1964-10-10) 10 October 1964 (age 60)
Berlin, East Germany
Height1.48 m (4 ft 10 in)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team1977–85 (GDR)
ClubSC Dynamo Berlin
RetiredApril 1986
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow Uneven bars
Silver medal – second place 1980 Moscow All-around
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Moscow Team
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Moscow Floor exercise
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 Ft. Worth Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 1981 Moscow Balance Beam
Gold medal – first place 1981 Moscow Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 1981 Moscow Vault
Gold medal – first place 1983 Budapest Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 1979 Ft. Worth All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Ft. Worth Team
Bronze medal – third place 1981 Moscow Team
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Budapest Team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1981 Madrid All-Around
Gold medal – first place 1981 Madrid Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 1981 Madrid Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 1981 Madrid Balance Beam
Gold medal – first place 1985 Helsinki Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 1979 Copenhagen Vault
Silver medal – second place 1981 Madrid Vault
Silver medal – second place 1985 Helsinki All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Copenhagen Uneven Bars
Friendship Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Olomouc Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 1984 Olomouc Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 1984 Olomouc Team
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Olomouc All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Olomouc Vault
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place 1982 Zagreb Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Zagreb Floor Exercise

Maxi Gnauck (born 10 October 1964) is a retired artistic gymnast who represented East Germany. With a total of 27 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, and European Championships she is considered one of the most successful woman gymnasts that Germany has ever produced. In 1980 she was selected East German Sportspersonality of the Year.[1]

Her parents were expecting a boy and they planned to name him Max so, when the baby turned out to be a girl, they simply added an 'i', creating an uncommon name for Germany.[2] When Maxi was five, her mother took her to a gymnastics centre in their area. By age eight, Maxi had won her first medals at the Kreisspartakiade. When she was nine she changed her club to SC Dynamo Berlin, where she was coached by Jürgen Heritz. Considered one of the best uneven bars competitors of all time, Maxi was also an excellent tumbler. She was one of the first female gymnasts to perform a triple twist on floor.[3]

In April 1986, Maxi officially announced her retirement and began a four-year course in sports coaching at the University of Leipzig.[2] In 1988 she was severely injured while sliding down a waterslide while working as an aide at a children's summer camp by the Baltic Sea. She broke her C5 vertebra and was nearly paralysed. Three vertebrae were later reinforced with a metal plate.[3]

Facing a strong competition after the reunification of East Germany and West Germany, she first took temporary coaching positions in South Africa and Great Britain, both for a few months in 1990.[2] From 1993 until 2004 she worked as a full-time coach at the Harksheide Gymnastics Center in Norderstedt near Hamburg. Since 2005 she has worked at the Artistic and Apparatus Gymnastics Center (Kunst- und Gerätturnzentrum) at Liestal in Switzerland.[1] In 2000, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[4] She is the first German gymnast to be awarded that honour.[1][3]

Results

Year Competition Placing(s)
1977 East German Children's Spartakiade 1st All-Around
1977 East German Juniors Championships 5th All-Around
1977 East Germany-Czechoslovakia Juniors Dual Meet     1st Team, 1st All-Around
1978 Chunichi Cup 4th All-Around
1978 DTV Cup 5th All-Around
1978 East Germany-Hungary Dual Meet 1st team, 3rd All-Around
1978 Junior Friendship Tournament 2nd Team, 3rd All-Around, 2nd Floor, 4th Bars, 6th Vault
1979 Cottbus International 1st All-Around
1979 European Championships 2nd Vault, 3rd Bars, 6th All-Around
1979 East German Championships 2nd All-Around
1979 East German Cup 4th All-Around
1979 East Germany-Norway-Sweden Tri-Meet 1st Team, 1st All-Around
1979 World Championships 3rd Team, 2nd All-Around, 1st Bars, 4th Floor, 6th Vault
1980 Cottbus International 1st All-Around, 1st bars, 1st Beam, 1st Floor
1980 East German Championships 4th All-Around
1980 East Germany-Hungary Dual Meet 1st Team, 1st All-Around
1980 Olympic Games 3rd Team, 2nd All-Around, 1st Bars, 3rd Floor, 4th Beam, 6th Vault
1980 World Cup 2nd All-Around, 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 6th Vault
1981 Cottbus International 1st All-Around, 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 2nd Vault, 2nd Beam
1981 European Championships 1st All-Around, 1st Bars, 1st Beam, 1st Floor, 2nd Vault
1981 East German Championships 1st All-Around
1981 East Germany-Norway-Sweden Tri-Meet 1st All-Around
1981 World Championships 1st Vault, 1st Bars, 1st Beam, 3rd Team
1982 East German Championships 1st All-Around, 1st Vault, 1st Bars, 1st Floor
1982 East Germany-Hungary Dual Meet 1st Team, 1st All-Around
1982 World Cup 5th All-Around, 1st Bars, 3rd Floor, 7th Vault
1983     Chunichi Cup 4th All-Around, 1st Floor
1983     Cottbus International 1st Vault, 1st Floor, 3rd All-Around
1983     Tokyo Cup 1st Bars, 1st Floor
1983     World Championships 1st Bars, 3rd Team, 4th Vault, 4th Beam, 7th All-Around
1984     Cottbus International 1st Vault, 1st Floor, 4th All-Around
1984     Friendship Games in Olomouc 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 3rd All-Around, 3rd Vault, 5th Beam
1984     DTB Cup 1st All-Around, 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 2nd Vault, 5th Beam
1984     East German Championships 1st All-Around, 1st Bars, 1st Floor, 3rd Vault
1985     Cottbus International 1st Floor, 2nd All-Around, 2nd Vault
1985     European Championships 1st Bars, 2nd All-Around, 4th Vault

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Maxi Gnauck". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Maxi Gnauck (GDR)". gymn.ca. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "Maxi Gnauck (GDR)". gymn-forum.net.
  4. ^ "Maxi Gnauck". International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
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Awards
Preceded by East German Sportswoman of the Year
1980 		Succeeded by
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