In our previous exploration of vaulting history, we traced the evolution of this dynamic gymnastics event from the 1930s through the 1980s. As springboards became more powerful, dramatically altering the sport, a truly revolutionary shift occurred when gymnasts began approaching the vault backward. This innovation marked a pivotal moment, giving rise to what we now know as the Yurchenko Vault Family, forever changing the landscape of women’s vault.
For those less familiar with gymnastics terminology, a yurchenko vault involves a “round-off” onto the springboard, positioning the gymnast to land facing away from the vault. This backward entry is followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table. The mechanics of this approach generate significantly more power, leading to greater height and distance in the subsequent vault. However, this enhanced power comes with heightened risk. Gymnasts are essentially launching themselves blindly, relying on precise steps and spatial awareness, making the margin for error dramatically smaller.
The vault family’s name originates from Natalia Yurchenko, who showcased its potential at the 1982 World Cup. The video below captures Yurchenko’s groundbreaking performance, an event that etched her name into vaulting history. Earlier in 1982, ABC’s Wide World of Sports interviewed Yurchenko at the Hungarian Invitational, inquiring about this novel vault. In the interview, Yurchenko casually mentioned the initial difficulty she faced “finding the board” during training. This understated comment hints at the inherent danger and precision required when pioneering such a risky maneuver.
While Natalia Yurchenko is credited with popularizing and lending her name to the vault, she wasn’t the first to conceive of this technique. As is common with many gymnastics skills, the yurchenko vault family emerged from a period of experimentation within Soviet gymnastics. Numerous Soviet male and female gymnasts were exploring the round-off entry vault in domestic competitions. However, the Men’s Technical Committee quickly deemed this vaulting style excessively dangerous for the men’s “long horse” vault, prohibiting it for safety reasons, even as it gained traction in women’s gymnastics.
The allure of the yurchenko vault family was undeniable. Within months, gymnasts worldwide began striving to master this new Soviet technique. This image captures Tracee Talavera, a prominent American gymnast and Olympian, attempting a Yurchenko vault in early 1983, demonstrating the rapid global adoption of this skill.
Interestingly, until around 1990, the yurchenko vault was often described as a “Round-Off Tsukahara.” This wasn’t a slight to Yurchenko, but rather a reflection of the evolving gymnastics vocabulary for television audiences. Commentators initially struggled to articulate the nuances of this new vault. Mary Lou Retton, for example, described it as a “Round Off Flip Flop,” which, while technically descriptive of the movements, lacked clarity for a broader audience.
Tracee Talavera possessed the skill and athleticism to perform the yurchenko vault, even in its early stages of adoption. However, the vault’s high scoring potential and its ability to amplify the power of smaller gymnasts led to widespread adoption, sometimes prematurely. Many coaches, lacking sufficient experience in teaching this complex vault, began training gymnasts in the yurchenko vault family without proper progressions or safety protocols.
Understanding the inherent risks of the yurchenko vault family is crucial. A common error is “overrunning” or “missing your feet” on the springboard. This miscalculation results in the gymnast’s head colliding directly with the vault, potentially causing concussion or severe spinal injuries. Another dangerous scenario involves missing hand placement on the vault itself, particularly the narrow “horse” then in use. This can lead to a fall onto the mat, sometimes resulting in a “scorpion” injury, where the gymnast’s feet are forced towards their head, straining the back and neck. Both types of errors carry potentially fatal consequences.
The following videos contain potentially disturbing content. Viewer discretion is advised. Please be aware that video footage of Julissa Gomez’s accident will not be shown.
The US Olympic Festival, a multisport event organized by the US Olympic Committee in the 1980s and early 1990s, unintentionally became a stage for highlighting the dangers of the improperly trained yurchenko vault family. Intended to mirror the Soviet Spartakiad, the USOF gymnastics competitions of the 1980s, in retrospect, present some of the most alarming vaulting performances ever recorded. Junior and marginal senior elite American gymnasts were attempting this novel vault, often under the guidance of coaches who themselves were still learning the proper techniques and safety progressions.
The following video captures Karen Tierney, a gymnast from GAGE, performing at the 1987 US Olympic Festival All-Around competition.
According to Joan Ryan’s book, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, Tierney fractured her C1 vertebra in her neck during this vault. Remarkably, she returned to competition just ten minutes later and completed the all-around event. Her escape from paralysis that day is nothing short of miraculous. Tragically, another Al Fong gymnast would not be so fortunate a year later.
Joan Ryan’s book provides a chilling account of the aftermath of Tierney’s injury:
When she returned to the gym, she couldn’t make herself do the Yurchenko… Tierney never again performed a Yurchenko at Fong’s gym. Every time she sprinted down the runway, she stopped before reaching the horse, frozen with fear. Her father finally told Fong that she was through with the Yurchenko. It wasn’t worth the risk. But the next day, according to Tierney, Fong urged her to try it again, infuriating Karen’s father. Fong further angered the family, Tierney said, when he failed to show at a meeting with Karen’s psychologist, who was helping the girl tame her fears of the vault. After another heated meeting with Tierney’s father, Fong stopped pushing Karen to perform the vault. Fong insists he never pushed Karen to continue with the Yurchenko, but a year after the accident the Tierneys moved their daughter to a gym in Arizona. “Boom, she was gone,” Fong recalls, still mystified. “The parents were the ones that instigated that whole thing. The Tierneys, they think strange.”
However, the issue wasn’t isolated to Al Fong’s gym or even the United States. The pressure to perform the yurchenko vault family and the lack of adequate safety measures were systemic problems within the gymnastics world.
This video shows Miho Shionada of Japan competing at the 1987 World Championships All-Around. She also experienced a terrifying vaulting error, yet, like Tierney, bravely continued not only with her second vault but also completed the rest of the all-around competition.
A critical element missing from these alarming videos is readily apparent: the vaulting safety collar. While this safety device existed at the time, the FIG (Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique) explicitly prohibited its use in competitions. The safety collar is designed to prevent gymnasts from being thrown headfirst into the vault if they miss their footing on the side or back of the springboard.
This brings us to the spring of 1988 and the tragic accident of Al Fong’s gymnast, Julissa Gomez, at a competition in Japan called the World Sports Festival. Gomez missed her footing on the side of the springboard, struck her head, and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury, resulting in paralysis. While medical errors in the Japanese hospital contributed to her subsequent death, the accident itself sent shockwaves through the gymnastics community.
A strong caution: Please do not seek out footage of Julissa Gomez’s accident. While it does exist, its circulation is deeply disrespectful to her memory and the pain of her family. The Japanese television broadcast aired the footage, but the version of the 1988 World Sports Festival available on YouTube has been edited at the request of her family to remove this traumatic content.
In the immediate aftermath of Gomez’s accident and death, the FIG reacted, though initially with hesitant steps. They swiftly removed the deduction for using the vaulting safety collar in competition. However, it wasn’t until 2001 that the use of the collar became mandatory for yurchenko vaults, highlighting the slow and reactive nature of safety implementation in the sport.
Even in the months immediately following Gomez’s tragedy, the response was often makeshift and inadequate. This video of Kristie Phillips vaulting at the 1988 US Nationals, just months after Gomez’s accident, reveals a stark example. Notice the small stack of mats haphazardly duct-taped together at the end of the springboard. This was their improvised solution, a desperate attempt at safety in the absence of readily available vault collars.
The Gomez accident also inflicted deep psychological wounds, particularly on American gymnasts who trained alongside or knew her. The following video features Wendy Bruce at the 1989 US Nationals. Observe how she repeatedly hesitates and “balks” before her vault. Also, note the safety collar beneath the springboard, which she steps on during her eventual vault attempt, a symbol of the slowly emerging safety consciousness.
Wendy Bruce has spoken about how she once excelled at and enjoyed the yurchenko vault family. However, after the Gomez accident, she was plagued by intrusive thoughts and visions of paralysis. These psychological blocks were a consequence of the trauma, and the gymnastics world of the 1980s was woefully unprepared to address the mental health challenges faced by athletes grappling with the inherent dangers of the sport.
