full name: Elena Mikhailyevna Zamolodchikova
nickname: Lena, Zhushya
born on: September 19, 1982 in Moscow
residence: Moscow, Russia
trains at: the Olympic Reserve School
coached by: Nadezha Viktorovna Maslennikova (teaches elementary school) and Sergei Nikolaevich Pivovarov (in Russian army)
started gymnastics at: 6 years old
height: 4 '6'' tall
favorite subject: literature, likes reading historic novels
favorite music: Russian music, Backstreet Boys, Offspring, and pop music
favorite food: fish, ice cream, and chocolate
favorite event: Vault & Floor
favorite gymnast: Lilia Podkopayeva, Svetlana Khorkina, Adreinn Varga, Ioannis Melissanidis, Alexei Nemov, Alexei Bondarenko
family: Mother, Irina; Father, Mikhail (deceased)
hobbies: reading, talking with her friends, listening to music, collecting porcelain miniatures and sruffed animals, likes movies, especially Men In Black and Armageddon
pets: Yorkshire Terrier (dog)
future plans: wants to someday be a gymnastics trainer

Some of Elena's routines (2000)

Vault:
double twisting Yurchenko
double twisting Tsukahara

Beam:

1)  Jump to front support swing over leg to sit on beam

2) Back handspring - Rulfova

3) full turn

4) switch leg leap - Shushunova with half turn turn to prone position on beam

5) wolf jump + full twisting back handspring

6) switch wolf jump to Shushunova with jump to prone

7) round off to full in dismount."

Bars:

hecht vault to high bar, kip cast to handstand with giant 1/2 turn - Healy - straddled Jaegar - kip cast to handstand - giant full - hop full - Tkatchev - Pak Salto - glide kip cast to handstand - sole circle- jump to high bar - kip cast to handstand - giant - giant - double/double
 

Zamolodchikova began gymnastics at age 6, uniting with coach Nadezhda Maslennikova, who still trains her today. The two work together at the Olympic Reserve Center in Moscow, though Zamolodchikova does spend some time at the national training center in Round Lake. Zamolodchikova loves animals and has a pet Yorkshire terrier named John, who was a gift from Maslennikova after Zamolodchikova won a medal in vault at the 1997
 European Youth Olympic Days competition. Zamolodchikova is interested in becoming a coach herself someday and would like to enroll at the prestigious St. Petersburg Institute of Sports.

In 1999, Elena made an outstanding World Championships debut, helping
Russia win silver in the team competition and capturing the bronze medal in the all-around and the gold medal on vault. Zamolodchikova, then 17 and among a contingent of young gymnasts who excelled at the 1999 worlds, was joined on the all-around podium by Romania’s Maria Olaru and Ukrainian Viktoria Karpenko, also at their first worlds.

At the 2000 Moscow World Stars competition, Elena became the first female gymnast do to a Yurchenko 2 1/2. She was also the only double gold medalist in gymnastics at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, scoring in vault and floor. She also achieved sixth in all-around and was the most successful Russian female gymnast. But her dream Olympics was at first not to be. At first, she did not qualify for the all-around and vault, but Produnova injured her foot and gave her all-around spot to Zamolodchikova. In vault she was even luckier, as only one hour before the vault final did Khorkina give up her spot to her. Khorkina stated her reason as needing to concentrate on the bars final later, and also injured ankles due to her previous fall, as the vault was set at the wrong height at the all-around final. She also thought that Zamolodchikova as World vault champion had a better chance of winning and Zamolodchikova indeed did well, getting the gold for Russia.

Zamolodchikova followed up her excellent Sydney performances with wins at the Stuttgart Grand Prix, Swiss Cup, Arthur Gander Memorial and the Glasgow World Cup. She's surely one to watch in the future.