Valeri Belenki
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Valeri•Belenki |
| Used name | Valeri•Belenki |
| Other names | Valery Vladimirovich Belenky, Валерий Владимирович Беленький |
| Born | 5 September 1969 in Bakı, Bakı (AZE) |
| Measurements | 163 cm / 59 kg |
| Affiliations | VS Bakı, Bakı (AZE) / MTV Stuttgart, Stuttgart (GER) |
| NOC |  Germany  Unified Team |
| Nationality |  Azerbaijan |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 1 |
| Silver | 0 |
| Bronze | 1 |
| Total | 2 |
Biography
Artistic gymnast Valeri Belenki was born in Azerbaijan and represented the Unified Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He won the team gold medal and individual all-around bronze. He also reached the finals in horizontal bar, pommelled horse, and rings. At World Championships he represented the Soviet Union, winning the individual pommelled horse title in 1991 and the team gold medals in 1989 and 1991. In 1992, he won the individual parallel bars bronze medal, representing the Unified team.
Belenki emigrated to Germany in 1994 after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was able to receive German citizenship immediately as he had a grandfather of German descent. Belenki then represented his new home country at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, helping the team finish seventh, while he finished sixth in the individual all-around competition. At the 1997 World Championships Belenki became pommelled horse world champion representing Germany.
After his active career ended, Belenki turned to coaching and became German national chief coach in 2020. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2015.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | Nationality | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Summer Olympics | Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) | EUN |
AZE |
Valery Belenky | |||
| Individual All-Around, Men (Olympic) | 3 | Bronze | |||||
| Team All-Around, Men (Olympic) | Unified Team | 1 | Gold | ||||
| Floor Exercise, Men (Olympic) | 3 r1/1 | ||||||
| Horse Vault, Men (Olympic) | 4 r1/1 | ||||||
| Parallel Bars, Men (Olympic) | 3 r1/1 | ||||||
| Horizontal Bar, Men (Olympic) | =5 | ||||||
| Rings, Men (Olympic) | 5 | ||||||
| Pommelled Horse, Men (Olympic) | =7 | ||||||
| 1996 Summer Olympics | Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) | GER |
Valeri Belenki | ||||
| Individual All-Around, Men (Olympic) | 6 | ||||||
| Team All-Around, Men (Olympic) | Germany | 7 | |||||
| Floor Exercise, Men (Olympic) | 21 r1/1 | ||||||
| Horse Vault, Men (Olympic) | 28 r1/1 | ||||||
| Parallel Bars, Men (Olympic) | 34 r1/1 | ||||||
| Horizontal Bar, Men (Olympic) | 19 r1/1 | ||||||
| Rings, Men (Olympic) | 15 r1/1 | ||||||
| Pommelled Horse, Men (Olympic) | =66 r1/1 |