Nellie Kim

Lore & Background

Nellie Kim was born in Shurab, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union, to a Sakhalin Korean father and a Tatar mother. The family later moved to Kazakh SSR, where she began gymnastics at age 9. Her trainers were Vladimir Baidin and Galina Barkova. Despite being told by celebrated gymnast Larisa Latynina in 1970 that she had 'no future,' Kim persevered and won the all-around title at the All-Union Youth Sports Games, placed eighth in the all-around at the USSR Cup, and won the Chunichi Cup in Japan. She was added to the Soviet team for the 1974 World Championships, earning a team gold medal.

At the 1976 Olympics, Kim won gold on vault and floor exercise, a team gold, and an all-around silver. She scored a perfect 10 on the Tsukahara vault with a full twist, a first in Olympic history. At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, she tied for gold on floor exercise with Nadia Comăneci and won team gold. She also became all-around champion at the 1979 World Championships. After retiring, she coached the South Korean, Italian, and Belarus national teams, and served as a judge. In 1996, she was elected to the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the FIG, and in 2004 became its president, helping draft the 2006 Code of Points that introduced an open-ended scoring system for elite competition.

Reader's Guide

Nellie Kim's significance lies in her pioneering achievements as a gymnast and her influential role in reshaping women's gymnastics scoring. She was the first woman to score a perfect 10 on vault and floor exercise, and she and Larisa Latynina are the only female gymnasts to defend an Olympic gold medal on floor exercise as of the 2020 Games. Her rivalry with Nadia Comăneci defined the 1976 Olympics. Later, as president of the FIG Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee, she coordinated the introduction of a new Code of Points in 2006 that abolished the perfect 10 and introduced uncapped scoring, a controversial change aimed at reducing judging scandals. Her legacy includes both her competitive brilliance and her administrative impact on the sport's evolution.

Did You Know?

• Her floor exercise routine at the 1979 World Championships used the song 'The House of the Rising Sun' by Santa Esmeralda.
• Kim's nickname among USSR teammates was 'Kimanellie,' earned when a trainer called her quickly: 'Kim, Nellie, to the phone!'