Sergey Diomidov

Uzbekistani gymnast Sergey Diomidov represented the Soviet Union in the 1960s and won three medals at two Olympics. Diomidov was part of the Soviet delegation that won silver in the team all-round competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His best individual performance came in the parallel bars where he finished fourth. Four years later at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics he won another silver in the team all-round competition along with an individual bronze in the horse vault. Diomidov also finished fifth in the horizontal bars, and sixth in both the individual all-round and the rings.

At the World Championships Diomidov won gold in the parallel bars and silver in the team event in 1966, followed by another team silver in 1970. At the 1965 European Championships he won bronze in the all-round, parallel bars, pommel horse, and the horizontal bars. The “Diomidov” move on the parallel bars was named after him when he became the first gymnast to perform it. The move involved a downward swing from a handstand, releasing one hand to turn the body through 360-degrees, before regrasping in the handstand position.