spotted
NEWGYMNASTICSDYNASTY
NIKOLAI Kryukov was the king of men’s gymnastics in 1999,
when he won the world all-around
title in Tianjin, China. The year
before, Anna Kovalyova was the
princess of European gymnastics as
the junior all-around champion.
Now Nikolai and Anna are married,
and parents of a son, Konstantin,
who was born Dec. 27, 2008.
Kryukov was 17 when he won
team gold at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics, and he earned a team
bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Injured prior to the ’04 Athens
games, he came back and competed at the ’08 Beijing Olympics.
Now 32, Kryukov is the Russian
Marine Debauve at he 2008 Olympics
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Debauve at the 2010 Tumbling worlds
THOMAS SCHREYER ( 5); EILEEN LANGSLEY/IG (BOUCHER ON BEAM)
AFTER helping France place seventh at the 2008 Olympics (left), and watching fiancé Thomas
Bouhail win the vault silver, Marine Debauve
ended her artistic gymnastics career—and also
her wedding plans. Debauve, who placed seventh
all-around at the 2004 Olympics, moved from
Paris to Rennes and took up power tumbling.
It was a good switch. Debauve won a bronze
medal in her first world championships, held in
Metz, France, last November. Satsified with her
accomplishment, she reportedly retired.
