Olympic Memorabilia

Vitaly Scherbo (or Shcherbo), born January 13, 1972 in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, is a Belarusian (and former Soviet) gymnast and is one of the most successful male gymnasts of all time. more...

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Scherbo was introduced to gymnastics at the age of seven by his mother in an attempt to channel the energy of her highly intelligent but uncontrollable young son. The coaches at his local club fared no better but, recognizing his talent, arranged for him to be sent to a state boarding school for young athletes. There he continued to delight and infuriate his tutors in equal measure, making huge progress as a gymnast but refusing to submit to any discipline.

Scherbo's first international performances were in 1990-1991, when he competed for the USSR team at the World Championship and the World Cup. He was the 1991 World All-Around silver medalist behind teammate Grigori Misutin; scored a perfect 10.0 on the vault at the European Championships in 1990; and starred at the Goodwill Games in Seattle. But he had occasional bouts of inconsistentcy and as the 1992 Barcelona Olympics approached, the Unified Team coaches regarded him as less of a medal prospect than his more experienced and reliable teammates.

However, as he had done so many times throughout his career, he proved his coaches and audiences wrong. In one of the most dominant performances in history, Scherbo won six out of the possible eight awarded gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. His golds came in the team event, the all around, pommel horse (tie), rings, vault, and parallel bars. Only Michael Phelps has ever matched such an achievement, only Mark Spitz has ever won more golds in a single Games, and only Eric Heiden has won as many individual gold medals (five) at a single Games. Scherbo's cocky personality and uncanny ability to come up with perfect performances when it mattered the most made him an instant hit with worldwide audiences. He traveled with and performed in a highly successful post-Olympic tour, featuring Shannon Miller, among others, where his popularity with American audiences dramatically increased.

Soon after the 1992 Olympics, Scherbo married his wife Irina, and the two had a daughter Kristina. However, life in Scherbo's native Belarus became increasingly turbulent, and his family was frequently victimized. Their apartment was burglarized wherein money, valuables, and Olympic memorabilia was stolen. Fortunately, no one was home at the time, and his six gold medals from Barcelona were safely stashed at his mother's house. Weeks later, his wife Irina overheard some thugs on the street plotting to kidnap their newborn daughter, Kristina. The Scherbos promptly packed their bags and moved to the U.S, settling in State College, Pennsylvania. The move not only ensured the family's safety, but enabled Vitaly to take advantage of his Olympic success. The charismatic media darling secured multiple endorsement deals, sponsorships, and gala appearances, becoming the first former Soviet athlete to successfully market himself in the U.S.

Read more at Wikipedia.org