children and young gymnasts both before and after her injury. She also expressed a deep religious faith, and was fond of horses and animated cartoons. Mukhina was thankful to her former teammates who kept in touch with her, especially Yelena Davydova, whom she described as "A real friend". Elena was cared for by her grandmother and, following her death, by Elena Gurina the former gymnast. In late July 2021, many people compared Mukhina with Simone Biles, in defense of Biles' decision to pull out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while citing health concerns. Death Mukhina died of apparent complications from quadriplegia on . As a tribute, sports magazine Sovetsky Sport dedicated the cover of its Christmas 2006 issue to her. A memorial service was held in her honor on 27 December, and she was buried at the Troekourov Cemetery in Moscow. Achievements Eponymous skills Mukhina has two eponymous skills listed in the Code of Points. See also Yelena Shushunova, a Russian gymnast who executed the Thomas Salto in the 1987 European Gymnastics Championships Julissa Gomez, an American gymnast paralyzed in a vaulting accident at a 1988 meet in Japan while attempting the difficult-to-master Yurchenko vault. She later died of her injury. Christy Henrich, an American gymnast who was told by an international gymnastics judge in 1989 to lose weight and pushed by coaches to lose weight while continuing to train until constant dieting led to her eventual death from complications of anorexia nervosa less than five years later. Sang Lan, a Chinese gymnast paralyzed from the chest down after crashing a vault timer at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York. She advocates for disabled people in China. A Chinese miniseries was produced about her life, starring fellow gymnast Mo Huilan. References External links Elena Mukhina at Gymn Forum of Mukhina in her prime, Chinese female gymnast He Xuemei doing the Thomas salto at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and other famous gymnasts whose careers were cut short by injuries or illnesses , which includes much archive footage of her competition performances and her training sessions. 1960 births 2006 deaths Gymnasts from Moscow Soviet female artistic gymnasts Russian female artistic gymnasts World champion gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships People with tetraplegia Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics European champions in gymnastics