Yelena Sergeyevna Produnova, also known as Elena (; born 15 February 1980), is a Russian former competitive gymnast. Her senior international career lasted from 1995 to 2000 and earned her multiple world and Olympic medals. She was known for her innovative and powerful skills on the vault and floor exercise. One of the most difficult vaults in women's gymnastics, the Produnova, is named after her. With a D-score of 6.4, the Produnova vault is tied with the Biles as having the highest D-score in women's vault in the 2017–2020 quadrennium. Personal life Produnova was born on 15 February 1980. She lives in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, Russia. She currently works as a gymnastics coach. Gymnastics career 1995–96 Produnova's first major senior competition was the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Fukui, Japan where the Russians finished fourth. Inexperienced, she made little impact on the international scene. A heel injury hampered her chances of being chosen for the 1996 Summer Olympics, and she stayed at home. 1997 At the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, the tumbles in Produnova's floor routine drew gasps of admiration, but she kept taking large steps back to control her last tumbling pass. Still, Russia took team silver behind Romania, and Produnova claimed a pair of bronzes in the all-around and floor exercise. 1998 In 1998, Produnova overcame an ankle injury. That year she also qualified 1st at the 1998 Russian Nationals and finished 5th in the all-around and 3rd on the vault. During the 1998 Cottbus event, Produnova finished 2nd on the vault, 1st on the balance beam, and 2nd on the floor. She was unable to compete at the European Championships because of her injury. 1999 At the 1999 University Games, Produnova won vault and beam titles, and also finished 2nd in the AA and first in the team competition. It was here that she debuted her handspring double front vault, since known as a Produnova. It is among the highest rated vaults in the Code of Points, and as of August 2016 only four other female gymnasts have attempted this vault in competition – Yamilet Peña from Dominican Republic, Fadwa Mahmoud from Egypt, Oksana Chusovitina from Uzbekistan and Dipa Karmakar from India. The 1999 World Championships in Tianjin, China, Produnova finished fourth in the vault, bars, floor and all-around finals. The overall champion was Maria Olaru. Russia once again finished second to Romania. 2000 The 2000