Alexander Vladimirovich "Sasha" Artemev (, ; born August 29, 1985) is a retired American artistic gymnast. Artemev was a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 2008 Olympic Games. He is the 2006 all-around U.S. national champion. Known for his ability on pommel horse, he is the 2007 and 2008 U.S. national champion on the pommel horse and won the bronze medal on the event at the 2006 World Championships. Personal life Alexander Artemev, who goes by the Russian diminutive "Sasha", was born August 29, 1985, in Minsk, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union. He is the only child of Svetlana and Vladimir Artemev. Both his parents are gymnastics coaches and former competitive gymnasts for the Soviet Union. His mother competed in rhythmic gymnastics while his father competed in artistic gymnastics. Vladimir was the 1982 USSR Cup all-around champion, whose own Olympic ambitions were dashed by the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics. By 1990, Svetlana moved to Chile to coach, leaving Vladimir a single dad. Father and son came to the United States in 1994, becoming U.S. citizens in December 2002. Artemev attended McLain High School, graduating in 2003. He married University of Denver gymnast Brianna Springer in the summer of 2009, but the couple divorced in 2011. Gymnastics career Artemev won three titles at the 2006 U.S. National Championships in the all-around, pommel horse and parallel bars. He was the only member of the American men's team to win a medal at the 2006 World Championships, taking the bronze on the pommel horse. He became the first U.S. gymnast since Kurt Thomas in 1979 to win a world championship medal on pommel horse. At the 2007 U.S. Nationals he finished fourth in the all around, behind champion David Durante, Guillermo Alvarez, and Sho Nakamori. At the competition he became the first gymnast to land a triple-twisting Yurchenko vault. At the 2008 U.S. Nationals, Artemev won the pommel horse title for the second consecutive year. After the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, he was named as an alternate to the men's team for the 2008 Olympics. On August 7, he was added to the team, replacing injured Morgan Hamm. Together with his teammates, Artemev won the bronze medal in men's team gymnastics in Beijing. Artemev's dazzling performance on the pommel horse, the last routine for the team, clinched the bronze medal for the U.S. team. Following the team