Maria Paseka

Maria Valeryevna Paseka, born July 19, 1995, in Moscow, Russia, is one of the most decorated vault specialists in the history of women's artistic gymnastics. She discovered the sport at age six after watching a television programme featuring a girl on a trampoline at the Dynamo club in Moscow. Her mother initially refused, but young Maria's determination won out and she began training at the MGFSO Dynamo youth sports school under coaches Nadezhda Galtsova and Vyacheslav Selifanov. From 2009, she trained under Marina Gennadyevna Ulyankina at the Round Lake national training centre outside Moscow, where she would spend the bulk of her elite career. Paseka rose to international prominence at the junior level, contributing to Russia's team gold at the 2010 European Championships where she also claimed silver on vault. Her senior breakthrough came at the 2012 London Olympics, where she won bronze on vault and a team silver medal at just 16 years old. Over the following years she established herself as the world's premier vault specialist, winning the World Championship title in 2015 in Glasgow and again in 2017, as well as European Championship gold in 2015 and 2019. At the 2016 Rio Olympics she upgraded her vault medal to silver, cementing her legacy as a two-time Olympian. Throughout her career Paseka overcame significant physical challenges, including two surgeries on her heels in early 2011 and ongoing spinal issues. She retired in July 2022.