Yes, you read that correctly.
The gymternet is quietly aflutter with the news that 2000 double Olympic gold medalist and longtime fan favorite Yelena Zamolodchikova suffered a heart attack at a gym where she coaches in Russia.
A small article that appeared on SovSport.Ru stated (via Google translate; take it with a grain of salt) that Zamolodchikova had been released from the hospital following "a heart attack" she sustained after a confrontation with the administration of the gym.
According to the article, there's been a dustup between Zamo, some of the gym's coaches and parents of the athletes, who presented the gym with a letter asking the administration to leave Zamo alone. (Not as previously reported, which was that the parents' letter was in opposition to Zamolodchikova.)
"I'm not feeling well," Zamo told a reporter via telephone, according to the article. "I was discharged from the hospital, but the weakness is very strong."
One of the first competitors to prove that it was possible to do high quality elite gymnastics well into your 20s, Zamolodchikova competed internationally from the 1999 Worlds to the 2009 World University Games. She shot to stardom at the 2000 Olympics, where she won gold on vault and floor and a silver with the team. She was part of Russia's bronze-medal team effort at the 2004 Athens Games.
Zamolodchikova announced her retirement in 2010 and has since appeared as a judge at several major international competitions.
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