Valery Belenky

Who is Valery Belenky?

Valery Vladimirovich Belenky is a retired Soviet/Azerbaijani/German artistic gymnast who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics and in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He is Jewish, and was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR.

He competed for the Soviet Union/Unified Team until 1992 when this federation was disbanded following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Belenky's greatest achievements are the team gold and all around bronze he won with the Unified Team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Belenky also won gold in the pommel horse event at the 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where he competed for the USSR.

Because Azerbaijan did not have a gymnastics federation for him to compete for in the 1993 world championships in Birmingham, Belenky instead competed as an unattatched athlete. In 1994 he became a German citizen and represented that nation in the 1996 Olympics, helping the team to a seventh place finish and coming 6th in the all-around.