Oleg Verniaiev
Verniaiev in 2015
Personal information
Full nameOleg Yuriyovych Verniaiev
Alternative name(s)Oleg/Oleh Vernyayev
Country represented Ukraine
Born (1993-09-29) 29 September 1993
Donetsk, Ukraine
ResidenceKyiv, Ukraine
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team2011–20, 2023–present (UKR)
ClubArmed Forces of Ukraine
Head coach(es)Gennady Sartynsky
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 0
World Championships 1 3 1
European Championships 6 2 4
European Games 2 2 0
Summer Universiade 3 5 6
Total 13 13 11
Representing  Ukraine
Men's artistic gymnastics
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de JaneiroAll-Around
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 NanningParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2015 GlasgowParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2017 MontrealParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2018 DohaParallel Bars
Bronze medal – third place2019 StuttgartAll-Around
European Games
Gold medal – first place2015 BakuAll-Around
Gold medal – first place2015 BakuVault
Gold medal – first place2019 MinskParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2015 BakuTeam
Silver medal – second place2019 MinskAll-Around
Silver medal – second place2019 MinskPommel Horse
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 SofiaParallel Bars
Gold medal – first place2015 MontpellierAll-Around
Gold medal – first place2015 MontpellierParallel Bars
Gold medal – first place2016 BernVault
Gold medal – first place2017 Cluj-NapocaAll-Around
Gold medal – first place2017 Cluj-NapocaParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2012 MontpellierParallel Bars
Silver medal – second place2016 BernParallel Bars
Bronze medal – third place2013 MoscowAll-Around
Bronze medal – third place2014 SofiaTeam
Bronze medal – third place2014 SofiaVault
Bronze medal – third place2017 Cluj-NapocaVault
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place2015 GwangjuAll-Around
Gold medal – first place2015 GwangjuParallel Bars
Gold medal – first place2017 TaipeiAll-Around
Silver medal – second place2013 KazanTeam
Silver medal – second place2015 GwangjuFloor Exercise
Silver medal – second place2017 TaipeiTeam
Silver medal – second place2017 TaipeiPommel Horse
Silver medal – second place2017 TaipeiVault
Bronze medal – third place2013 KazanAll-Around
Bronze medal – third place2013 KazanParallel Bars
Bronze medal – third place2015 GwangjuTeam
Bronze medal – third place2015 GwangjuRings
Bronze medal – third place2015 GwangjuVault
Bronze medal – third place2017 TaipeiRings

Oleg Yuriyovych Verniaiev (Ukrainian: Олег Юрійович Верняєв; born 29 September 1993) is a Ukrainian artistic gymnast. He is the 2016 Olympic parallel bars champion and individual all-around silver medalist. Verniaiev is also the 2014 World parallel bars champion, the 2015 European individual all-around champion and the 2017 European individual all-around champion.

Verniaiev tested positive for the banned substance meldonium in an out-of-competition test in August 2020. He received a four-year ban, starting in November 2020. In early 2023 the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban to two years after Verniaiev successfully appealed his case.[1][2][3]

Personal life

Verniaiev was born in Donetsk.[4] He was educated at the Donetsk State Institute of Health, Physical Education and Sport.[5]

Verniaiev resides in Kyiv.[4] He is coached by Gennady Sartynsky.[5][6]

Career

2011

During the 2011 Summer Universiade Verniaiev competed in the men's vault final, finishing in 7th with a score of 15.262.[7] He was also part of the Ukrainian team that finished 5th in the men's team final.[8] At the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships he competed in the team all-around event with Nikolai Kuksenkov, Vitaliy Nakonechnyi, Oleg Stepko, Igor Radivilov and Roman Zozulya, finishing in 5th. He scored 14.461 on floor, 13.866 on pommel horse, 14.833 on vault, and 13.800 on parallel bars.[9]

2012

Verniaiev finished 6th in the 2012 American Cup with a score of 88.132.[10] At the 2012 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships he participated in the team all-around final for the Ukrainian team that finished in 5th. He also made the parallel bars final, finishing in 2nd place with a score of 15.66, 0.1 points behind the winner Marcel Nguyen.[11]

He was victorious in the all-around final of the Ukrainian Championships, scoring 90.300 points and winning by a margin of 2.65 points over 2nd place Oleg Stepko.[12]

Verniaiev competed for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's artistic team all-around, alongside Nikolai Kuksenkov, Vitalii Nakonechnyi, Oleg Stepko and Igor Radivilov, and the men's artistic individual all-around. In qualification he scored 88.964 to finish in 13th place. In the team final Ukraine finished in 4th with a score of 271.526, missing out on a medal by less than 0.2 points. Ukraine was initially awarded 3rd place for a bronze medal, however following an appeal from Japan over a pommel horse score, the Japanese team was awarded an extra 0.7 points, allowing them to move from 4th place to 2nd, knocking Ukraine out of the medals in the process. Verniaiev finished in 11th place in the individual all-around final with a score of 88.931.

2013

Verniaiev won the Ukrainian National Championships in 2013. He took the silver medal in the individual all-around finals at the 2013 American Cup. He won the bronze medal in the individual all-around at the 2013 European Championships in Moscow, Russia.

At the 2013 Summer Universiade, Verniaiev led his Ukrainian team (Ihor Radivilov, Oleg Stepko, Petro Pakhnyuk and Maksym Semiankiv) to a second-place finish in the team final, and qualified for the all-around final. He won the all-around bronze medal (tied with Russian gymnast David Belyavskiy). He won another bronze medal in the parallel bars final.

2014

In May 2014, at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, Verniaiev contributed scores of 15.100 (floor), 14.400 (pommel horse), 14.900 (rings), 14.783 (vault), 15.591 (parallel bars), and 14.600 (horizontal bar), helping Ukraine win the team bronze medal with a total score of 262.087 points behind Great Britain. In event finals, Verniaiev won the gold medal on the parallel bars (15.966) and won the bronze medal on vault (14.916).[13]

He won gold on the parallel bars at the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China. After the wrong anthem (the anthem of Uzbekistan)[14] was played during the medal ceremony, he said "It was written in my face that I didn't like it. They came up and apologised for the anthem and promised to change it for TV broadcast. But I thought it would be incorrect, because I screwed up my face and it will be even worse if the anthem is replaced."[15]

2015

Verniaiev at the 2015 European Games

In March, Verniaiev won the American Cup in Arlington, Texas with a score of 90.597, 0.499 over silver medalist and 2013 World Championships all-around silver medalist Ryōhei Katō of Japan. Verniaiev also became the FIG World Cup series champion.

At the 2015 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships Verniaiev won the individual all-around with a score of 89.582, beating 2013 champion David Belyavskiy. He also qualified to the parallel bars final where he won the gold medal with a score of 15.866.

At the 2015 European Games, Verniaiev was part of the Ukrainian team, winning silver in the team final behind Russia. Verniaiev qualified into the all-around, floor, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars and high bar finals. He won the all-around final with a score of 90.332, and the vault final with a score of 15.266. He placed 6th in the floor final with 14.233, and 5th on pommel horse (13.833), parallel bars (14.633) and high bar (14.900).

2016

At the 2016 European Championships, Verniaiev won a gold medal on vault and a silver medal on parallel bars.

In August 2016, he claimed silver in the men's all-around competition at the Rio Olympics with a score of 92.266, only 0.099 behind Kōhei Uchimura's 92.365. This was the closest anyone had scored to Uchimura since 2008. It was considered by many the best all-around duel in men's gymnastics history. Verniaiev’s medal was Ukraine's first since the bronze of Alexander Beresch at the 2000 Games.

Verniaiev also gained prominence for his public apology over the Ukrainian squad's strategy during the team final, when due to injuries they did not put up gymnasts on all events, effectively ruling the team out of contention.[16] He won the gold medal on the parallel bars, scoring 16.041, giving Ukraine its first gymnastics gold at the Games since 2004. He also finished 5th in the vault final and 8th on pommel horse and horizontal bar.

2017

At the 2017 European Championships, Verniaiev won gold medals in the individual all-around and on the parallel bars, and a bronze medal on vault.[17]

At the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, Verniaiev won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition, three silver medals for the team competition, vault, and pommel horse, and one bronze medal for rings.

Doping and ban

In December 2020 Verniaiev was notified by the International Gymnastics Federation that he was provisionally suspended from competition, backdated to November 2020. The reason for the suspension was a positive test for meldonium, which was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency starting in January 2016. Following arbitration, the provisional suspension was upheld and Verniaiev was banned from competition for four years. During this suspension timeframe Verniaiev would miss both the 2020 Olympic Games (rescheduled to 2021) and the 2024 Olympic Games.

In July 2021 Verniaiev expressed his intention to appeal the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, contending that meldonium was not found in subsequent tests.[1] He acknowledged the presence of the drug in his body, but said he does not know how it got there.[2]

On March 14, 2023, Verniaiev announced that his appeal was successful and the CAS reduced his ban to two years, resulting in his ability to return to competition immediately.[3]

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA FX PH SR VT PB HB
2011Summer Universiade57
World Championships5
2012Olympic Test Event146
American Cup6
European Championships52nd place, silver medalist(s)
Olympic Games411
Ostrava Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
2013American Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
La Roche-sur-Yon World Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Tokyo World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)65
Summer Universiade2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)843rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships158
Swiss Cup4
Stuttgart World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Glasgow World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
2014Cottbus Challenge Cup57887
Ljubljana Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)53rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships941st place, gold medalist(s)
Swiss Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Stuttgart World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Glasgow World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
2015American Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Cottbus Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)42nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Ljubljana Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Games2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)651st place, gold medalist(s)55
Summer Universiade3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)63rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships4642nd place, silver medalist(s)
Osijek Challenge Cup71st place, gold medalist(s)
Arthur Gander Memorial1st place, gold medalist(s)
Swiss Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
2016Olympic Test Event2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)771st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)6
Osijek Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)4
Varna Challenge Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)71st place, gold medalist(s)8
European Championships471st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)7
Olympic Games82nd place, silver medalist(s)851st place, gold medalist(s)8
Arthur Gander Memorial1st place, gold medalist(s)
Swiss Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Cottbus World Cup3rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)61st place, gold medalist(s)51st place, gold medalist(s)
2017American Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Stuttgart World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
London World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)773rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)8
Summer Universiade2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)52nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Varna Challenge Cup582nd place, silver medalist(s)5
Paris Challenge Cup83rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships872nd place, silver medalist(s)
Arthur Gander Memorial1st place, gold medalist(s)
Swiss Cup4
Cottbus Challenge Cup42nd place, silver medalist(s)
2018Szombathely Challenge Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Kyiv Open1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships9142nd place, silver medalist(s)
Cottbus World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Arthur Gander Memorial8
Swiss Cup4
2019
European Championships78
Stella Zakharova Cup44
European Games2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Szombathely Challenge Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)541st place, gold medalist(s)4
World Championships83rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Cottbus World Cup3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020American Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Ukrainian Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)61st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023Mersin Challenge Cup62nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships12

Olympic results

2012 London Olympics

Event Position Total
Individual all-around 11 14.533 (13) 13.966 (14) 14.866 (=7) 16.233 (2) 15.033 (12) 14.300 (17) 88.931
Team all-around 4 14.866 (16) — — 16.266 (3) 15.600 (2) 14.466 (20) 271.526 (team total)

2016 Rio Olympics

Event Position Total
Individual all-around 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 15.033 (6) 15.533 (2) 15.300 (=3) 15.500 (2) 16.100 (1) 14.800 (=3) 92.266
Team all-around 8 — 15.633 (2) — — 15.900 (2) — 202.078 (team total)
Horizontal bar 8 — — — — — 13.366 13.366
Parallel bars 1st place, gold medalist(s) — — — — 16.041 — 16.041
Pommel horse 8 — 12.400 — — — — 12.400
Vault 5 — — — 15.316 — — 15.316

References

  1. 1 2 "Oleg Verniaiev, Olympic gymnastics champion, reveals reason behind his suspension". NBC Sports. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Gymnast Oleg Verniaiev out of Olympics after doping ban". The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington. 13 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Ukrainian Olympic gymnast Oleg Verniaiev has doping ban cut". ESPN. March 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Ukrainian gymnast wins first ever World Cup". March 11, 2015. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Stelmach, Ihor. "THE SUMMER OLYMPICS: Ukraine ready to compete in Rio". The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Oleg Verniaiev". london2012.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ Turner, Amanda (August 16, 2011). "Minobe, Koczi Win Twice as University Games End". International Gymnast Magazine Online. Paul Ziert & Associates. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics — Men's Qualification and Team Competition" (PDF). sz2011.org. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Men's Team Final, Wed 12 Oct 2011" (PDF). gymnasticsresults.com. Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Tokyo. 7–16 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Men Competition II Saturday, March 3" (PDF). usagym.org. 2012 AT&T American Cup.
  11. ↑ "Seniors Apparatus Finals. Sun 27 May 2012" (PDF). gymnasticsresults.com. 30th European Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships Juniors and Seniors. Montpellier (FRA) 23–27 May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Lichikova, Vernayev Win Ukrainian Nationals". The All Around. 2012-06-27. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  13. ↑ "Ablyazin, Wilson Dominate European Finals". International Gymnast Magazine Online. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Ganeev, Timur; RBTH, special to (2015-09-22). "10 national anthem blunders at sporting events". www.rbth.com. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  15. ↑ "Ukrainian gymnasts return with medals from championship in China". Ukraine Today. 15 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Boren, Cindy (August 9, 2016). "Ukraine ends mystery over controversial Olympics gymnastics 'strategy'". Washington Post. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Results 7th Petrom European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Cluj Napoca/ROU 2017". www.ueg.org. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
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