Mikhail Koudinov

Mikhail Alexandrovich Koudinov (born 23 June 1991) is a New Zealand artistic gymnast. He is a two-time Oceania all-around champion, and competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He has represented New Zealand at five Commonwealth Games.

Early life Koudinov was born in Vladivostok to parents Alexander (Sasha) and Alexandra, both former gymnasts and coaches. His maternal grandparents were also former gymnasts. The family moved to Auckland, New Zealand, when he was six years old.

Gymnastics career At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Koudinov was New Zealand's youngest representative at the age of 14. He placed eighth with New Zealand in the team competition, and he finished 20th in the all-around final. He competed in his first World Championships in 2007 in Stuttgart, Germany.

At the 2009 World Championships, Koudinov placed 59th in the all-around qualifications. He moved to the United States in 2010 to compete for the Ohio State Buckeyes gymnastics team. He finished sixth in the individual all-around final.

Koudinov finished eighth in the all-around at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He then finished 50th in the all-around qualifications at the 2014 World Championships. Then at the 2015 World Championships, he finished 48th in the all-around qualifications and advanced to the 2016 Olympic Test Event.

Koudinov was one of three New Zealand gymnasts who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio; the other two were Courtney McGregor and Dylan Schmidt. Collectively, they became New Zealand's first Olympic gymnasts since 2000. He placed 45th in the all-around qualifications and did not advance into any finals.

Koudinov planned on retiring after the 2017 World Championships and moved back to New Zealand, but the national team head coach convinced him to continue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Koudinov won the all-around title at the 2021 Oceania Championships and also won the continental berth for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2022, Koudinov was selected to compete at his fifth Commonwealth Games. However, he had to withdraw from the all-around final due to an injury.

Koudinov won the all-around title at the 2023 Oceania Championships and advanced to the 2023 World Championships. He was not able to compete at the 2024 Oceania Championships due to an injury and therefore could not qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Eponymous skill At the 2017 World Championships, Koudinov competed an original horizontal bar release move, a Gaylord with a full turn. He fell on the skill twice before catching it. As the first gymnast to complete the move at a major international competition, it is named after him in the Code of Points. He became only the second New Zealander to have a skill named in the Code of Points.

Personal life Koudinov graduated from Ohio State University with degrees in economics and Japanese. He speaks English, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese. Since 2017, he has coached fellow gymnasts at the Tristar Gymnastics Club to pay for his training and travel expenses. His daughter was born in 2020.