Ivan Ivankov may have retired from competitive gymnastics in 2006, but at 51, the former World champion from Belarus can still perform his signature high-bar move, the iconic Kovacs. In a post shared to social media, Ivankov can be seen effortlessly swinging from bar to bar before sticking a perfect landing in a pool of foam blocks for safety, leaving fans inspired.
Ivankov was known as an all-around gymnast, but the high bar was one of his specialties. The Kovacs is a high-risk, high-difficulty release move on the high bar. The gymnast executes a double backward somersault over the bar before regrasping it.
At 51, the gymnast-turned-coach still executes the move with the precision of a World champion. Fans quickly commented, in awe of his enduring athleticism.
“Amazing. I’m 36 and can’t even do a kip anymore,” shared one. Another confessed, “I struggle to walk down the stairs at 40….Kovacs at 51 is insane.”
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Ivan Ivankov Became a World Champion
Ivankov began gymnastics at age 6 and joined the Soviet national junior team at 14. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, he competed for Belarus and quickly established himself as an elite all-around gymnast.
Ivankov competed at the 1994 World Championships, where he won the all-around title, followed by another World all-around championship in 1997. He won 11 World Championship medals and became one of Belarus’ most decorated athletes.
An Olympic Medal Eluded Him
Despite his astounding World Championship record, winning an Olympic medal remained one of the few major achievements that eluded him. He entered the 1996 Olympics as a favorite for the all-around title, but an Achilles injury kept him from the competition. The injury required reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation. Remarkably, he returned to win the 1997 World all-around title just 11 months after surgery.
Ivankov entered the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but finished fourth in the all-around and fifth on both rings and parallel bars. Again, he finished fourth on parallel bars at the 2004 Athens Olympics. By the time he retired in 2006, Ivan Ivankov had come close to an Olympic medal but never won one.
Retirement Didn’t End His Gymnastics Career
View this post on InstagramRetirement didn’t end Ivankov’s connection to gymnastics. He quickly transitioned into coaching, eventually joining the University of Illinois men’s gymnastics program in 2009. Since then, he’s coached many elite gymnasts to championship-level competition.
Ivan Ivankov may have moved on to coaching, but seeing him perform his famous high-bar release decades after his competitive career is remarkable. For fans who remember him as a World champion in the 1990s, watching a 51-year-old gymnast still move so effortlessly is a reminder of his exceptional physical ability and how deeply gymnastics remains part of his life.
His ability to still perform a Kovacs also demonstrates that not every athlete’s connection to their sport has to end when it’s time to stop competing.
Related: 15-Year-Old Gymnast Lavi Crain Took a Frightening Fall, but Her Response Revealed the Heart of a Champion
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