Gold-medal instruction

Whether it's excelling in the Olympics or working with youngsters, the sport of gymnastics has always been near and dear to the hearts of Svetlana Boguinskaia and Tatiana Lysenko.

"We've been involved in gymnastics the biggest part of our lives," Lysenko said. "Most of the things we have achieved have been through gymnastics."

The former Olympic gold medalists were in Southeast Missouri all week as they conducted their Olympic Gymnastics Camp at Class Act Gymnastics in Jackson, Mo.

Jackson was one of six stops -- and the only one in the Midwest -- for camp directors Boguinskaia and Lysenko, whose Olympic Gymnastics Camp is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Thirty-three gymnasts ages 6 through 14 participated in this week's camp that concluded Friday.

"There are some very talented kids here and we're very happy to work with them," Boguinskaia said prior to beginning Friday's camp session. "I enjoy working with young gymnasts. It's the age when you can influence them the most.

"It's a lot of fun. It's great to be kids, too. I feel like we're kids again."

Added Lysenko, "I was once a little girl who had a dream to be one of the Olympic champions. My dream came true. We're here to see if somebody from Jackson might be able to one day do that."

The dreams came true for both Boguinskaia and Lysenko.

Boguinskaia represented Belarus in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics, earning five medals, including one gold in vaulting and two golds in team competition. She is also a five-time world champion and nine-time European champion.

"I can't describe it," Boguinskaia said of her Olympic experience. "You have to be there. It was unbelievable, lots of fun."

Lysenko represented Ukraine in the 1992 Olympics, earning three medals, including a gold on the balance beam and a gold in team competition.

"It was great, a big deal for us," Lysenko said. "It was wonderful."

Shawn McNally, who with his wife Lynn owns Class Act, said the camp went extremely well and plans are for it to be held at Class Act again next year.

"The camp was wonderful," McNally said. "The girls get a lot out of it. It's extremely motivational."

McNally, who also coaches the competitive team at Class Act, said he has taken some of his gymnasts to the Olympic Gymnastics Camp in other parts of the country the past four years.

"We took 10 girls from our team to Houston last year and when we were down there we made arrangements for the camp to come here this year," McNally said. "The first time we went to one of their camps was in 1999 in Minnesota. In 2000, we were going to go back to Minnesota again but the camp got canceled at the last minute and Svetlana was nice enough to come to Class Act. That's how this all pretty much got started."