Dimitri Karbanenko

Dimitri Nikolayevich Karbanenko (born 19 July 1973)^[2] is a French former artistic gymnast. He is the 1997 World floor exercise silver medalist and the 1998 European all-around silver medalist. He participated in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. Born in the Soviet Union, he competed for Russia before becoming a French citizen in 1997, and won a team silver medal at the 1994 World Championships.

Dimitri Karbanenko

Karbanenko at the 2001 European Club Championship
Personal information
Born	(1973-07-19) 19 July 1973 (age 52) Kaliningrad, Soviet Union[1]
Height	174 cm (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Gymnastics career
Sport	Men's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	France (1997-2008)
Former countries represented	Russia (1993-1996)
Medal record Men's artistic gymnastics Representing  Russia World Championships 1994 Dortmund Team Representing  France World Championships 1997 Lausanne Floor exercise European Championships 1998 Saint Petersburg Team 1998 Saint Petersburg All-around 2000 Bremen Vault 2004 Ljubljana Team Mediterranean Games 2001 Tunis Team 2001 Tunis Floor exercise 2001 Tunis Vault

Gymnastics career

Karbanenko began gymnastics at five years old and trained at the CSKA Sports Complex in Moscow.^[3][4]

Karbanenko placed fifth in the all-around final at the 1993 World Championships.^[5] He also placed sixth in the parallel bars final and eighth in the horizontal bar final.^[6] He then helped Russia win the silver medal at the 1994 World Team Championships.^[7] He competed with the Russian team that placed fourth at the 1995 World Championships.^[8] Individually, he placed 23rd in the all-around final and eighth in the horizontal bar final.^[9][10]

Karbanenko was left off Russia's 1996 Olympic team at the last minute, leading him to pursue French citizenship. He was eligible for citizenship through his marriage, and he moved to Cannes.^[3][11] He began competing for France in 1997 and won a bronze medal on the floor exercise at the Stuttgart World Cup.^[12] He then won the silver medal on the floor exercise at the 1997 World Championships, behind former teammate Alexei Nemov.^[13]

Karbanenko helped France upset Russia for the team title at the 1998 European Championships, held in Saint Petersburg.^[3] He also won a silver medal in the all-around competition.^[14] At the 1998 Paris World Cup, Karbanenko won the floor exercise gold medal.^[15] He finished seventh in the floor exercise final at the 1999 World Championships.^[16]

At the 2000 European Championships, Karbanenko won the vault silver medal behind Romania's Ioan Silviu Suciu.^[17] He then represented France at the 2000 Summer Olympics and advanced into the all-around final, finishing 15th.^[18] He won a silver medal on the horizontal bar at the 2001 Paris World Cup, behind Aljaž Pegan,^[15] and he won three gold medals at the 2001 Mediterranean Games.^[19] He finished fifth in the horizontal bar final at the 2002 European Championships.^[20] He then won the floor exercise bronze medal at the 2002 Paris World Cup.^[15]

Karbanenko finished 18th in the all-around final at the 2003 World Championships.^[21] He won the horizontal bar silver medal at the 2004 Lyon World Cup.^[22] At the 2004 European Championships, he helped France win the team bronze medal.^[23] He injured his hand before the 2004 Summer Olympics but still competed,^[3] and he did not advance into any finals.^[2]

Karbanenko finished fifth in the floor exercise final at the 2005 European Championships.^[24] He then won the floor exercise silver medal at the 2005 Paris World Cup.^[15] At the 2006 European Championships, he finished fourth in the parallel bars final.^[25] He then finished 15th in the all-around final at the 2006 World Championships.^[26] At the 2007 European Championships, he finished fourth in the horizontal bar final and sixth in the parallel bars final.^[27]

Karbanenko represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics and helped the team advance into the final, where they finished eighth.^[28] He announced his retirement in 2009.^[29][30]

Personal life

Karbanenko married a French journalist. His first child was born in 1999, but his wife died a few days later.^[3] He has another daughter, born in 2006, with his second wife.^[29]

After retiring from the sport, Karbanenko began working as an assistant coach for the Japanese national team until 2013. He then began coaching for the Belgian team before returning to France.^[30]