1980 Olympics WAG All Around video link

1980 Olympic Champion Elena Davydova at a London display in 1978

This French TV transmission of the historic final at the Moscow Olympics is fascinating for the mix of fluff and routines it presents.  Sadly, we see only two fragments of Nadia Comaneci's routines.  I would be tempted to say that this was a Soviet feed edited for diplomatic purposes, but I remember the BBC live transmission as covering Comaneci in full.

I sat there, glued to my television set as the judges fought out the final rankings.  With Soviet Elena Davydova standing in first place, 1976 champion, the legendary Comaneci, needed a 9.95 on beam to take the gold.  Unfortunately, she took a rather hefty wobble half way through her routine, ending with a mark of 9.85 and the silver medal.  This was an astounding result for a gymnast who had been to hell and back since her former glorious victories in Montreal, but that did not stop Romanian judge Maria Simionescu from fighting and debating the mark with rival Ellen Berger for a full ten minutes.  I watched as the little flashing square in the corner of the TV screen indicated that the transmission was due to be cut, as Davydova and her friends covered their faces in anticipation, as an apparently lonely Comaneci strode the competition floor tensely, but the BBC stayed with gymnastics right until the end.  Davydova was strewn in the air by her jubilant team mates and gold went to the Soviet Union, silver to an apparently defeated Comaneci.  This video is somewhat foreshortened and captures only part of the action, but will remind us oldies of the excitement of that Olympics, and provide some points of reference for those who didn't catch the joy first time round.

The emotion and impact of Comaneci's mark of ten on bars - captured here as a fragmentary playback - is tangible even from a distance of more than thirty years.  Comaneci, denied gold at the two previous World Championships, fought back after a disappointing start in the team competition - falling on bars - to be in contention for gold all around.  The eventual winner, Davydova, has been recorded by history as a lucky first, but I do not think so.  Her routines have a rare touch of lightness, that vault sparkles through the air, the floor routine perfectly exploits the newly introduced opportunities of orchestrated music.  All four of her routines showed original elements, well performed with artistry.  Comaneci gave the gold away with that tremble on the beam, but silver was a victory for her in any event.

We are reminded of the togetherness of this Soviet Olympic team - watch how Maria Filatova shakes her fists in support of Davydova's floor performance, how Elena Naimushina takes Davydova in a stranglehold, Stella Zakharova looking on with those coal-intense eyes.  Blond, glamorous, national coach Polina Astakhova was in the mix there, moving Reuter boards and providing moral support.  Svengali Vladislav Rotstorotski could only watch from the stands, banished there by his gymnast Natalia Shaposhnikova.  If I were to draw a cartoon of Rotstorotski here he would somehow be veiled in an ever increasing, dark fug of depression.  The innovative Shaposhnikova was expected to be the gold medal winner, but was missing something here, and seems rather alienated from the main action of the day.  Interviewed after the competition, Rotstorotski expressed his regret at not overriding his gymnast's wishes and accompanying her to the floor.  I wonder if it would have made any difference against the great performance quality of the rising star, Davydova. 

Elsewhere, enjoy routines from across the competitive field.  Nelli Kim struggles through with her coach Vadim Baidin, looking to be in pain after a fluffed floor routine, with the judges holding up the whole competition for a good five minutes while the rather obvious mark of 9.45 was agreed.  Comaneci's team mate Emilia Eberle looks as skeletal and desolate as she did less than a year before in Forth Worth, but still managed a 9.95 on floor.  We see Germany's Maxi Gnauck, Steffi Kraker and Katharina Rensch, Britain's Suzanne Dando and Susan Cheeseborough, Australia's Sulicich, Bulgaria's Galina Marinova.  Don't forget that this was the Games that the Americans boycotted, four years before the Los Angeles Games that the Soviets boycotted.  All was not well in world sport at the time.  But the quality of the gymnastics in Moscow did not suffer.

Enjoy the video.

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Flashback to 1972 ... Olga Korbut wins the BBC's International Sportswoman of the Year Award

I remember Olga receiving this award back in 1972 ... I was 13 years old. It was before the time of video recorders, personal computers and Youtube, and therefore a rare opportunity to savour those amazing moments from Munich again.

I was so thrilled to see Olga Korbut on my little black and white TV screen, collecting her BBC award as International Sportswoman of the Year. Gymnastics was new to me, Olga had opened my eyes to the sport, they have never closed.

There was something so special about Olga. Those moments from 1972 never lose their freshness.

With many thanks, once again, to Novosti, for reminding me of this great moment.

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Olga Mostepanova - four perfect tens in one competition

Olga Mostepanova in training.  Courtesy of RIA Novosti

The joy of that video of the 1976 Olympics sent me into an Olympic reverie, a recollection of perfect tens of the past. 

There is no greater unsung hero than 1983 and 1985 World Champion Olga Mostepanova, who competed at the 1984 Alternative Olympics in Olomouc, but was denied the chance of appearing at the Olympics thanks to larger, world political events that saw the Soviet Union boycott the Los Angeles Games. 

I first saw Olga compete at Wembley in 1981 at the annual Champions All competition.  She was a tiny little thing, wearing a white leotard and with big white ribbons in her hair.  I remember how coach Vladimir Aksenov paid attention to her between each apparatus, holding her hand and leading her through the competition.  But for all her baby looks, Olga was an impressive gymnast, especially on beam where her lines, soft and sharp at the same time, melded with an innate sense of rhythm to create gymnastics of great beauty.

Olga is the only gymnast ever to score ten on all four pieces of apparatus.  She achieved this at Olomouc, the alternative Olympic Games set up for the Eastern bloc countries in 1984.  In Los Angeles, Mary Lou Retton became the first all-American gymnastics star, all air-punching, powerful and grinning white teeth.  In Olomouc Mostepanova became a legend of the purest artistic form seen in world gymnastics - ever.  Those four ten scoring routines remain the Holy Grail of gymnastics, much sought after, but rarely seen in their entirety. 

I had to remind myself that it's 28 years since Olga achieved this amazing feat, and went running again to the wonderful RIA Novosti media gallery where I picked up some matchlessly gorgeous pictures.  You can see the entire selection I have made at RRG's Facebook page.  Savour too the all too brief videos.  Olga's contribution to the sport is becoming a disappearing legacy of the aesthetic, the blurry lines of the video recording reflecting the distance of time and space between her outstanding performances and the disappointingly tangible gymnastics of today.


Olga Mostepanova's perfect beam compulsory from the 1985 World Championships





An all too short fragment of Olga's floor routine from the 1984 Alternative Olympic Games.

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1976 Montreal Olympic Games - video

It's hard to believe that it is now 36 years since Nadia fought Nelli at the Montreal Olympics, since Maria unveiled that trademark cheeky charm, since Ludmilla broke her heart and Olga broke ours. The sport has come a long way since those heady days. Turn the clock back another 36 years and we pre-date the beginning of the 'new' era of gymnastics that began with the entry of the Soviet Union into Olympic competition in 1952. In that sense only, the sport was still in its infancy. Just think of all the twists and turns since.

Gymnastics was on the cusp of an acrobatically led revolution. Just look at the bars routines of Saadi, Tourischeva and Grozdova and compare them to those of Filatova, Comaneci and Korbut. Comaneci looks well ahead of the field on bars, but Nelli Kim soars ahead on floor and vault. This video reminds us that Comaneci's victory in Montreal was not as emphatic as the legend may lead us to believe: her floor is unsophisticated and relatively simple (see her compatriot Ungureanu for superior dance and expression though), vault a good effort but lacking the complexity of Kim's outrageous innovation for that time. Kim combines artistry and acrobatics to express the full dimensions of the sport of artistic gymnastics; Comaneci impresses with her daringly confident bars and beam. It is all about who made the most impact with the first ever 'ten' recorded in Olympic gymnastics' history.

It's a great video that has recently become available on Youtube, good quality and with full (Russian language) commentary. Not complete, but the best record many of us have available, with floor music intact - so now we can follow a pivotal part of the gymnastics narrative at almost first hand.

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Russia today and tomorrow: Dementyeva, Shelgunova and Kharenkova take gold in Europe

Evgeniya Shelgunova, courtesy of the UEG

Russia's women gymnasts took gold at two different competitions this weekend, showing an interesting level of development across the generations.  Veteran Anna Dementyeva competed with significantly improved form at the Joaquim Blume Memorial, hitting a 14.75 on beam, while at the annual Massilia Cup in Marseille, France, emerging senior (eligible 2013) Evgeniya Shelgunova led her team to first place, taking the all around title for herself.  Youngster Maria Kharenkova added an exclamation mark to the Russians' performances with an emphatic gold in the floor exercise.

The Russian team's performance was enhanced by tiny Viktoria Kuzmina's silver medal on uneven bars.  The team cumulatively took first place on every piece of apparatus but vault, where their fifth place underlines an urgent need to make improvements.  Even the revaluation of the Amanar vault will not overcome such a deficit whilst competing against a relatively weak field.

Golden Maria Kharenkova, having grown quite a lot since her stunning appearances at this spring's European Championships, was quite magnificent on floor with longer limbs emphasising the height and power of her leaps.  She also showed off some new difficulty, with a one and a half twisting somersault replacing the whip in her second tumble run (ending with double tuck), and adding a stag leap to her final tumble of double pike.  The Russians need a good floor worker or two so it is encouraging to see Maria continue to develop in the midst of a growth spurt. 

It would normally be in the Russians' plans to improve Maria's toe point but considering changes to next year's Code (which defines artistry as good tumbling but makes no mention of line, toe point, harmony or rhythm) they may decide it's not worth the time.

Hey ho.  14 year old Maria's work is still more interesting and aesthetic than the Olympic floor champion's by far, demonstrating that artistry can exist alongside great tumbling without compromising, or robbing the sport of its cultural dimension.  Long live Russian choreographers. 

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Russia's plans for 2013 : target Worlds, Europeans, Universiade; change the rules!

2010 World team champion Tatiana Nabieva should compete in Kazan this summer

National coach Valentina Rodionenko has given two interviews recently about Russia's plans for the future.

Here, she explains how next March's Russian Championships will be used as selection for the four gymnasts who will compete at the individual European Championships in April. It's a heavy year's competition with Europeans in the Spring, the Universiade in July, and the World Championships in the autumn.  Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Tatiana Nabieva and Krystyna Goryunova have already been announced as being in contention for the Universiade, which Rodionenko says Russia are treating as a highly important competition and which will take place on home ground in Kazan.

Next year, two juniors will progress to senior level - Evgenia Shelgunova [who will have full competitive eligibility for senior competition] and Maria Kharenkova [who will train alongside the seniors in 2013, but still compete at junior level until 2014].

In a radio interview she adds that the team expects to strengthen itself by adding three or four newcomers in time for the Olympics in 2016.  Many regional and national competitions will take place to try to identify upcoming talent. 

Amendments to the Code of Points have been partly favourable, in particular the downgrading of the Amanar vault and improvements to the beam marking, meaning that fine execution will receive a bonus.  However, Valentina criticises new approaches to rewarding artistry in the floor routines: there is much confusion between judges and coaches as to its meaning.  The new Code has identified 'nicely performed acrobatics with stuck landings' as artistry, but the Russians feel that it is more about quality of performance, eg pointed toes and good lines, than acrobatic connections.  They intend to write a letter to the FIG in the near future to try to persuade them to change the rules as they pertain to floor exercises. 

And I don't blame them. 

You can find the new WAG Code of Points here.

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Olga Bicherova - picture and video gallery

Fishing the internet for black and white pictures of gymnasts, I came across the following images at the RIA Novosti Media Gallery.

1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova is very photogenic, and I love these candid shots.  Soviet champions were often highly praised for their diligence and sense of duty, not just in sports but in everyday life.  Collecting stamps, replying to fan mail and working hard in the classroom all personified the work ethic and high standards which exemplified the perfect Soviet citizen. 

Olga Bicherova replying to a Japanese fan's letter, shortly after winning the 1981 World Championships.  Courtesy of RIA Novosti

Olga Bicherova in practice with choreographer Galina Savarina, in 1982

Olga Bicherova and her stamp collection, 1981

Olga Bicherova, the model schoolgirl, 1981

Tiny Olga Bicherova with coach Boris Orlov in 1978

This brief Soviet television documentary emphasises the personal qualities that made her such a great example for youth.



Olga Bicherova was a gymnast of great charisma, charm and competitive strength.  She is remembered in particular for her tantalizing floor performances, aggressive vaulting and confident beam routines. 

You can find here the floor routine with which Olga won the 1981 World all around title.

And her later, 1983, floor routine, for me a favourite for its personality, expression and the way she flirts with the judges.



There is some doubt over Olga's birthdate: born October 26th, did she turn 14, or 15 (as required to compete in an FIG competition) in 1981?  Even now, some thirty-one years later, there is confusion; for example, age details on some of the Novosti pictures from 1978 and 1979 are confusing.  But with such a time distance, it is easy enough to get someone's age wrong.  Surely, at such a tender age Bicherova would not have been able to change her own credentials.  What remains certain is that Bicherova was one of the best gymnasts in the world during a time when talent and competition were deeper than ever. 

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The atmosphere of black and white

I have been doing a little research this morning for a book I am planning with Vladimir Zaglada and our translator, Lupita.

Long ago I found a wonderful website that I loved for its photographs and a brief essay on the nature of choreography. One day, I realised I couldn't find it any more.  I thought it had disappeared. It is a sadness to me that much of the history of Soviet gymnastics is disappearing; for example, try searching for pictures of Elena Shevchenko: there are few that really capture the majesty of her floor performances.

So I was very happy this morning, when I found Natasha's website again, in a truncated version, but including some of the old pictures.  I love the atmosphere of black and white and the sense of history they capture.

The site is the resume of now US-based, former Soviet team choreographer, Natasha Matveeva. Well worth a look and a read for the impressive list of gymnasts with whom she once worked.

Natasha Matveeva, her daughter Anya, and 1989 World Champion, three time Olympian Svetlana Boguinskaia, at Lake Krugloye National Training Centre in about 1989

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Elena Shevchenko and Viktor Razumovsky

Elena Shevchenko with 1985 World Champion all around, Oksana Omelianchik.  Picture courtesy Tom Theobald

I read somewhere recently that Moscow's Viktor Razumovsky is now coaching 2012 Olympian Anastasia Grishina ... interesting.  Razumovsky was a leading Soviet personal coach during the 1980s, bringing through such talent as 1988 Olympian Elena Shevchenko, 1987 World Championships team member Elena Gurova, and Soviet international Olga Chudina.  He also had a hand in coaching 1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova.  All renowned for the elegance and spontaneity of their floor work in particular.

It reminded me of the 1988 Olympics, when the Soviet team performed in red, won by a significant margin, and were led off by the placid yet dynamic Shevchenko. I like what Larissa Petrik has to say about her in this interview from GymnForum:

"Elena Shevchenko is my favorite gymnast ... We are similar in spirit, in style and ... in the colour of our hair.  When she goes out onto the floor, Elena very quickly gets the feel of the situation and in her performance she just slightly plays and flirts with the audience.  One senses a femininity in her that is as yet unaware of itself.

"My favorite elements of Shevchenko's program are the floor exercises and the vault.  As we say, Elena uses contrast.  She begins a combination softly, flexibly and then suddenly explodes, unexpectedly transforming the rhythmic pattern.  Elena's feel for rhythm, which very rarely lets her down, helps her achieve tremendous emotional expressiveness."

 Enjoy the video from Olegushko.



And I thought it would be worth linking to this video of Larissa Petrik, on beam at the 1968 Olympics - she is a wonderfully fluid gymnast. I so miss the rhythm and line of a truly balanced and harmonious beam routine.

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