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USSR training at CSKA Moscow, April 1986

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It's not a great quality video, but compelling viewing all the same.  It makes me shiver to think that this took place more than 25 years ago.




Watch it on Youtube.

1986/87 marked a curiously quiet period for USSR women's gymnastics, culminating in the loss of the world title to the Romanians at the 1987 World Championships in Rotterdam. The 'top names' we see performing here include Olga Bicherova (1981 World Champion; 1981 and 1983 European Champion), Elena Shevchenko (1988 Olympic team champion), Elena Gurova (1987 World team silver medallist) and Alevtina Priakhina (1987 European silver medallist and reserve to the USSR team at the 1987 World Championships). Moscow was a real force in Soviet gymnastics in those days, and our current World Champions would be hard pressed to match some of the difficulty you see the girls training here.

I am curious to know the name of the dark haired girl training double doubles with Priakhina.

Besides the obvious big names, there is much coverage of the day to day preparation of young champions, including a section on the boys training ballet. Important to observe the importance of ballet principles to good body alignment and awareness - 'ballet' is about more than mere style and is a fundament to all good movement.
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