You will have read about Maria's struggles to obtain the Russian passport she needs to be able to travel home to be with her family and close friends. This surely is a fundamental right for a gymnast who has represented her nation and ethnicity so brilliantly for so many years, both as a gymnast and as a coach.
Public support is growing apace. Go to Sovietsky Sport for a round up of their campaign to help Maria, including a video of one of her best performances from the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Lupita has been scouring the internet for videos of this wonderfully innovative and versatile champion and sent me links to two different floor routines from 1977.
Maria performs the first one to Spanish jota music, at the 1977 World Cup, held in Oviedo, Spain. There Maria became World Cup Champion, taking two golds in the all around and floor competitions.
The second video is of the 1977 European Championships in Prague, infamous for the Karolyi-led Romanian team's walk out following a judging debacle. Maria did not let this affect her performance at all, and went on to take the gold in the floor exercise event.
What amazes me about both these performances is the power and energy of Maria's work. For such a small gymnast she really elevated in all her tumbles and leaps, and kept up a continuous movement throughout the routine. The cheeky gestures did not reduce her work to gimmicky, as she had such beautiful turnout and line. Expression came naturally to her, and her personality shines through after all these years, even through the rather poor, muzzy quality of these online videos.
1977 was certainly a strong year for the youngster - still only 15 years old here. Watch here a video of her performance on floor at the Riga International where she substitutes a full in double back as her first tumble. Maria won gold in the all around competition.
Public support is growing apace. Go to Sovietsky Sport for a round up of their campaign to help Maria, including a video of one of her best performances from the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Lupita has been scouring the internet for videos of this wonderfully innovative and versatile champion and sent me links to two different floor routines from 1977.
Maria performs the first one to Spanish jota music, at the 1977 World Cup, held in Oviedo, Spain. There Maria became World Cup Champion, taking two golds in the all around and floor competitions.
The second video is of the 1977 European Championships in Prague, infamous for the Karolyi-led Romanian team's walk out following a judging debacle. Maria did not let this affect her performance at all, and went on to take the gold in the floor exercise event.
What amazes me about both these performances is the power and energy of Maria's work. For such a small gymnast she really elevated in all her tumbles and leaps, and kept up a continuous movement throughout the routine. The cheeky gestures did not reduce her work to gimmicky, as she had such beautiful turnout and line. Expression came naturally to her, and her personality shines through after all these years, even through the rather poor, muzzy quality of these online videos.
1977 was certainly a strong year for the youngster - still only 15 years old here. Watch here a video of her performance on floor at the Riga International where she substitutes a full in double back as her first tumble. Maria won gold in the all around competition.
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