It was 1978 and we were watching the Strasbourg World Championships. Rivalry between the Soviet Union and Romania was at its height; only a few months earlier the Romanian team had walked out of the European Championships, held in Prague, as national coach Bela Karolyi bitterly contested scores and alleged cheating by the East German and Soviet-led judging panels. In the Soviet Union women's team there had been a changing of the guard since the 1976 Olympics. Key new faces on the team included the eventual all around champion, Elena Mukhina, and bronze medallist, Natalia Shaposhnikova. Legends Ludmilla Tourischeva, Olga Korbut and Elvira Saadi had left the playing field, and now Nelli Kim led the team, alongside the young veteran of the 76 Games, Maria Filatova.
The video below, a Soviet produced, black and white information programme, shows important gymnastics from these Championships, including all of Elena Mukhina's routines. Mukhina is featured here as an original, daring, yet graceful gymnast, equalling Comaneci for technical strength yet adding to it with all the grace and expressiveness of the Soviet Russian tradition. You can see why she won the all around competition.
Vaulting seems a world away from the high powered, explosive event that it is today (Natalia Yurchenko's vault innovation first transformed the possibilities of this apparatus, in 1982, and the introduction of the vaulting table in 2001 welcomed in new possibilities that are still under exploration.) Straight and piked Tsukuhara vaults were the norm, with the Soviet Union's Shaposhnikova looking the best. Handspring-front vaults provided an interesting developmental direction, and pioneer Mukhina does a handspring-front with half twist out, very tucked, very highly applauded by those present.
We should remember that bars was at a transitional stage, with the women beginning to take their lead from the men and the long swing technique (demonstrated here by Maria Filatova and Natalia Shaposhnikova) in its early stages. Comaneci's routine is featured in its entirety, and her growth is highly apparent due to the slowness of her movement compared to the slick presentation in Montreal two years earlier. Marcia Frederick's gold medal winning routine features in its entirety, smooth and full of difficulty after difficulty. Romania's Emilia Eberle shows her unique and intricate work in transition between high and low bar as an echo of the past and, perhaps, a prediction of how the event would move on in the future. Mukhina again looks in another world with her full twisting Korbut loop and hecht back somersault dismount.
You will be able to see the developing grace and maturity of Comaneci on beam (where she won the gold medal). Her double twisting dismount seems ahead of the field in difficulty until you see Mukhina and her double tuck. Mukhina certainly seems to the gymnast who takes the sport forward on all four pieces, here in Strasbourg: while the rest of the top gymnasts were beginning their floor routines with a double tuck she finished hers with the move, opening up with a full twisting double back, and presenting a full routine with graceful choreography. On this video, only the USA's Kathy Johnson attempts similar artistry, but we have to tolerate the somewhat horrifically angular and childish presentation of the up and coming Romanian, Emilia Eberle. Of course, Eberle went on to take the World title on floor the next year, at Forth Worth in 1979 - where the Romanian team beat the Soviets for the first time. To give Eberle her dues, she does look strong, athletic and original in these videos, if also painfully thin. But that is another story.
The video below, a Soviet produced, black and white information programme, shows important gymnastics from these Championships, including all of Elena Mukhina's routines. Mukhina is featured here as an original, daring, yet graceful gymnast, equalling Comaneci for technical strength yet adding to it with all the grace and expressiveness of the Soviet Russian tradition. You can see why she won the all around competition.
Vaulting seems a world away from the high powered, explosive event that it is today (Natalia Yurchenko's vault innovation first transformed the possibilities of this apparatus, in 1982, and the introduction of the vaulting table in 2001 welcomed in new possibilities that are still under exploration.) Straight and piked Tsukuhara vaults were the norm, with the Soviet Union's Shaposhnikova looking the best. Handspring-front vaults provided an interesting developmental direction, and pioneer Mukhina does a handspring-front with half twist out, very tucked, very highly applauded by those present.
We should remember that bars was at a transitional stage, with the women beginning to take their lead from the men and the long swing technique (demonstrated here by Maria Filatova and Natalia Shaposhnikova) in its early stages. Comaneci's routine is featured in its entirety, and her growth is highly apparent due to the slowness of her movement compared to the slick presentation in Montreal two years earlier. Marcia Frederick's gold medal winning routine features in its entirety, smooth and full of difficulty after difficulty. Romania's Emilia Eberle shows her unique and intricate work in transition between high and low bar as an echo of the past and, perhaps, a prediction of how the event would move on in the future. Mukhina again looks in another world with her full twisting Korbut loop and hecht back somersault dismount.
You will be able to see the developing grace and maturity of Comaneci on beam (where she won the gold medal). Her double twisting dismount seems ahead of the field in difficulty until you see Mukhina and her double tuck. Mukhina certainly seems to the gymnast who takes the sport forward on all four pieces, here in Strasbourg: while the rest of the top gymnasts were beginning their floor routines with a double tuck she finished hers with the move, opening up with a full twisting double back, and presenting a full routine with graceful choreography. On this video, only the USA's Kathy Johnson attempts similar artistry, but we have to tolerate the somewhat horrifically angular and childish presentation of the up and coming Romanian, Emilia Eberle. Of course, Eberle went on to take the World title on floor the next year, at Forth Worth in 1979 - where the Romanian team beat the Soviets for the first time. To give Eberle her dues, she does look strong, athletic and original in these videos, if also painfully thin. But that is another story.
Thank you, I've enjoyed watching it. Mukhina was amazing and commentator was harshly truthful about everything what was going on.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cpt Hook. That is interesting - are you able to summarise what he is saying please?
ReplyDeleteBasically, commentator pointed out in details on errors for each gymnast and the overall complexity of an executed skills.
Deletewow.....bars especially is spectacular....so interesting to review a seminal period in the transition of WAG....thanks for unearthing this!
ReplyDelete