1992 Olympic Champion, Tatiana Gutsu, is a Ukrainian gymnast (from the city of Odessa) who competed for both the USSR and Ukraine during her senior competitive career from 1990 to 1992.
She was the first in a new generation of gymnasts who brought an ultra high level of difficulty to their work; in fact some of Gutsu's innovations have yet to be repeated, in particular the split leg double layout tumble on floor which remains exclusively hers. Vault was her least spectacular apparatus, but on bars, beam and floor, Gutsu led the field with fast, powerful and original work. She flew recklessly through her bars routine, showed not an ounce of fear in a non stop beam routine. Her 1991 floor work, full of intricate choreography and ultra powerful tumbling, was under-rated and is largely, and rather unfairly, overlooked in the history books of the sport. She was the epitome of the Soviet ground-breaking gymnast, performing single skills of very great difficulty, integrated into impressively choreographed routines (on bars, beam and floor) that exploited her personal style to the optimum aesthetic effect. In Gutsu's case this amounted to an astonishing mixture of athleticism, dare and tempo, the like of which you would be unlikely to find in even the best circus. The double layout dismount off bars, the full in back out dismount off beam (connected to two flips) are still rare in the sport more than twenty years after her most famous win.
Like her nearest gymnastics relative Olga Korbut, who also made her name at an Olympics with ground-breaking, fearless, ahead-of-her-time acrobatics, she had the unusual facility to make the difficult look ridiculously simple. Her double tuck somersault was a flight of great beauty. Thinking back to the floor routine I saw her compete at the 1990 European Cup, I don't think I have ever seen anyone complete the skill so easily.
Gutsu had a natural lightness and charm, but wasn't the most expressive gymnast ever. I would have loved to see her continue her career beyond 1992 and compete as a mature 17 or 18 year old. But whatever happened, happened, and Gutsu retired from the sport, moving to America where she now works as a coach.
Whenever Gutsu's name is mentioned, gainsayers quote the 1992 Olympics and her replacement of Roza Galiyeva in the all around competition, as if she somehow didn't have the right to be there. For those not old enough to remember, Gutsu fell off beam in qualifying, leaving her team-mate Galiyeva slightly ahead of her in the all around competition. Gutsu sobbed, as she was effectively out of the competition she had trained for, for most of her lifetime. Head coach Alexander Alexandrov then acted, controversially replacing Galiyeva with Gutsu. Galiyeva, heartbroken, complained to the press of the injustice of it all, and young Tatiana, who was only 15, gave half of her prize money to her disappointed rival.
But of course that fall did not define Gutsu as a gymnast. The USSR Champion simply HAD to compete in the all around of the Olympics; she had earned the right by two years of competition-winning, breath taking performances and a lifetime of dedication to her sport. The eventually languid Galiyeva, still very much a youngster in 1992, could not have competed on the same level at that time. Gutsu deserved her place in the final. It wasn't really even a controversial decision; which team would not field its best player in the most important single competition of the last four years?
From the first time that Tatiana's name appeared on a competition roster, to the last, she was rarely out of the medals, a winner through and through. Enjoy these short interviews with Tatiana as she explains some details of her life as a Champion.
With thanks to Nico, who posted the links on Facebook first!
Part 1
Part 2
She was the first in a new generation of gymnasts who brought an ultra high level of difficulty to their work; in fact some of Gutsu's innovations have yet to be repeated, in particular the split leg double layout tumble on floor which remains exclusively hers. Vault was her least spectacular apparatus, but on bars, beam and floor, Gutsu led the field with fast, powerful and original work. She flew recklessly through her bars routine, showed not an ounce of fear in a non stop beam routine. Her 1991 floor work, full of intricate choreography and ultra powerful tumbling, was under-rated and is largely, and rather unfairly, overlooked in the history books of the sport. She was the epitome of the Soviet ground-breaking gymnast, performing single skills of very great difficulty, integrated into impressively choreographed routines (on bars, beam and floor) that exploited her personal style to the optimum aesthetic effect. In Gutsu's case this amounted to an astonishing mixture of athleticism, dare and tempo, the like of which you would be unlikely to find in even the best circus. The double layout dismount off bars, the full in back out dismount off beam (connected to two flips) are still rare in the sport more than twenty years after her most famous win.
Like her nearest gymnastics relative Olga Korbut, who also made her name at an Olympics with ground-breaking, fearless, ahead-of-her-time acrobatics, she had the unusual facility to make the difficult look ridiculously simple. Her double tuck somersault was a flight of great beauty. Thinking back to the floor routine I saw her compete at the 1990 European Cup, I don't think I have ever seen anyone complete the skill so easily.
Gutsu had a natural lightness and charm, but wasn't the most expressive gymnast ever. I would have loved to see her continue her career beyond 1992 and compete as a mature 17 or 18 year old. But whatever happened, happened, and Gutsu retired from the sport, moving to America where she now works as a coach.
Whenever Gutsu's name is mentioned, gainsayers quote the 1992 Olympics and her replacement of Roza Galiyeva in the all around competition, as if she somehow didn't have the right to be there. For those not old enough to remember, Gutsu fell off beam in qualifying, leaving her team-mate Galiyeva slightly ahead of her in the all around competition. Gutsu sobbed, as she was effectively out of the competition she had trained for, for most of her lifetime. Head coach Alexander Alexandrov then acted, controversially replacing Galiyeva with Gutsu. Galiyeva, heartbroken, complained to the press of the injustice of it all, and young Tatiana, who was only 15, gave half of her prize money to her disappointed rival.
But of course that fall did not define Gutsu as a gymnast. The USSR Champion simply HAD to compete in the all around of the Olympics; she had earned the right by two years of competition-winning, breath taking performances and a lifetime of dedication to her sport. The eventually languid Galiyeva, still very much a youngster in 1992, could not have competed on the same level at that time. Gutsu deserved her place in the final. It wasn't really even a controversial decision; which team would not field its best player in the most important single competition of the last four years?
From the first time that Tatiana's name appeared on a competition roster, to the last, she was rarely out of the medals, a winner through and through. Enjoy these short interviews with Tatiana as she explains some details of her life as a Champion.
With thanks to Nico, who posted the links on Facebook first!
Part 1
Part 2
man...she looks great. i can't believe she's 37. she looks 27 at least.
ReplyDelete"The USSR Champion simply HAD to compete in the all around of the Olympics; she had earned the right"
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with this, she fell and that's the end of it, she didn't earn anything, she was beaten on the day and that should have stood
Agreed. If one actually thinks Gutsu deserved to be in that final after falling then they need a reality check. Gymnastics is about what you do at that particular moment in that particular competition. Galieva deserved that spot because she simply was the better competitor on that particular day. She worked just as hard as Gutsu and even though she wouldn't have placed and the smarter decision was to put Gutsu in, replacing her was still immoral and wrong by all accounts.
Delete"The USSR Champion simply HAD to compete in the all around of the Olympics; she had earned the right. (...) Gutsu deserved her place in the final. It wasn't really even a controversial decision"
ReplyDeleteWow! Such flight of passion! But still...
Wrong Wrong and Wrong again. I love Gutsu and I agree that Galieva would not have had a chance to win the AA. I agree that the switch was the best decision for the team. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the competition and loved the fact that Gutsu won. Actually, the 1992 AA is what turned me into a gym fan. What a competition! But still... I can't possibly agree with a single one of the sentences I copy-pasted above. What's done is done and the outcome can't be changed. She won AA square and fair (in my opinion) and has no apologies to make for being there. The decision was not hers. She made the best of a 'gift' she unduly received, and, good for her.
But this is no reason to try and rewrite history. Gutsu had NOT earned the right to compete in AA. She did not DESERVE her place in the final. And this decision was and remains very CONTROVERSIAL indeed.
Thanks for the video. It's always lovely to hear from Gutsu.
Gymnastics is a team sport.
ReplyDeleteWhat is fair and ethical should not be judged according to the rules, when the rules are flawed.
How fair is it that the top 36 gymnasts do not get to compete in finals, regardless of their nationality? Ruling the best gymnast out of that final would be simply ridiculous. We are not speaking of 100m running where athletes have multiple opportunities to prove themselves in one event.
Besides, arguably Gutsu from Ukraine, Grudneva from Russia, Boguinskaia from Belarus, Galiyeva and Chusovitina both from Uzbekistan, Lyssenko from Ukraine ALL deserved to be in that all around final.
Gymnastics is a team sport. True. But even a team sport has its rules and the rules at the time include the fact that only the top 3 qualifiers advance to AA finals, not the three best of the team. I don't think we need to discuss here how fair the rules were. But they were what they were. Anyway there is always a degree of unfairness when in comes to competition. If the rules are flawed, coaches can lobby in order to get them changed. But lying in order to circumvent them while there are still in place (as Alexander did) IS controversial. Every World and Olympic competition is littered with heart-breaking stories of a talented gymnast who did not make the team or the finals because she screwed up in the qualifications. You do not qualify to finals, you don't get to compete in finals. That's the name of the game. I'm no fan of American gymnastics but they really earned my respect when they did not switch one gymnast for the favourite who did not qualify for AA finals despite qualifying in 4th position overall in the last Olympics. One can say she DESERVED to go to final considering her pedigree. And while the rules have changed and coaches can now pick and choose who goes to finals if they want to, they did not do it. Because the rules are the rules. It's not about who DESERVES it (which can sometimes be subjective), it's about who has EARNED it according to the rules in place.
DeleteYou all make some reasonable points, but there is a moralistic undertow that suggests USSR : bad USA : good. Sport is sport, and winning is the aim. USA has made such substitutions in the past, just lower profile.
DeleteAlthough I agree with you about the 3/2 per country rule, I feel that's only part of the issue here. Also, Gutsu and her teammates qualified to the olympics as a team and competed as a team and thus they qualified into the event finals as a team. You can't have your cake and eat it too, either they would have came separately representing their own nations in compulsories and optionals and the event finals they would have came together as the Unified Team and compete together and then win medals for their respective countries in event finals (but still having qualified into these finals as a team). Obviously since they were pretty much guaranteed the gold medal they did the latter.
DeleteAnother point to bring up would be if Gutsu was truly out of the AA then the podium would have shifted: Miller taking the gold and Bontas would have actually gotten the bronze medal. So not only does this affect Galieva but also 3 other gymnasts.
They need to abolish the 2 per country rule. Currently, it is not accurate to say the best gymnast in the world in the all around because there are better gymnasts than some who compete that could not enter because two of her teammates placed ahead of her. Just my opinion.
DeleteBut (Andy) then the best gymnast (the opinion of the judges) would not have won the final. How could that be fair?
DeleteUp until the night of the AA, Gutsu was NOT the best gymnast (because she fell). Judges can't judge based on potential. If she hadn't competed that night, which she shouldn't have due to the rules of the sport she chose to train and compete in, she would never have been considered the best. Miller would have been considered the best.
DeleteSubstitutions are permitted under the rules of gymnastics. Nothing wrong with a substitution.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't at that time.
DeleteAnd another thing: nobody can say how things could have gone. Gutsu could have fallen in the final as well. And Galiyeva was a very strong gymnast in 1992. Her difficulty was a bit lower than Gutsu's, maybe, but certainly much higher than Boginskaya's and other contenders, and she was very consistent. She was disadvantaged because she was younger and less well-known than some of her teammates, but she was not inferior as a gymnast. That decision was unfair to her.
I'm glad at least she got her chance in 1996.
If substitutions weren't permitted, how did Gutsu get to compete in the final at all? :-).
DeleteQueen Elizabeth, I'm sure you know the answer to that one, since any gymnastic amateur knows it. But just to be on the safe side let's remind ourselves again: Alexander LIED and claimed that Galieva was injured. Substitutions were allowed at the time only if the teammate who qualified was injured and unable to compete and that the substitute offered had finished in the top 24 (or maybe top 36 at the time). We can see a good example of that in 1996 when Kerri Strug who had qualified to AA got injured in team finals and was replaced by Dominique Moceanu. Had Alexandrov played by the rules, the substitution would not have been permitted. Just because the decision led to an amazing finals and that Gutsu should not make us go amnesic and forget that what he did was not allowed. He cheated. Gutsu was dazzling in the final but she should not have been there in the first place.
DeleteBut but basically, substitutes were permitted under the rules of the game, and there is nothing in the rules to say that a competitor who qualified would be forced to compete whether or not she wanted to. So Galiyeva was injured or not ready to compete, she withdrew and Alexandrov made an announcement in her behalf. There, that explains it all.
DeleteYou can't go around saying people lied you know. That's a moral judgement based on hearsay. Sport is sport.
By all means, go to YouTube and type 'Roza Galieva fluff'. You'll hear all 3 protagonists talk about the matter in their own words. It is not a 'moral judgement based on hearsay'. All three admitted it. Sport is sport and must be sport within the rules.
DeleteYou have a point, but what you hear on a video is still hearsay. Sport is sport and at that level is about winning.
DeletePS what would you think about it if a country were to enter the arena, politically manipulate the rules to change them and make it so that only they could win? Would the rules be fair then?
DeleteI have a minor correction. Gutsu was not the only one to do the split-leg double layout. Galiyeva did this at the 96 Europeans and I believe there were also reports of her performing this in 1992.
ReplyDeleteAnd with all due respect to Gutsu, I strongly believe that the decision to replace Galiyeva was immoral (Gutsu also suffered - her win will always be tarnished by this incident), and I disagree with the changes in the rules that now allow countries to substitute athletes as they wish. The person who qualifies should compete, that's the point of the qualification round. Sport is sport, and whoever doesn't perform when it counts doesn't win. In 2012 they could have subbed Douglas for Weiber arguing that Weiber had better prospects being the defending world AA champ, that Douglas was too unstable, etc - we all know now how cheated Douglas would have been.
However if they would just abolish the two athlete per country rule, that would solve the problem at the source - and imagine an AA final with the entire 92 Unified team! :)
(an 85 AA final including Mostepanova, Baraksanova, Omelianchik and Shushunova would have also been a dream come true!)
Chusovitina did it too in 2001 or 2002.
DeleteJeanette Antolin from the US did the split leg double layout in 1998 and early 1999.
ReplyDelete