Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Liubov Burda competed for the Soviet Union at the Olympics in both 1968 (age 15) and 1972.  Born on the 4th November 1953 in Voronezh, Burda was coached by Yuri Shtukmann and obtained gold medals (in the team event) at both these Olympics, as well as at the 1970 World Championships.  She was USSR national champion in 1969 and 1970 and won multiple event medals at the USSR national championships and the USSR cup between 1968 and 1971.  A unique element - the Burda underspin (1.5 twists) on bars, was named after Liubov, who remains in the sport till today as a senior member of the FIG women's technical committee. The latest edition of the Russian Gymnastics Federation's magazine Gymnastika includes an interview with Liubov which Lupita has translated, below.   It is a wonderful read, touching on many important subjects, and most moving in her affectionate discussion of her late husband, 1976 Olympic champion Nikolai Andrianov.  Liubov Burda : 'I don't k...