Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Dutch news site nu.n l has reported the sudden death of coach Boris Orlov.  Boris coached 1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova.  In 1986 he moved from Moscow to Holland and made his home there, holding a number of club and national coaching jobs, including as Head coach of the Dutch national team from 1994 to 1999 .  His gymnasts included Renske Endel and Susanna Harmes, medallists at the 2001 and 2005 World Championships. Boris was 73.  Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

It's worth watching these timeless videos.  Check out the routines of Alla Shishova, especially on beam.  She was ahead of her time.  Also observe the magnificent artistry of Olga Mostepanova and Natalia Yurchenko.  Neither gymnast had intricate choreography, but they were both captivating.  Their work conveyed emotional as well as technical impact.  Yurchenko moves slowly, floating through the air.  Who would think that such a light, slender gymnast as Mostepanova could find all that air time in her tumbles?  Technique, not muscle, gave these gymnasts their power.  Their artistry came from the consummate grasp of technique, something that cannot be expressed as execution or entertainment.  Ilienko, Bicherova, Frolova are other classical members of this team.  They will all be remembered for a very long time. The Soviet team managed to fall off beam even in those days, but their superior difficulty and technique lifted them above ...

Fishing the internet for black and white pictures of gymnasts, I came across the following images at the RIA Novosti Media Gallery . 1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova is very photogenic, and I love these candid shots.  Soviet champions were often highly praised for their diligence and sense of duty, not just in sports but in everyday life.  Collecting stamps, replying to fan mail and working hard in the classroom all personified the work ethic and high standards which exemplified the perfect Soviet citizen.  Olga Bicherova replying to a Japanese fan's letter, shortly after winning the 1981 World Championships.  Courtesy of RIA Novosti Olga Bicherova in practice with choreographer Galina Savarina, in 1982 Olga Bicherova and her stamp collection, 1981 Olga Bicherova, the model schoolgirl, 1981 Tiny Olga Bicherova with coach Boris Orlov in 1978 This brief Soviet television documentary emphasises the personal qualities that made her such a great ex...

Elena Shevchenko with 1985 World Champion all around, Oksana Omelianchik.  Picture courtesy Tom Theobald I read somewhere recently that Moscow's Viktor Razumovsky is now coaching 2012 Olympian Anastasia Grishina ... interesting.  Razumovsky was a leading Soviet personal coach during the 1980s, bringing through such talent as 1988 Olympian Elena Shevchenko, 1987 World Championships team member Elena Gurova, and Soviet international Olga Chudina.  He also had a hand in coaching 1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova.  All renowned for the elegance and spontaneity of their floor work in particular. It reminded me of the 1988 Olympics, when the Soviet team performed in red, won by a significant margin, and were led off by the placid yet dynamic Shevchenko. I like what Larissa Petrik has to say about her in this interview from GymnForum: "Elena Shevchenko is my favorite gymnast ... We are similar in spirit, in style and ... in the colour of our hair.  When she g...

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 nam...