Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Knysh and Korbut in training, 1973 Olga Korbut has repeated her allegations of mistreatment and rape by her coach, Reynald Knysh, in a Russian Jerry Springer style panel show.  She first made these allegations public in the early 1990s. Supported by her sisters, and her first husband Leonid Bortkevich, Korbut confronted Knysh, who has repeatedly protested his innocence, revealing that he had been suspended from the national team after an investigation into complaints made in the 1970s.  Korbut says her abuse went on for over one year. An occasionally hostile audience, and a sceptical panel who included 1968 Olympian Olga Karaseva, could not drown out Korbut's strong and assertive performance.  After Olga was accused of lying, former husband Bortkevich spoke out:  'I was married to Olga for 25 years and she never lies'.   It is now too late for any legal redress against Knysh.   . A Sports Express report  of  the documentary includes a video of the...

Finally, another one of these iconic documentaries has been subtitled. http://youtu.be/ovN5i0sHMq4 Via Gymnastics Coaching

2012 Olympian Maria Paseka competes in January 2013 As you may have seen, Gym Blog Brazil has confirmed that Alexander Alexandrov will be remaining in Russia for the time being.  Apparently the Brazilian Federation were unable to strike an appropriate agreement at this moment in time.  There is the possibility of further negotiations later in the year.  But my personal feeling is, given Alexandrov's bond with his personal athlete, Russia's World and Olympic Champion Aliya Mustafina, it seems unlikely that he would leave Russia.  Let's just hope that Alexandrov is given the appropriate professional freedoms at Lake Krugloye. I have been building a small gallery of Olga Korbut images drawn from the excellent RIA Novosti archive.   Olga Korbut is where gymnastics began for me at the age of 12.  It's impossible to write enough about this iconic champion, a few pictures say so much more.  You can view the gallery here , at RRG's Facebook pa...

It's hard to believe that it is now 36 years since Nadia fought Nelli at the Montreal Olympics, since Maria unveiled that trademark cheeky charm, since Ludmilla broke her heart and Olga broke ours. The sport has come a long way since those heady days. Turn the clock back another 36 years and we pre-date the beginning of the 'new' era of gymnastics that began with the entry of the Soviet Union into Olympic competition in 1952. In that sense only, the sport was still in its infancy. Just think of all the twists and turns since. Gymnastics was on the cusp of an acrobatically led revolution. Just look at the bars routines of Saadi, Tourischeva and Grozdova and compare them to those of Filatova, Comaneci and Korbut. Comaneci looks well ahead of the field on bars, but Nelli Kim soars ahead on floor and vault. This video reminds us that Comaneci's victory in Montreal was not as emphatic as the legend may lead us to believe: her floor is unsophisticated and relatively ...

For so many of my generation, Olga Korbut opened the door to the wonders of gymnastics.  Her performances at the Munich Olympics embrace so much of what the Russian gymnasts uniquely now present on the competitive podium : tantalizing personality, complex expression and unique, original skill. As we begin the final run up to the 2012 Olympics, the BBC remembers Olga in this video coverage , available to viewers in the UK. It is hard to believe that it is almost 40 years since I saw Olga for the first time, on my little black and white TV screen.   I had never known gymnastics before that day, and have never ceased to be enthralled by the sport since.  She spawned an unprecedented surge in gymnastics participation, and inspired emotion that has endured for almost half a century.  There has never been anyone quite like Olga. I wonder what memories we will have of London?

This weekend my friend Tracey said to me that she felt that Nabieva’s stoop Tkachev-Pak combination, performed on Saturday at the World Championships for the first time, was quite possibly the most revolutionary moment in gymnastics history since Korbut stood on the top rail of the asymmetric bars in Munich and premiered her unique loop. Those of us of a certain age will remember Korbut’s impact on the sport and the tidal wave of admiration and affection she evoked. Most speak of her amazing ability to communicate and perform, of the unique charm and charisma she projected through her floor routine, of the astounding back somersault on beam. But it was perhaps on bars where her genius shone most brightly. Here she was an amazing innovator and risk taker. The trajectory of that loop is still imprinted in my brain and I have a visual image of it as I speak to you now. Few have had the courage to attempt it since; Mukhina, of course, added a twist, but that was more than thirty yea...