Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

A friend said to me that some of the pictures of Ivan Stretovich posted earlier on this blog reminded her a little of the young Dmitri Bilozerchev, who became a world champion at the age of 16. This sent me off to the excellent RIA Novosti media library in search of some pictures. Bilozerchev competes in Moscow in July 1983, just prior to winning his first World Championships in Budapest that same autumn. One thing leads to another, and I was then reminded of the amazing Alexander Alexandrov, who coached Bilozerchev from boyhood, and mentored him to a second World Championships all around title in 1987.  Bilozerchev almost lost his left leg in a 1985 car accident (broken in over 40 places, surgeons were considering amputation).  His recovery is legendary. Alexandrov used to wax lyrical about Bilozerchev, calling him the 'Mozart of gymnastics', and telling stories of how as a youngster Bilo would be motivated to practice harder by the promise of cakes :-) But in...