Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

I saw the poster on the wall of the gym and it surprised my teacher when I asked if I could go.  She had noticed that I didn't exactly love PE ... But I loved gymnastics and I wanted to see my favourite, Olga Korbut.  My friends Elaine Richardson, Janet Brooks and Mary Andronowski wanted to come too. We set out in the school coach, all of us excited.  I wore my best purple dress and purple eye shadow and had my little Kodak camera in my bag.  I remember the excitement when we arrived and parked up at Wembley, only a few steps away from the Trident studio where rock band Queen had recorded some of their first album!  I half expected to see them there :-). We found our seats, up in the higher echelons of the Grand Tier.  There was a strong smell of popcorn.  Scampering school children made the boards beneath our feet echo, seats around us snapped up and down, lending the impression of an ever moving sea rather than an attentive audience.  But ...

The 1974 World Championships , held in Varna, Bulgaria, were all about Ludmilla Tourischeva. As reigning 1970 World Champion and 1972 Olympic Champion, she took four golds, a silver and a bronze here, affirming her status as Queen of Gymnastics. She medalled on every event. Just look at her bars routine if you want confirmation of her genius - around 6.30 - the twists sparkle with perfection, the routine composed for beauty as well as complexity. The brooding presence of coach Vladislav Rotstorotsky intensely observes Tourischeva's finest competition. The Soviet WAG team took 13 individual medals here, grabbing all the honours available on beam and floor. Of the six competing team members, only Nina Dronova failed to secure an individual title, but she still had her gold from the team competition. Watch out for extracts from the floor routines of Elvira Saadi, Olga Korbut, Rusudan Sikharulidze, Nina Dronova and Ludmilla Tourischeva. The only gymnast not shown is Nelli Kim, w...

I remember Olga receiving this award back in 1972 ... I was 13 years old. It was before the time of video recorders, personal computers and Youtube, and therefore a rare opportunity to savour those amazing moments from Munich again. I was so thrilled to see Olga Korbut on my little black and white TV screen, collecting her BBC award as International Sportswoman of the Year. Gymnastics was new to me, Olga had opened my eyes to the sport, they have never closed. There was something so special about Olga. Those moments from 1972 never lose their freshness. With many thanks, once again, to Novosti, for reminding me of this great moment.