Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Once upon a time, there were six little girls ... The little girls became gymnasts, and the gymnasts became Champions - but never Olympic Champions. Politics got in the way. 'Their' Olympics, the 1984 Los Angeles Games, disappeared as their country boycotted the Games for political reasons. History vanished. They became a lost Olympic generation. Irina Baraksanova Tatiana Frolova Natalia Ilienko Olga Mostepanova Natalia Yurchenko There was one exception. Elena Shushunova went on to compete at a second Olympics, becoming All Around champion at the Seoul Games in 1988 The 'little gymnasts' (in fact they were extraordinary athletes) competed at the Oloumoc Friendship Games instead of the Olympics. At these Friendship Games, Olga Mostepanova became Champion in the AA, Floor, Vault and Beam, scoring an unequalled total of 40 in the All Around; a level of perfection never seen before or since. There is very little video of this competition...