Sovetsky Sport. July 3, 1972. While watching competitions, my memory involuntarily focuses mainly on the flaws in the performance, and I approach the gymnasts' routines from a purely professional perspective: as a former athlete, I compare the routines of the competitors with my own, noting that some elements were performed better in the past, others worse; having experience in judging, I imagine ideal versions of the routines, and all deviations from the "norm" seem exaggerated to me. It's good that I made a rule of writing down what I see at the competition, because when I needed to analyze the gymnasts' results, reviewing the records gives me a complete picture of the situation.
Now the question is this: will our strongest gymnasts be able to reach a level of fitness by the start of the Olympic Games that would allow them to successfully compete with the Japanese? To be in combat form means: a) to have in their arsenal those difficult elements that are most highly valued in the international classification; b) perform these elements and exercises with overall virtuosity; and c) the compositional construction of exercises must meet modern requirements - originality, dynamics, and again dynamics.
At the world championships in Ljubljana, our male gymnasts were criticized for the lack of sufficient difficulty in their routines. Over the past two years, members of the national team have increased their difficulty, and many now perform exercises of extreme difficulty. Learning new elements led to a change in routines for the better, which is also a positive factor. The men especially improved in floor and vault - on these events, almost every athlete has his own 'signature' event.
I will be evaluating the gymnasts' skills in terms of how they perform on the platform in Munich. I don't know who will make the team, but I will try to describe those athletes who, in my opinion, are capable of competing with our main rivals.
Nikolai Andrianov coped with the task assigned to him. More recently, we said: the boy is capable, he can enter the national team. And Kolya not only got into the national team but he also took a leading position in it. Andrianov broke away from his closest competitor by a whole point - this is a significant advantage. It's very important that the twenty-year-old young man from Vladimir has proven himself to be a real all-arounder. He has practically no weak points. I'm not going to praise Andrianov, but his progress is obvious.
If we compare Nikolai's routines with those of the leading Japanese gymnasts, it's difficult to find 'gaps' in our leader's technical training. Andrianov's motto is clean execution, and his difficulty is at a high level. We owe a lot to Nikolai Grigoryevich Tolkachev - this wonderful teacher enriched our gymnastics with a talented athlete. Why do Andrianov's exercises correspond to the spirit of the times? Because Tolkachev srcupulously studies the achievements in current gymnastics, constantly studies, analyzes, and his enormous work was justified.
As you know, Mikhail Voronin was in fourth place after two days of competition. In his optional pommel horse exercise, Mikhail made a gross error. Such breakdowns in Voronin for all the years of his competitive career can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The main thing is that he never crumbled, didn't panic, but courageously fought to the bitter end. Voronin's routines on some apparatuses are inferior in difficulty compared to other routines, like Andrianov and Viktor Klimenko. But Voronin's style is harmonious! Even now it's difficult to find another gymanst in the world who works as elegantly as Mikhail.
It is gratifying that the Muscovie, after his failure on the horse, showed himself to be a fighter. I approached Misha and talked to him: he did not worry, he only thought where he could win back what he had lost. What impresses me about Voronin is his drive to win (we usually say this about footballers who are always eager to forget a gola, who are at the forefront of the attack). Whatever happens to him during a competition, Misha sweeps away all doubts. Yes, he has a real man's character.
Viktor Klimenko made titanic efforts to get back into action after a severe injury. Before the Tokyo Olympics, I tore the biceps on my left arm, and it took many months to restore the technique of movement and coordination which had disappeared due to forced inactivity. Therefore, I know how hard it was for Viktor. He still has some errors, but I'm sure he can fix them.
Viktor is coached by his brother, Mikhail, a man of extraordinary diligence. For him there are no weekends or holidays, and he is able to stay in the gym for whole days. An experimenter by nature, Mikhail does not stand still, he does not want to repeat himself, and his thirst for novelty stirs Viktor's mind.
If we're talking about coaches, I'll make a small digression. We have been complaining for the last few years that we have no talented coaches in men's gymnastics. But now, perhaps, we will not complain about fate. We have talented coaches! These are N. Tolkachev and M. Klimenko, O. Ovsyak from Minsk, K. Sorvin from Alma-Ata, and K. Vasserman from Grozny, whose students we saw on the All-Union platform in Moscow. Young guys A. Ulyanov, V. Marchenko, P. Shamugiya, N. Nedbalsky, E. Markelov, V.Shchukin, V. Selifanov - this is a new wave in our gymnastics, the birth of which we owe to innovative coaches.
Anatoly Ovsyak deserves great praise, because his pupil Vladimir Shchukin took a rapid leap into the group of the strongest. In Kiev, at the national championship, Shchukin performed for the first time among adults, and immediately took fourth place! Some wondered: was it a sensation or a predictable outcome? Experts knew that there was such a Vova Shchukin, the winner of the V Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR for juniors. But it turned out that the Minsker's skill is already a match for the men's leaders.
So far, recruiting a team of equal strength remains problem number one. This is obvious. But we have bright personalities, which I spoke about above. And the favorites have good chances to fight for medals at the Olynmpics in the individual championship.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR Cup in gymnastics. Final. Men. All-around. 1. N. Andrianov (Burevestnik) - 112.95; 2. V. Klimenko (Army) - 111.95; 3. M. Voronin (Dinamo) - 111.925; 4. E. Mikaelyan (Burevestnik) - 111.25; 5. V. Shchukin (Army) - 111.075; 6. S. Diomidov (Army) - 109.975.
V. KERDEMELIDI