Sovetsky Sport. September 3, 1974. Vilnius (our special correspondents). National champion medals were awarded in the individual events. We'll introduce you to the new champions and give you a quick rundown of the finals.
Vault. Olga Korbut (Grodno, coach R. Knysh). Korbut again set a gymnastics world record, complicating her unique vault with another 'screw.' So now it looks like this: a handspring with a 360-degree twist before the push and a 360-degree twist in the second phase. What is more, she learned to do the first 'screw' as if it were easy for her, like breathing. And this phase is especially difficult - I can't even believe that anyone will be able to repeat such a trick soon. In the final, L. Turischeva hurt her leg during a landing and retired from the competition.
Uneven bars. Olga Korbut. It is a miracle of acrobatics - nothing needs to be said about her exercise on this apparatus.
Balance beam. Svetlana Grodzova (Rostov-on-Don, coach R. Lavrov). Her routine this season is, for us, really the best and is a well-deserved success. Much has been done there based on the strength and dexterity of Svetlana's hands - she can stagger while standing on the beam on her feet, but never on her hands. One specialist reasonably noted that it is difficult for the balance beam judges: the routines of Grozdova and Korbut, one the other hand, and E. Saadi and R. Sikharulidze, on the other hand, are two different genres which are united by a 'theatrical platform.' Try to measure a modern pop song and a classical aria with the same yardstick...
Floor exercise. Rusudan Sikharulidze (Batumi, coach A. Gabriadze). Saadi could have also claimed gold - she had the best preliminary score. But she bent her legs performing a layout. We talked about this event in detail, so we note only a curious innovation by the Muscovite L. Bogdanova - she performed to a tape recording, and not to the piano but to the organ (music by the 18th-century Italian composer A. Vivaldi). It seems that a certain direction for the search is outlined here, especially since the rules do not specify which instrument should accompany the floor exercise routines; it's just important that there is only one instrument.
Express commentary. In general, it should be noted the high and even level of the women's finals, which was practically not affected by the tense and difficult competition over the previous three days. If we talk about the repertoires and performances in relation to world standards... It's difficult to tell. World standards - this is what we saw on the platform of Vilnius.
Floor exercise. Nikolai Andrianov (Vladimir, coach N. Tolkachev). On this apparatus, almost all the finalists showed a difficult program, and V. Marchenko and P. Shamugiya performed the rarest elements. If Shamugiya handn't broken his triple twist, he would have been among the winners for sure. However, Andrianov surpassed everyone, so to spaek, with Olympic cleanliness and ease of movement.
Pommel horse. Nikolai Andrianov. Here, the finalists did not manage to cope with the special requirements in terms of difficulty. Only Mikaelyan and Andrianov managed to perform routines without noticeable errors. For other gymnasts, stability on this apparatus is poor.
Rings. Vyacheslav Boiko (Moscow region, coach M. Klimenko). In recent years, Boiko has consistently achieved high scores on the rings. His exercise is designed in such a way that the transitions from static positions are smooth, and by the end of the routine they are on the rise. This is an indication of his class. Boiko and Andrianov performed the famous 'Azaryan cross,' which we haven't seen for a long time. Andrianov stumbled on his dismount, which he had not done before.
Vault. Valery Airapetyan (Yerevan, coach A. Avchyan). This is the first gold medal for Valery, who is 21 years old. In general, many gymnasts made significant progress on vault. It was the most curious final in terms of the variety of 'flights in zero gravity.' Now the Tsukahara is performed in different versions: Shamugiya - piked, and V. Safronov - with a twist. Airapetyan vaulted higher and farther than anyone else, and R. Mikaelyan (brother of Olympian E. Mikaelyan) even attempted a front somersault with a twist. He hasn't been successful so far, but this emphasizes that the search is ongoing.
Parallel bars. Nikolai Andrianov. V. Marchenko, A. Maleev, and E. Mikaelyan also had a chance to claim the gold medal. But Andrianov was the only one to complete his routine at the proper level. Marchenko fell, and the rest had a lot of errors. Marchenko and Maleev showed originality, but they need to reinforce their interesting routines with virtuoso performances.
High bar. Paata Shamugiya (Tbilisi, coach G. Burdzhanadze). Last year Shamugiya was also a winner here. This time he did well with his rich routine. Unfortunately, his gold has a dull tint - it was obtained without competition, as Andrianov and Mikaelyan (who had the highest preliminary score) broke. V. Razumovsky won his second silver medal (the other one was on the bars). This gymnast has been competing for a long time, but he did not particularly shine at the championships. And now Viktor was rewarded for his patience and for his devotion to gymnastics.
Express commentary. If we compare the performances of the finalists at the national championship with the Olympic final, then in floor exercises and the vault, our guys looked stronger on average than the best six in Munich. Unfortunately, the picture is paler on other apparatus. Only Andrianov (and of course V. Klimenko) have practically no weak points. Gymnasts such as P. Shamugiya, V. Marchenko, and E. Mikaelyan achieved things only in certain events. In general, we note the increased difficulty of exercises on all the apparatus (except for pommel horse and high bar), however, with insufficient stability.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR championships in individual events. Vilnius. Finals result in brackets.
Women. Vault. 1. Korbut (BLR) -19.1 (9.6); 2. Kim (KAZ) - 18.75 (9.45); 3. Koshel (BLR) - 18.55 (9.25); 4. Saadi (MOS) - 18.5 (9.225); 5. Dronova (GEO) - 18.425 (9.075); 6. Kudinova (BLR) - 18.35 (9.0). Uneven bars. 1. Korbut - 19.275 (9.55); 2. Kim - 19.075 (9.6); 3. Tsarik (UKR) - 19.025 (9.6); 4. Dronova - 19.0 (9.5);5. Bogdanova (MOS) - 18.9 (9.5); 6. Glebova (RSFSR) - 18.875 (9.45). Balance beam. 1. Grozdova (RSFSR) - 19.225 (9.7); 2. Saadi - 18.925 (9.7); 3. Sikharulidze (GEO) - 18.8 (9.5); 4. Koshel - 18.725 (9.55); 5. Bichukina (MOS) - 18.625 (9.4); 6. Kudinova - 18.575 (9.3). Floor exercise. 1. Sikharulidze-19.425 (9.8); 2. Saadi - 19.325 (9.6); 3. Grozdova - 19.2 (9.7); 4. Bichukina - 18.975 (9.5); 5. Kim and Builova - 18.9 (both 9.4).
Men. Floor exercise. 1. Andrianov (RSFSR) - 18.55 (9.15); 2. Marchenko (RSFSR) - 18.5 (9.1); 3. Safronov (UKR) - 18.2 (8.95); 4. Fedorenko (BLR) - 18.125 (8.75); 5. Shamugiya (GEO) - 18.125 (8.7);6. E. Mikaelyan (ARM) - 18.1 (8.7). Pommel horse. 1. Andrianov - 18.6 (9.2); 2. E. Mikaelyan - 18.3 (9.1); 3. Marchenko- 18.25 (9.0); 4. Shamugiya - 18.225 (8.9); 5. Latypov (RSFSR) - 17.9 (8.75); 6. Ivanov (LEN) - 17.275 (8.05).Rings. 1. Boiko (RSFSR) - 19.025 (9.45); 2. E. Mikaelyan - 18.65 (9.2); 3. Marchenko - 18.575 (9.25); 4.Fedorenko - 18.4 (9.1);5. R. Mikaelyan (ARM) - 18.275 (9.05); 6. Andrianov - 18.35 (8.85). Vault. 1. Airapetyan (ARM) - 18.925 (9.4); 2. Shamugiya - 18.84 (9.475); 3. Andrianov - 18.825 (9.325); 4. Fedorenko - 18.45 (9.1); 5. Nazarovich (BLR) - 18.475 (9.15);6. Sterkhov (LEN) - 18.175 (8.85) and Safronov - 18.175 (8.9). Parallel bars. 1. Andrianov - 18.8 (9.35); 2. Razumovsky (BLR) - 18.45 (9.15); 3. Maleev (BLR) - 18.425 (9.1); 4. Potapov (KAZ) - 18.05 (8.8); 5. E. Mikaelyan - 17.975 (8.7); 6. Sedykh (UKR) - 17.75 (8.5). High bar. 1. Shamugiya - 18.45 (9.2); 2. Razumovsky - 18.325 (9.05); 3. Marchenko - 18.3 (8.9); 4. Sedykh - 18.275 (9.0); 5. Kozeev (MOS) - 17.875 (8.55); 6. E. Mikaelyan - 17.625 (8.2).
V. GOLUBEV and S. TOKAREV