Sovetsky Sport. May 28, 1974. Our final report is about the all-around final.
On the eve of the final day, Nelli Kim read a volume of poems by Mikhail Svetlov. But she thought about her upcoming performance, about the final exams, and about entering the institute. A tenth-grade student at School No. 15 in Chimkent, she was also thinking about how her sister Ira, also gymnast and the city's champion, would be happy if she, Nelli, came home from Rostov with an award from the national championship.
At the end of the competition, coach Vladimir Baidin said: "She was ready, ready to fight for a prize! Last year, Nelli won five international meetings, but fell off the balance beam at the national championship. But we know that it was an accident. And now it's all right. Third place is good!"
Could Nelli Kim, who turns 16 on July 29, rise higher? No, she couldn't because so far no one can beat Lyudmila Turischeva and Olga Korbut.
Finals. First rotation. The leader of the team starts on vault. Again Korbut shows her 'signature' vault - a 'screw' in free flight. Turischeva does an excellent Tsukahara. Kim gets a lower score than the Olympic champions, but we note that the technique of the forward turn with a twist is exemplary. After a push with her hands on the apparatus, Kim, drilling the air, takes off with a corkscrew. Unfortunately, the landing is inaccurate.
Second rotation. Much has been written about Olga Korbut's uneven bars routine. According to Yu. Shtukman, here she shows a small miracle. Everyone knows her routine by heart, but the famous loop still makes the audience gasp. It seems that Olya is not on the bars but on a trampoline - up, down, a loop - oh! - again a 'dive into the water' - oh! - takeoff from the upper pole, and dismount. A stuck landing. What else is there to say? I want to shout "bravo!" or "encore!" One coach, sitting next to us, exhales, spellbound: "Amazing..."
Then, after the award, Olga Korbut will tell reporters that she is not quite in shape, but no, she is generally poorly prepared, that she loves to compete, that there are not enough competitions, which she regrets - she missed last year's championship, but there was a good reason - she was injured. We know that Korbut is a fighter by nature and keeps her ambitious plans a secret. But what a secret it is when everyone saw that Korbut cannot and does not know how to perform half-hearted routines. She strives for the highest score, which means that Korbut longs for victory!
But Turischeva also firmly decided that she was obliged to win in the city where she lives, and no high scores from her rivals would shake her self-confidence. Lyudmila's routine on the uneven bars contrasts with Korbut's routine. She has a lot of 'turntables,' and in total Turischeva twisted a total of 1,800 degrees. We even got dizzy. She had only 0.3 in errors.
After two rotations, the top six places were as follows: Turischeva - 57.85, Korbut - 57.525, Kim - 56.825, Bogdanova - 56.55, Grozdova - 56.25, and Saadi - 56.2.
Yes, the 15-year-old Svetlana Grozdova from Rostov moved from seventh to fifth place. Back in March, at the Moscow News competition, coach Ruslan Lavrov said about his student: "She's a very brave girl. When we discussed the plan for competing at the national championship, she was not at all afraid of my daring plans to place at least sixth. It was Sveta's debut at the senior championship."
Third rotation. Turischeva got 9.7 on beam, and Korbut got 9.65. The issue of the champion is almost settled. Kim is not far behind - 9.5. Bogdanova made a mistake - 9.25. At this time, Grozdova was on vault - 9.6. Another step up the ranks? Yes, Sveta is already in fourth place. What a debut!
Fourth rotation. The talent of the world and Olympic champion is amazing! They said: Turischeva is academic, she has a cold manner of performance. And where is the surge, the emotion, the improvisation? Here are her emotions - on floor exercise!
Choreographer Lilia Sokolova, accompanist Irina Ukhova: "Turischeva's new floor routine has already caused a lot of controversy. So we tried to move away from the template. Unusual, right? African dances are the basis, and the motto of our exercise is "Free Africa!" We know that the routine still needs to be polished, but there is still time before the world championships."
Korbut also showed a new floor routine on the theme of Liszt's rhapsody with the accompanist of the national team, Alexander Makarov. No, wonderful gymnasts do not stand still. That's why they are on the podium.
As you remember, Klimenko was ahead of Andrianov by 0.2 after the compulsory and optional programs. Before the final, this amount is divided in half. Therefore, the gap was only one tenth. By the last event in the final, Andrianov was ahead of Viktor by two tenths.
It was an equal fight, and it was hard to say who would win. We could not give preference to either Viktor or Nikolai, a two-time European champion who has never won a national championship. Klimenko managed to update his routines in a year, because he understood that Andrianov had gone ahead of him due to difficulty. For this, the Muscovite even had to miss the 1973 championship - he didn't want to perform with unpolished routines.
The hard work paid off. Klimenko stubbornly moved towards the goal. How collected he was on the day of the final! Viktor has a fighting character.
High bar. The last event. Andrianov easily and freely performs his routine - 9.45. Klimenko enters the podium, and does his routine perfectly - 9.55. Is the judges' decision fair?
The jury of appeals, headed by Merited Master of Sports Yu. Titov, issues a verdict: "Andrianov's routine was a little weaker, and his performance level was the same as other gymnasts. Klimenko's advantage over Andrianov on this apparatus should be two tenths, not one tenth."
And now everything was done in justice. Two all-around champions - this is the true balance of power. Both gymnasts deserved this high title.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
All-around competition. Women. 1. L. Turischeva (Dinamo) - 77.35 (9.6, 9.7, 9.7, 9.8); 2. O. Korbut (Army) - 76.625 (9.65, 9.8, 9.65, 9.55); 3. N. Kim (Spartak) - 75.925 (9.4, 9.6, 9.5, 9.6); 4. S. Grozdova (Army) - 75.45 (9.6, 9.45, 9.6, 9.6); 5. E. Saadi (Dinamo) - 75.35 (9.35, 9.3, 9.45, 9.7); 6. L. Bogdanova (Burevestnik) - 75.3 (9.5, 9.5, 9.25, 9.5); 7. L. Savina (Labor Reserves) - 74.775; 8. G. Parshintseva (Burevestnik) - 74.7; 9. A. Koshel (Labor Reserves)- 74.575; 10. R. Bichukina (Burevestnik) - 74.425.
Men. 1. N. Andrianov (Burevestnik) - 112.7 (9.4, 9.35, 9.3, 9.5, 9.5, 9.45) and V. Klimenko (Army) - 112.7 (9.4, 9.2, 9.3, 9.25, 9.6, 9.65); 3. A. Maleev (Army) - 110.8 (9.4, 8.75, 9.3, 9.3, 9.3, 9.25); 4. V. Boiko (Army) - 110.45 (9.0, 9.05, 9.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.35); 5. P. Shamugiya (Dinamo) - 109.8 (9.0, 9.2, 9.25, 9.25, 9.5, 8.6); 6. B. Kinev (Dinamo) - 109.8 (9.0, 9.2, 9.25, 9.25, 9.5, 8.6); 7. E. Mikaelyan (Burevestnik) - 109.575; 8. A. Sedykh (Army) - 109.525; 9. V. Marchenko (Dinamo) - 109.4; 10. V. Fogel (Army) and G. Bogdanov (Army) - 109.375.
V. GOLUBEV and E. SEROV