Sovetsky Sport. August 29, 1974. Vilnius (our special correspondents). After the compulsory program at the USSR Cup in gymnastics, two athletes are leading - Lyudmila Turischeva and Olga Korbut. They have 37.9 points each.
The first day was an ultra-marathon: the competition lasted from 9am to midnight, almost without a break.
It was clear in advance that the traditional duel between Turischeva and Korbut would be the highlight of these competitions, and that Turischeva would finally be beaten - the main and fundamental task of Korbut. It was obvious that Olga was restless: red cheeks, a detached look, and a particularly excitable workout. No one saw Turischeva's warm-up - she and coach V. Rastorotsky went to the second floor of the sports palace, away from prying eyes.
When they appeared in front of the audience, the results of the gymnasts of the previous shift were known. We know that Nelli Kim failed on the balance beam and vault, and that two athletes from Georgia looked better than the other gymnasts - Rusudan Sikharulidze and Nina Dronova. Both of them performed unsuccessfully at the USSR championship in Rostov-on-Don, but here they shone. Sikharulidze looked even brighter and more artistic than usual, and Nina was simply radiant. She has already managed, with her charming spontaneity, to tell everyone behind the scenes how she managed to lose weight by observing a strict diet, and how she is now afraid that she will be judged from the platform.
Turischeva's first event is beam. 9.3 points. The best score on that apparatus so far is S. Grodzova - 9.4. Korbut gets 9.65 on the uneven bars. How will Turischeva behave now, giving her opponent such a head start? She glanced at the scoreboard near the bars, and not a single muscle on her face trembled.
But the sporting excitement engulfed her completely when she performed on floor - in a class by herself - to Mozart's Symphony in G Minor. Just at that moment Olga was on the beam. There was an explosion of applause for Lyudmila and for her score - 9.7, the highest of the day (only Saadi repeated it in the optional program), which could have thrown a person weaker than Korbut from the narrow beam. But she turned pale only a little. The score - 9.4. After two apparatus, Korbut is only 0.05 ahead.
Here Turischeva failed on the vault - 9.3. Korbut took to the carpet - the Olympic champion on floor exercise. It's not enough to say that the little actress tried with all her might: she played all the keys, so to speak, turned the piano into pianissimo, and forte into fortissimo. However, the acrobatics were not as high as usual, and the score of course needs a judging conference. Here is what the floor judge, international category A. S. Anikina, said verbatim: "Korbut walked on her hands in the handstand position and practically slipped through the standing position. This is almost a gross mistake."
She got ready for the vault, and earned a 9.5 in her second attempt for an excellent landing with a smile. Turischeva, having slightly blurred the ending on the uneven bars, received 9.6. And so it happened that by the end of the compulsory round, two of our leaders were in a draw. But this heated draw was so fierce that it is quite clear: neither of them are satisfied with such a situation.
It remains for us to add that the Olympic champion Saadi fell off the balance beam (8.85), but success on the floor exercise helped her out somewhat. And her friend on the Moscow team L. Bogdanova performed below her abilities and now shares ninth place with a gymnast from Kazakhstan, L. Builova, and S. Kudinova from Belorussia. A few words about the last girl. This is the third pupil (after Petrik and Lazakovich) of V. Dmitriev, whom he brings to the big gymnastic world. And on the days when their native Vitebsk is celebrating its 1,000th anniversary, it's especially pleasant to mention this.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR Cup in gymnastics. Vilnius, 27 August. Compulsory Program. Men. 1. Andrianov (RSFSR) - 56.65 (9.3, 9.25, 9.5, 9.5, 9.5, 9.6); 2. Klimenko (MOS) - 56.05 (9.2, 9.2, 9.45, 9.35, 9.4, 9.45); 3. A. Maleev (BLR) - 55.95 (9.3, 9.15, 9.5, 9.4, 9.35, 9.25) and E. Mikaelyan (ARM) - 55.95 (9.4, 9.1, 9.5, 9.3, 9.2, 9.45); 5. Marchenko (RSFSR) - 55.75; 6. Shamugiya (GEO) - 55.6. Team standings. 1. Belorussia - 276.65; 2. RSFSR 1 - 276.6; 3. Moscow - 274.8
Women. 1. Korbut (BLR) - 37.9 (9.5, 9.65, 9.4, 9.35) and Turischeva (RSFSR) - 37.9 (9.3, 9.6, 9.3, 9.7); 3. Sikharulidze (GEO) - 37.4 (9.3, 9.4, 9.05, 9.65); 4. Grozdova (RSFSR) - 37.35; 5. Dronova (GEO) - 37.25; 6. Saadi (MOS) and Gorbik (BLR) - 37.2. Team standings. 1. Belorussia - 185.8;2. RSFSR 1 - 185.2; 3. Moscow - 183.1.
V. GOLUBEV and S. TOKAREV