Sovetsky Sport. November 17, 1974. Minsk (our correspondent). The second day of the tournament for young gymnasts, dedicated to the Lenin Komsomol, turned out to be calmer than the first. There were fewer failures, falls, and unfortunate surprises. Apparently, the girls got used to the complex situation of big competitions. The age of the participants is in the range of 13-16 years. There are very few gymnasts older than 16 here.
"Well, they are just like little lambs," one of the coaches said about these tiny gymnasts with tenderness in his voice.
These little lambs were terribly excited on the first day. Since the overwhelming majority of them simply have no experience competing, many could not control themselves. The next day the platform became familiar to them, and the judges no longer seemed so formidable. The excitement became manageable and turned from an enemy to an ally.
There is a term in sports psychology - 'interference resistance.' The word is somewhat clumsy, but its meaning is precise: it is the atlete's ability to counteract the influence of the environment that complicates the performance. However, the movements caused by overcoming the small athletes' fright, occurred mainly in the middle ranks of the competition results. They almost did not touch its top lines. I. Tsarik, who took the lead at the start, managed to keep it. This gymnast was not on the minds of the coaches of the national youth team on the first day. Perhaps, the main new quality that she showed at the competition is the acquisition of stability.
Antonina Glebova, who grew up in the wonderful gymnastics areana built in Leninsk-Kuznetsky, under the Mametyev coaches, moved into second place in the all-around. There was no event where Tonya did not show routines of the highest difficulty. None of the gymnasts had such a program, densely saturated with the most difficult elements. This is typical for the school that raised her. Glebova's coaches have chosen their own path in gymnastics. They often take risks, sometimes make mistakes, fail, but do not retreat. Such fidelity to one's principles cannot but inspire respect.
For S. Kudinova from Vitebsk, the season turned out to be difficult and eventful. She feels some fatigue, and her form level is not the highest. But a sufficiently high class allows her to perform consistently even when there is a lack of freshness and it is difficult to concentrate. This also comes from the coaching views and principles of her coach V. Dmitriev.
L. Gorbik and E. Primak, who fell on the uneven bars on the first day, and M. Ostanina pulled themselves up in the second half of the all-around competition. All these gymnasts, in general, despite their youth, are well known. It we talk about the openers of the competition, then probably the first to be mentioned should be Minsker Alla Zelenko. She's an amazing girl - soft, lyrical. The high difficulty fits so organically into her routines that it doesn't strike the eye, it doesn't shout about itself, as it sometimes happens. At the age of 14, she shows signs of maturity, a rare ability to express herself. Of course, it won't be long before we can talk about Alla as an established gymnast, but her talent is undeniable.
Summing up the results of the all-around competition, the head cocah of the national youth team, L. Ivanova, said:
"These competitions gave us the opportunity to see a large group of very young gymnasts. We knew some of them before, and we got to know others better on the Minsk platform. We always remember that behind every little gymnast there is a coach. It is gratifying that we have more and more teachers capable of unraveling the secrets of mastery. The long-standing dispute about what is more important - difficulty or purity of execution - is far from over yet. Probabaly, there is no need to look for an unambiguous answer to this question. It is important that the discussion on this problem is not conducted in empty verbiage, but on the podium."
TECHNICAL RESULTS
All-Union Youth competition dedicated to the Lenin Komsomol. Minsk Palace of Sports. Girls. All-around. 1. I. Tsarik (Avangard) - 75.5; 2. A. Glebova (Burevestnik) - 75.1; 3. S. Kudinova (Dinamo) - 75.0; 4. S. Pozigun (Trud) - 73.45; 5. M. Ostanina (Zenit) - 73.1; 6. A. Zelenko (Soviet Army) - 73.0.
M. SUPONEV