Sovetsky Sport. April 10, 1975. The fifth Riga-75 international gymnastics tournament began in the capital of Latvia, in which athletes from twenty-two countries participated. The main prize, the amber horse, was won by Hiroshi Kajiyama (Japan).
All the gymnasts from the Moscow News tournament went to Riga. The Soviet team introduced new members. Eduard Mikaelyan from Yerevan, Vladimir Safronov from Lvov, Nikolai Fedorenko from Minsk, Paata Shamugiya from Tbilisi, and Vladiir Tikhonov from Grozny performed.
The Course of the Competition
After two rotations, Shigeru Kasamatsu and Hiroshi Kajiyama took the lead. All four Japanese gymnasts performed vaults much better than they did in Moscow. The world champion showed a Tsukahara with a twist; however, they weren't particularly impressive. Shindo Shiraishi performed a 540-degree twist. The Japanese are noticeably ahead on this event. Now we have seen that our rivals are performing a Tsukahara with a twist - this is already progress. Takeshi Kume didn't warm up a piked front somersault but performed it in the competition. This means that the Japanese are learning the most difficult flights over the vault.
What about our guys? Tikhonov almost wrecked his routine on the parallel bars. Mikaelyan, who had a good routine on the high bar, spoiled his dismount. Shamiguya flew out of bounds after his final triple twist on floor exercises. Fedorenko suddenly twisted his ankle and couldn't continue the competition. Yes, the start was discouraging. But...
New Items on the Platform
Safronov performed a triple somesault dismount from the high bar. Shamugiya and Kajiyama performed a triple twist on the floor exercise. Czechoslovakian gymnast Jiri Tabak performed a double front somersault on floor exercise. All of these items are quite unique! I can't even believe that gymnastics is moving forward so quickly...
The Score
It was given by Merited Master of Sports Valery Kerdemelidi: "So we have waited for this moment. Previously, everyone was delighted when something 'double' was done. And now the word 'triple' is becoming fashionable. Is there a limit to difficulty? Well, maybe. It's possible to twist a somersault on the high bar, and a triple somersalt may be 'diluted' with a twist. However, this won't happen soon. The 'monopoly' of a single person quickly becomes the property of many. But I'm not advocating a senseless increase in difficulty. We want to see the trick in gymnastics, and not gymnastics for the sake of tricks. Kajiyama twisted a triple on the floor - it was a beautiful sight, what purity and technique. Like it or not, but such a beautiful trick will get an extre mark. Safronov is a daredevil, that's all I will say. His dismount has not yet been perfected, but it's not a gimmick."
The Course of the Competition
After five rotations, Kajiyama was in first place with 47.55. Kasamatsu was behind by 0.1, and Safronov was in third with 46.65, with Shiraishi pursuing him. Kume also pulled himself up. The Japanese were cheerful; they generally don't know how to hide their joy when they succeed. Only Kasamatsu, apparently, was twitching. He hardly warmed up and worked on his nerves.
Mikaelyan didn't tumble very well, and got tied up on pommel horse and parallel bars. He suffered a lot. He didn't challenge Kajiyama (Eduard was sixth in Varna, and the Japanese was fourth), but Mikaelyan was in a serious mood. Unfortunately, he misfired.
The final apparatus for the Japanese was the rings. Here, neither Kasamatsu nor Kajiyama looked their best. Their strength elements looked weak. Kasamatsu again lost to his friend. Thus, Hiroshi Kajiyama became the all-around winner. Safronov, no matter how hard he tried on the parallel bars, could not score above 9.15. It was then that Shiraishi overtook him.
The Score
This time the Japanese gymnasts looked convincing against the background of our guys. In principle, none of them showed anything supernatural, but their stability turned out to be better. The Japanese again showed their purity of execution and ease.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
V Riga-75 international gymnastics competition. Riga. April 8. Men. Optional program. All-around. 1. H. Kajiyama (JPN) - 56.8; 2. S. Kasamatsu (JPN) - 56.55; 3. S. Shiraishi (JPN) and V. Safronov (URS) - 55.8; 5. T. Kume (JPN) - 55.5; 6. P. Shamugiya (URS) - 55.45.