Sovetsky Sport. July 18, 1975. On the third day of the gymnastic competition, the champions of the Spartakiad in the women's team championship were determined - the Belarus team: O. Korbut, L. Gorbik, A. Zelenko, N. Zelenkova, A. Koshel, S. Kudinova, L. Savina, and N. Khomutova. In second place was the Moscow team, and in third was the team from the Russian Federation.
Olga Korbut is the leader in the individual competition.
First, a word from the team captains.
Olga Korbut, Belarusian team captain: We are so happy that we won the Spartakiad again. Before the start, we got together, and I didn't say anything special to the girls, I just askd them to perform cheerfully, as if it wasn't dificult for them. And I felt better when I saw how they were trying.
Elvira Saadi, Moscow team captain: Our team is very young and very harmonious. Usually I try not to watch other girls perform. I definitely need to focus. But now I could not withdraw into myself, and I didn't want to. The duty of the captain required me to help the gymnasts. And you know, 15-year-old Marina Lev, a calm and such a sweet girl, gave confidence to us all.
Lyudmila Turischeva, RSFSR team captain: We have never had such a young team. We could have taken second place, but on the last event - bars - there were breakdowns. Almost all of our gymnasts are promising: Tonya Glebova, Galya Serkova, Marina Ostanina, and Lena Primak.
The Course of the Fight. Nellie Kim, who performed during the day, showed enviable stability in the optional program. Her score turned out to be very high, and she could only wait for what position she would take going into the final. Everyone already knew that Olga Korbut would show a number of new elements. On the day of podium training, she made no secrets of this - she famously performed a double somersault on the floor and several times performed a 'moon salto' dismount from the beam. Her coach Renald Knysh told me a month ago that Olga was not interested in performing with old routines and that she was happy to learn new elements. Moreover, Knysh assured us that Olya would show only part of her future Olympic program at the Spartakiad. Tamara Alekseeva, Knysh's wife and assistant (Renald Ivanovich himself fell ill and did not come to Leningrad), said that Korbut was training at full strength and was an example for her teammates. With joy and courage, the Olympic champion led the Belarusian team. This evening she succeeded. On the uneven bars, we saw a very difficult flight after her famous 'loop,' and a breathtaking moon salto. There was also a premiere of floor exercises to a Russian melody. And Olya is saving the double somersault for the final...
Lyudmila Turischeva quite calmly tried to repel Korbut's attacks, but this time she did not have a clear handwriting. Mistakes on the beam and floor alienated Lyuda from Korbut more and more. The old Turischeva only shined on bars. But the score was low - only 9.45. What's the matter? "The judges took off 0.3 for the fact that I performed a dismount from the compulsory program. At the warm-up, I didn't have a pirouette, so I decided to simplify the dismount, forgetting that this can't be done..."
TECHNICAL RESULTS
Leningrad. 16 July. Women. Sum of compulsory and optional programs. Finals scores are in brackets; order of events - VT, UB, BB, FX. 1. O. Korbut (BLR) - 76.95 (9.6, 9.8, 9.75, 9.75); 2. N. Kim (KAZ) - 76.25 (9.5, 9.6, 9.65, 9.7); 3. L. Turischeva (RSFSR) - 76.2 (9.75, 9.45, 9.35, 9.5); 4. L. Gorbik (BLR) - 75.85; 5. E. Saadi (MOS) - 75.8; 6. R. Bichukina (MOS) - 75.1; 7. L. Bogdanova (MOS) - 75.75; 8. E. Svetlova (LEN) - 73.95.
Team results. 1. Belorussia - 447.45; 2. Moscow - 445.5; 3. RSFSR - 442.75; 4. Leningrad - 438.95; 5. Ukraine - 435.25; 6. Kazakhstan - 434.1; 7. Uzbekistan - 432.5; 8. Georgia - 430.85.
S. TOKAREV