Sovetsky Sport. April 17, 1981. LENINGRAD, April 16 (our special correspondent). The Labor Reserves team has won the women's team championships at the USSR Cup in gymnastics. In the individual standings, heading into the all-around finals, Alla Misnik - a schoolgirl from Kharkov - holds the lead with a score of 74.5.
Indeed, a superb team came together at Labor Reserves. This squad claimed victory in the USSR Cup for the very first time. Thanks to the fruitful efforts of coaches such as V. Shumovsky (Kharkov), V. Shishkin (Bryansk), Yu. Tarzanov and A. Selivanov (Moscow), and G. Okrashevsky (Tallinn), the gymnasts from this society finished well ahead of the Dinamo and Armed Forces teams. And the most significant contribution to the team's overall tally was made by two newcomers to the senior stage: Alla Misnik from Kharkov and Tatiana Frolova from Bryansk.
The first post-Olympic season has been rich in discoveries. Young women from the junior national team executed highly difficult routines with both ease and daring. It bears repeating that these young talents - much like their male counterparts - stepped onto the competition floor not to merely replicate the routines of our established masters, but to reveal - without exaggeration - the contours of a new direction in the sport. How much remains unexplored and unexpected within the world of gymnastics! Coaches are actively building up - and creatively reinterpreting - the achievements of previous generations.
For instance, take Alla Misnik's routine on the balance beam. In it, one can discern the long, daring acrobatic combinations first performed by Masha Filatova, the original hand-supported turns once executed by Svetlana Grozdova, and the one-armed handstand with which Natasha Shaposhnikova captivated the judges. And this synthesis of the finest innovations - rendered in her own unique interpretation and executed with flawless precision - yielded a magnificent result: a score of 9.95!
Gymnasts from various teams gave it their all, their every move guided by inspiration. And do you know why? Yuri Titov, President of the International Gymnastics Federation, first informed journalists that members of the FIG Executive Committee had formally confirmed their consent to hold the world championships in Moscow that November. Moments later, the arena announcer made the official announcement. The Sports Palace erupted in applause, and the competitors rushed to embrace one another. Oh, how everyone longed to make the Soviet national team - to compete that autumn in the capital of their homeland! After all, the world championships had been held in Moscow only once before - way back in 1958...
Misnik was not among the leaders for quite some time; after the compulsory program, she sat in eighth place, but during the optional program she began to climb the ranks, leaping up several spots at once. This was not merely because the competitors ahead of her suddenly began making frustrating errors, but also because she was esxcuting unique routines. I can state with confidence: on the uneven bars, Alla performs what is quite possibly the most difficult routine in the world (rated 9.7). I would like to temper my enthusiasm - to avoid making premature predictions or lavishing excessive praise upon a seventh-grader - yet on this evening, she truly won the hearts of everyone present. Such a tiny little thing, yet she carried herself with such dignity; there was not a shadow of nervousness on her pale face. "She's a very sensible girl," remarked her coach, V. Shumovsky.
Since Olympic champion Elena Naimushina received a low score on the uneven bars (9.15), she faced a tough battle for second place. She performed her routines with great expressiveness, infusing every movement with delicate nuances, yet she did make some errors. Consequently, I cannot yet offer an assessment of Lena's new floor exercise composition - which is designed to showcase the gymnast's lyrical gifts - as the finale did not go well (9.2).
Unfortunately, the renowned Tatiana Arzhannikova, Maria Filatova, and Stella Zakharova delivered somewhat inconsistent performances; however - I repeat - on the whole, an atmostphere of festivity and high spirits reigned on the podium. And then, right at the very end of the competition, when the victory of our hockey team over the Canadians was announced, the cheerful girls from Labor Reserves burst into joyful applause. In truth, however, it was already clear that they, too, had achieved an excellent result.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR Cup in gymnastics. Women. Sum of compulsory and optional programs. 1. A. Misnik (Labor Reserves, Kharkov) - 74.5; 2. T. Frolova (Labor Reserves, Bryansk) and E. Naimushina (Dinamo, Krasnoyarsk) - 74.25; 4. E. Polevaya (Dinamo, Gomel) - 73.65; 5. E. Gurina (Army, Moscow) and N. Yurchenko (Dinamo, Rostov-on-Don) - 73.0; 7. A. Babasyan (Profsoyuz, Tbilisi) -72.85; 8. S. Zakharova (Dinamo, Kiev) - 72.75; 9. O. Bicherova (Army, Moscow) - 72.6; 10. N. Prodazhnaya (Labor Reserves, Tallinn) - 72.05.
Team competition. 1. Labor Reserves; 2. Dinamo 1; 3. Army 1.
V. GOLUBEV