Sovetsky Sport. August 24, 1984. I love the friendly atmosphere among athletes, judges, and coaches that has developed at these well-organized competitions. We saw many outstanding gymnasts who determind the progress of this popular sport, primarily in the teams of the USSR, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Without them, any competition loses its significance.
So said John Atkinson, senior coach of the British national team, who came with a group of his athletes to the Friendship-84 tournament in the Czechoslovakian city of Olomouc. He did not hide his admiration and named the names of the gymnasts he liked - Olga Mostepanova, Vladimir Artemov, and Dmitry Bilozerchev.
Our conversation with the guest from Great Britain took place in those minutes when the strongest men's team began their performance in the Winter Stadium in Olomouc, competing in the optional program for medals. It was a great evening! We saw such an interesting performance. And right away - about the main thing. In one breath, boldly and confidently, the USSR men's team completed all six events of the program, won five of them (except for floor exercises) and was noticeably ahead of the rest of the teams in the overall standings.
Perhaps the numbers speak the best. So here it is. D. Bilozerchev managed to pass without a hitch on this day on the pommel horse, rings, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. Everywhere - 10 points. A student from Vladimir, V. Artemov, was awarded such a rare score three times - on pommel horse, rings, and vault. Yu. Balabanov received 10 on the high bar.
Let us immediately note that this trio reached the finals for the all-around championship. And more of the other scores were marginal. Only once did our team experience a slight loss, when debutant A. Tumilovich slightly missed the mark on high bar, receiving "only" 9.4 points. But this misfire didn't affect the performance of the USSR national team. Alexander's teammates more than made up for this loss.
"I am pleased with the performance of my athletes on the apparatus. The results speak for themselves. More specifically, I would like to note the performance of our guys on the horizontal bar. In a difficult situation, when the first routine didn't work out, they didn't show any sign of disappointment. They presented a cascade of difficult elements to the audience, surprising them with unique combinations executed extremely beautifully."
This is how senior coach of the USSR men's team Leonid Arkaev commented on the outcome of these competitions.
If we continue the topic raised by the mentor of our guys then, apparently, we need to mention the press conference that took place late in the evening after our team was awarded for first place and the national teams of the GDR and Bulgaria for second and third. The idea was voiced that in Olomouc gymnastics showed icomparably more new combinations and elements than other athletes did at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On this occasion, the President of the International Gymnastics Federation, Yu. Titov, said that in Los Angeles he saw only two new elements performed by one of the Japanese masters. Here the arsenal of technical means of modern gymnastics was replenished with several finds at once, performed on a high note.
And now some more statistics and names. I would like to highlight the successful performance of the GDR team. Almost every apparatus has its own highlight, its own leader. It is no coindicence that H. Behrendt, R. Bruckner, and S. Kroll received 10 points each in the optional program. The second place of this team is fully justified. Moreover, GDR athletes have a good chance of success in the all-around competition. Having confidently performed in the optional program, the Bulgarian team took third place.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
Druzhba-84 international gymnastics tournament. Olomouc.
Team results for men. 1. URS - 590.30; 2. GDR - 584.4; 3. BUL - 479.4; 4. HUN - 579.15; 5. TCH - 578.3; 6. CUB - 578.15.
Individual competition. 1. D. Bilozerchev (URS) - 119.0 9.9, 10, 10, 9.95, 10, 10); 2. V. Artemov (URS) - 118.75 (9.85, 10, 10, 10, 9.9, 9.8); 3. Yu. Balabanov (URS) - 117.55 (9.85, 9.75, 9.9, 9.95, 9.9, 10); 4. D. Guczochy (HUN) - 116.95; 5. U. Hoffmann (GDR) - 116.9; 6. H. Behrendt (GDR) - 116.9 ... 8. S. Martsinkiv (URS) - 116.95 ... 12. A. Tumilovich (URS) - 116.45 ... 18. A. Pogorelov (URS) - 115.85.