Sovetsky Sport. December 15, 1989. Still fresh in my memory are the unforgettable moments of the tense dispute over thousandths of a point between Soviet and Romanian gymnasts at the XXIV Olympic Games. The quintessence of the dramatic struggle: Elena Shushunova's face, concentrated beyond recognition, before the ice-cold step on the way to the Olympic medal, the jubilation already in the all-around champion and the eyes of the Romanian gymnast Daniela Silivas, full of tears. It was recently. It was...a long time ago.
In stark pose, the Seoul tournament was 'the final stage of the Olympic cycle.' Last winter, a detailed analysis of the gymnasts' performance was carried out, positive and negative aspects of preparation were identified, and appropriate adjustments were made. And now that the first season of the next Olympic cycle has ended, what are its results?
A lot has changed in the women's national team. After the Olympics, the team was headed by Merited Coach of the USSR Alexander Alexandrov. Elena Shushunova, Oksana Omelyanchik, and Elena Shevchenko finished their performances on the national team.
The year has been difficult. The international calendar was designed in such a way that gymnasts had to compete in two major tournaments - the European and world championships.
The challenge of this stage was that it was necessary to solve a number of methological and psychological problems. On the one hand, it was necessary to maintain the gymnats' confidence in their abilities, to set them up to maintain the title of the strongest in the world. On the other hand, it was to keep the national team from such a strong factor as 'winner's psychology,' from being somewhat complacent about what they had achieved. It was reasonable to assume that the Romanian gymnasts would work hard to regain the title of the world's strongest in 1987 in the team and all-around championships.
The attitude was as follows: the leading position can be maintained only through the development of original programs, rich in elements of maximum difficulty with the highest level of performance skill and stability.
To ensure this strategic link, head coach A. Alexandrov made serious adjustments to the gymnasts' training system. In this case, the emphasis was placed in increasing the level of training and competition endurance.
We waited with special attention for the first official competition after the Olympics: the European Championship. The absence of Shushunova increased the chances of the Romanian gymnasts. Therefore, the strongest athletes from Romania - Daniela Silivas, Gabriela Potorac, and young Cristina Bontas - were included in the mini-team but the triumph still remained with Sveta Boginskaya. The spectators were convinced that a new leader of not only Soviet but also world gymnastics had appeared on the gymnastics platform. A confident, elegant manner of performance, combined with the originality of the composition of the exercises, ensured S. Boginskaya the title of European champion and two gold medals (in the vault and in the floor exercise).
A schoolgirl from Kirovgrad, Olesya Dudnik, announced herself for the first time. This charming athlete amazed everyone with her unique program on the balance beam; she won the title of European champion in this event. In general, the success of all Soviet gymnasts was obvious: they won four gold medals, one silver, and one bronze each.
The following should be noted. The level of performance skills of Romanian and Soviet gymnasts is very high. The difference in scores was thousandths of a point. The slightest glitch could lead to the loss of a medal. Despite the fierce competition, we did not take the path of reducing the complexity of our programs. This was the decisive factor in the dispute for the gold.
In October, Stuttgart hosted the main tournament of the season - the world championship. In its intensity, the world championship differs from the two-day continental championship as a sprint distance from a marathon. Nine days of exhaustive struggle, nine days of anxiety and hope. I will focus on comparing the results of this championship with the Olympics.
Over the last three years, for the first time, we were ahead of the Romanian gymnasts in terms of the total number of points (according to the Olympic system): 52 v. 42.5. In 1987 they were 49 and 56, respectively. In 1988 - 45 and 47.5.
At the Olympics, our average score in the compulsory program was 9.867. At the world championships, the new program was completed with an average score of 9.903. In the optional program, the level of skill of the gymnasts is simply amazing. The average score in the team championship was 9.95! Of course, as always, the question arises about the rigor and objecctivity of the judging. There were inevitable ups and downs at this tournament. For now, we can't get away from this, even with six judges for each event. At the Olympics, women had sixteen 10s, in Stuttgart - eighteen. Boginskaya had five 10s (as did D. Silivas), O. Dudnik and N. Laschenova - three each.
At the world championship, our gymnasts demonstrated the highest difficulty of their programs. O. Dudnik had the largest number of super-difficult elements from Group D in total: ten. S. Boginskaya had seven such elements, Olga Strazheva had six, and the rest of our gymnasts had five each. Of the international athletes, the highest difficulty is from C. Bontas - six. The programs of the remaining gymnasts, including D. Silivas, contain three or four elements from Group D.
Where else is our progress noticeable? We returned the love of the audience for the floor exercise show. As in the best years, the arena stood spellbound and exploded with applause after each time our athletes appeared on the mat. Our routines, as always, had a lot of difficulty. But this time the competitions, musical composition, and performance were a revelation for the audience and judges. They were amazed by the variety, versatility, imagery: a cheerful, mischievous routine by Lena Sazonenkova, a femininely lyrical tango by Sveta Baitova, a dynamically flexible dance by Natasha Laschenova, a modern composition with a touch of cowboy daring by Sveta Boginskaya, and dramatic notes by Olya Strazheva. Believe me, this is a new word in women's gymnatics, this is a return to the wonderful traditions of the golden days of our sport.
Don't we have any competitors in sight? On the contrary, they made themselves known in Stuttgart. Young C. Bontas took fourth place in the all-around, won a silver medal in the vault and a bronze medal on the floor. The Chinese gymnasts were amazing. In Seoul they scored only one point and shared seventh place. At this championship they won one gold (uneven bars), one bronze medal (all-around) and, having scored 19 points, took third place. The Chinese women were distinguished by their very technical work on the uneven bars. The US gymnasts continue to hold their positions with ten points (fourth place).
Gymnasts from the GDR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland lost their positions sharply.
Gymnastics becomes more attractive and feminine. There are fewer and fewer 'dolls' with mechanical, memorized movements in different teams. The new aesthetics are charming, slender, well-proportioned girls. Yes, modern training methods have made it possible for tall athletes to master difficult elements. The gymnastics department of the USSR State Sports Committee recommends taking these trends into account when selecting girls for specialized sports schools.
The USSR women's national team successfully began a new Olympic cycle. There are still many difficulties and problems ahead, but I believe that the strategy and tactics for training gymnasts have been chosen correctly.
L. CHERESHNEVA, master of sports, candidate of pedagogical science