Leninskaya Smena. December 6, 1978. She stood by the uneven bars, crying. For Ira, the bars are the most difficult apparatus because she still lacks the necessary height. She doesn't always execute certain elements cleanly; sometimes she slips or falls... But right now, she wasn't crying from pain - she was crying out of anger at herself, at her failure.
Her coached walked over to Irina. They exchanged a few whispered words, and a smile broke across the young gymnast's face, shining through her still-damp tears. She nodded quickly and, with a slight leap, sprang onto the bars. Once again, the dizzying somersaults, flips, handstands, and dismounts began - in short, her usual routine.
Three years ago, a father led an eight-year-old girl by the hand into the gym. She examined the new people with quiet curiosity, looked around, and touched the equipment - "What's this?"- the balance beam, the parallel bars, the vaulting horse...
"You know, we didn't take her at first," says Yakov Markovich Babushkin, Irina Breigina's head coach. "She seemed somewhat stiff; she lacked flexibility and was afraid of the gymnastics apparatus. Yet, there was something about her that made us want to take a closer look and give it a try. You see, she really wanted to train. And in our line of work, desire counts for a great deal. Ira loves sports - loves gymnastics - boundlessly. She is also incredibly hardworking. We might spend a whole month struggling to perfect a single element, and Ira won't back down - unlike so many others."
Just six months later, Irina made a name for herself. She quickly joined the ranks of the top competitors and began participating in tournaments. Her first major success came a year ago, when she won two medals at the annual All-Kazakhstan competition for young gymnasts. And now, the national junior championship.
When they were preparing to travel to Leningrad, the coaches had already set a minimum goal: Irina Breigina was expected to place among the top ten - or, ideally, the top five. After all, the competition field was formidable. Then came the first day of the competition. The uneven bars - the most difficult apparatus - were up first. She scored a 9.1. Not bad! She received a 9.25 for her balance beam routine. That score immediately put Irina in the lead, a position she held until the very end.
But on the second day, a mishap occurred. During the warm-up on the floor, while attempting a double somersault, the girl made a mistake and landed, hitting her face painfully against the mat.
"My heart sank when she fell," recounts Yakov Markovich. "She got up, tears streaming down her face. 'Well,' I thought, 'that's it...' I took her by the hand and led her behind the platform. Somehow, I managed to calm her down and convince her that the fall was just a pure accident."
As it turned out, the coach had worried in vain. Irina performed brilliantly on the second day of competition as well, and even on the balance beam - the most treacherous of the apparatuses, which she faced last - she scored 9.1 points.
"That was when the wonderful qualities of her character shone through - resilience, fearlessness, and the will to win," Babushkin continues. "We coaches, sitting on the bench, broke into a cold sweat more than once. But she... Not a trace of nervousness; her eyes showed total focus. She's a remarkable girl - there's no doubt about that!"
Yes, a major success has been achieved. Irina took first place in the junior division at the USSR youth championships - held to mark the 60th anniversary of the Komsomol - and also received a certificate for winning the floor exercise event at the same competition. And just recently, more joyful news arrived: the eleven-year-old Spartak athlete from Alma-Ata has been named to the USSR youth national team...
Gymnastics is a very demanding sport today. Great importance is placed on the complexity of the elements, and the more effortlessly and naturally they are performed, the higher the score the athlete receives. Yet, that ease of execution is the result of grueling, persistant training - effort put in not only by the athlete but also by her coaches. Irina Breigina's victory owes much to the contributions of her coaches - Ya. Babushkin, O. Mataganova, and A. Grebenyukov - as well as the teachers at Alma-Ata Secondary School No. 8, where the young gymnast attends classes.
At home, admidst the trophies, medals, and certificates she has won at various competitions, Irina keeps a one-kopek coin. She found it on the street, lying heads up. Best of luck in your competitions, Irina!
S. STEPANOV