Sovetsky Sport. December 3, 1983. An account by Merited Coach of the USSR Vladimir Aksyonov about his pupil Olga Mostepanova, featuring expert commentary and lyrical digressions by the journalist.
V. Aksyonov: In 1975, I moved with Elya Saadi from Tashkent to Moscow, and we continued to prepare for the Montreal Olympics. Naturally, I knew that Elvira would leave the platform after Montreal and, like every coach, I often thought about my future fate. I looked at the little girls who were chattering in our huge Dinamo gym, and tried to understand myself: "Will I be able to start all over again, will I be able to raise another champion?"
Training with Saadi took up all my time, there was not a moment of rest, and yet I willingly cast glances at the other end of the gym, where the group of Anna Semyonovna Anikina, our wonderful children's coach, was working. One little girl caught my attention - unremarkable in appearance, a little angular, but sharp and lively. And what a beautiful leg lift she had - pure balletic!
She was a mischievous girl with a laugh. She liked to hide on the balcony during warm-ups, and then she would run into the gym, jumping up and down, and twirl her friends around. The kind Anna Semyonovna couldn't scold her, only threaten her with her finger.
Alas, time is relentless - Anikina went into retirement, and her group came to me. Oh, it was a difficult moment - Elvira became a two-time Olympic champion, I then 'basked' in the glory, but I had to plunge headlong into menial work again. In the coaching community, we call working with the little ones rough work, but in general it's a very exciting, exciting thing. I seemed to be rejuvenated, fired up - I took the young gymnasts by their thin hands and carefully led them along the difficult path of gymnastics.
Olya Mostepanova knew something, because she had been training for three years. She started with Gennady Danshin (mom, dad, and daughter were walking around the stadium grounds and looked into the gymnasium, where they happened to be recruiting), then with Anikina. I'm her new coach. I told my students that now we'll have to leave the pranks behind, let's take on more gymnastics. And Olya, already the leader of the group, made me very happy with her attitude to classes. There were almost no whims, but of course I allowed the girls to play around and to play pranks - they were children.
V. Golubev: At the end of April 1980, at our editorial meeting, Nikolai Semyonovich Kiselev, then editor-in-chief of Sovetsky Sport, told us about his trip to London - he headed a delegation of gymnasts to the popular Champions All tournament. Frankly, this was the first time I saw Nikolai Semyonovich so enthusiastic and emotional. When he talked about his favorite figure skaters, his excitement was understandable. But, apparently, the performances of the gymnasts made an amazing impression on Kiselev - we all seemed to personally imagine the thunderous ovation in Wembley Arena for the six Soviet gymnasts and especially Olya Mostepanova, who was loved by the audience.
On May 2, a photograph by the English reporter Arthur Saidy [sic] appeared in the newspaper, which showed Vladimir Aksyonov and Olya, and under it was a small note from Nikolai Semyonovich. He wrote that the Daily Mirror newspaper called Mostepanova "the new Olga," explaining that "Olga the First is the legendary Korbut. And now London has seen Olga the Second - a new star beginning her ascent to the gymnastics crown."
Olya was the youngest and smallest participant in the tournament: she was in the fourth grade, weighed 27.5 kg., and was about 1.30m tall. She took third place in the all-around but won the championship on three events. The London newspaper also noted that in 1973, Aksyonov's best student, Elvira Saadi, won the same competition.
This is how we first met Mostepanova.
Merited Coach of the USSR, Elena Kapitonova, choreographer: I'm very afraid to over-praise Olenka, but believe me, working with her is a great pleasure. I experienced the same joy of creativity in my joint work with Masha Filatova. Olga has several floor routines. But one - Flight of the Bumblebee - shown in London, is the most dear to me so far.
On the floor, Olga is very obedient, attentive, and extremely efficient. She accurately conveys her age and mood through her movements. Flight of the Bumblebee is spontaneity and playfulness. Granada, prepared for the 1982 Junior European Championship, is already a more complex, multi-planed thing. And success - she won silver. In general, she made a good impact: third in the all-around, on the beam, in the vault, and she also got silver on the uneven bars.
And so we continued to search. St. Louis Blues March she premiered at the 1983 Moscow News tournament, and then at competitions in the USA. There was something we didn't like, so we tried a new floor routine to the music of Tchaikovsky. Olya liked the exercise, and this is a new step in her growth. The acrobatics were dramatically difficult - a double somersault with a twist was added. They thought that at the Spartakiad this routine would make an impact, but Olga fell, on the double... I was so upset that I ran out of the arena. Do you think I was offended by Olya? No, I felt sorry for her, because her heel hurt a lot, and I imagined how the girl endures the pain...
V. Golubev: Elena Ivanovna Kapitonova is one of our best choreographers in gymnastics. Her magnificent productions have enriched the national school; many of her compositions have become true masterpieces of the mat. A person of amazing charm and responsiveness, Kapitonova knows how to create not only a creative atmosphere in the gym, but also an atmosphere of mutual trust and tenderness, if you like.
And now let's give the floor to Vladimir Zaglada, candidate of pedagogical sciences, deputy head of the Dinamo department of the Moscow State University. He was the senior coach of the city council for several years, and worked frequently and productively with gymnasts of the youth and main national teams of the country. A master of sports in acrobatics, Zaglada worked closely with coaches and helped master the technique of performing particularly difficult elements. In the national team he was called the 'designer' of novelty.
Vladimir Zaglada: Mostepanova is a phenomenally gifted girl. She has, figuratively speaking, perfect motor skills and amazing coordination of movements. The program for the new pairing is formed instantly in Olya's mind. She has a rare ability to interpret the technique of performing elements in her own way. I remember when Olya was asked to learn the Kolpinsky somersault on the balance beam. She tried it on the floor several times and on the same day could already do the somersault on a low beam. Everyone's mouths were wide open. What about Delchev's somersault on the uneven bars? Mostepanova worked it out first with a late turn, then with an early one, and then found a middle ground. And all this in a short time. Specialists are really interested in these details; this is an accurate description of the gymnast's motor skills.
It's also necessary to say something about Olya's character. She is strong. She endures injuries, and there have been a lot of them.
V. Aksyonov: I won't reveal a big secret, but I'll just say that leading a gymnast along the thorny road of sports is a delicate and extremely difficult matter. Constant attention and control are needed. It's good that Olya's parents help me - Vasily Ivanovich, head of the Ministry of Railways department, and Galina Dmitrievna, an economist. They understand the difficulties, and we work together to find a way out of conflicts which, of course, happen.
Time flies. It flies unnoticed. Olya is already in the 8th grade. She studies seriously and conscientiously. By the way, she's a student at school no. 220, where the wonderful director is Tatiana Ivanovna Petrakova, and where Olya Bicherova, Dima Bilozerchev, and other young athletes study. She has begun to read more - one could say with gusto. Olya has interesting opinions about gymnastics, about her routines, about music. This person is growing!
Andrei Radionenko, head coach of the USSR women's team: Olya Mostepanova is the world champion on the balance beam and in the team competition, the silver medalist in the all-around and floor exercises. Success? Yes. Unexpected? No, they were planned. Olga has acquired psychological stability, so her results can be predicted. Despite the fact that this season was difficult for Mostepanova (a noticeable increase in her height and weight, injuries, pain in her foot, the transition to leather grips, and this influenced the change in her technique of performing on the uneven bars), she approached the world championship at a high level of readiness. Olya has enormous opportunities for growth and improvement. In Budapest, she felt the taste of real struggle, and this passion captured and mobilized her. An excellent quality!
V. Golubev: The readers have gotten to know Olya Mostepanova better. Of course, much of the trainer's story remained behind the scenes - fragments of her performance, curious arguments, and her passion for dogs, pins, fairy tales, and dancing. But I hope this is not the last story about the young gymnast who continues to rise in gymnastics.
V. GOLUBEV