Pure gym nerdery. That’s what we have here.  In 1975, the FIG reprinted an article that analyzed three Tsukahara vaults by three gymnasts: Lyubov Bogdanova, Ludmilla Tourischeva, and Alina Goreac. It includes drawings and tables that compare every fraction of a second of their vaults. Context: Keep in mind that, in 1973, when the aforementioned vaults were performed, Tsukaharas were relatively new. Tsukahara himself performed the vault at the 1970 World Championships. Two years later, at the Riga International, East German gymnast Beate Gehrke did one of the first Tsukaharas in women’s ar ..read more

Batman and Robin. Simon and Garfunkel. Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Abbott and Costello. Bert and Ernie. Nadia and Teodora. Nadia Comăneci and Teodora Ungureanu form one of the most iconic duos in gymnastics history — partly because of video footage like this: And photos like this one: (Original Caption) Romania’s brilliant young gymnast Nadia Comaneci, (front), and her teammate Theodora Ungureanu, who is almost as good as Nadia, enjoy a break from training at the boarding school they and other members of their Olympic team attend. The curtain was parted and you could get a glimpse of their life ..read more

After the 1974 World Championships in Varna, Stanislav Tokarev, Sovetsky Sport’s special correspondent in Varna, took a step back and reflected on the trends in men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics. In so doing, he asked a question that the gymnastics community continues to ask itself 50 years later: Should participation at major competitions be limited to only the best of the best?  Tokarev rejoiced in seeing up-and-coming gymnastics programs participate in Varna, and he criticized the FIG’s qualification process for the 1976 Olympics, which would limit the number of teams in Montréal ..read more

For over three decades Czechoslovakia was a powerhouse in the world of women’s artistic gymnastics. From 1936 until 1968, Czechoslovak women’s artistic gymnasts always won at least one medal at the Olympics, and, except for 1950, from 1934 to 1970, they won at least one medal at the World Championships. (Czechoslovakia did not attend the 1950 World Championships.) In 1972, that streak ended. No Czechoslovak gymnast won a medal in Munich, which led to much soul-searching. Two years later, at the 1974 World Championships, the winds of fortune changed, and Czechoslovakia was on the podium once ag ..read more

The Japanese men were unable to dominate on the final day of competition in Varna — in part because Kasamatsu withdrew from several events. As clear as the Japanese won team and individual victories, they could not assume this dominant role in the apparatus final, especially as Kasamatsu had to forego competing on rings, parallel bars, and high bar due to a shoulder injury. Neues Deutsches Turnen, No. 12, 1974 So klar die Japaner Mannschafts-und Einzelsieg erkämpften — im Gerätefinale konnten sie diese dominierende Rolle nicht spielen, zumal Kasamatsu an den Ringen, am Barren und am Reck weg ..read more

Context: At the 1972 Olympics, only three countries (the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Hungary) were represented in the women’s event finals, and only two countries won medals (the Soviet Union and East Germany). At the 1974 World Championships, five countries (the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary) were represented during the women’s event finals, and three countries won medals (the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia). Though there was slightly more diversity in 1974, some things did not change. Just as the uneven bars final was highly contentious ..read more

In 1974, Kasamatsu Shigeru became only the second Japanese gymnast to win the all-around title at the World Championships. (Kenmotsu won it in 1970.) However, his win was not without controversy. With only 0.125 separating Kasamatsu and Andrianov, some thought that Kasamatsu should have won while others thought that Andrianov should have won. As we’ll see, much of the coverage focused on what happened during the last rotation on October 26, 1974. Datum: 26.10.1974 Copyright: imago/Sven Simon Shigeru Kasamatsu (Japan) – Reck; quer, Flugelement, Froschperspektive, unten Weltmeisterschaft 1974, G ..read more

In 1974, Ludmilla Tourischeva won her second-straight all-around title at the World Championships and proved what some, including head coach Larisa Latynina, believed to be true: Tourischeva would always trump Korbut in the all-around. One month before the World Championships, the Soviet magazine Yunost published an article about Tourischeva and Korbut. Here’s an excerpt: “Can Korbut finally win against Tourischeva?” they ask. My answer is: “No, she can’t.” On one apparatus – sure she can. On two. On three. But not in the big all-around with twelve apparatus (three times four), where the main ..read more

In 1974, not much changed in terms of the top standings. Japan won its fourth-straight team title, the Soviet Union won its fourth-straight team silver at the World Championships, and East Germany won its third-straight team bronze at the World Championships.  That said, it wasn’t a boring competition by any stretch of the imagination. Innovation was flourishing in men’s gymnastics. For example: Bernd Jäger adapted Karin Janz’s salto for high bar, performing the now-famous Jäger release.  Nikolai Andrianov did a triple back off high bar.  Both he and his teammate Vladimir March ..read more

The 1974 World Championships maintained the status quo. In Munich in 1972, the Soviet team came in first, the East German team in second, and the Hungarian team in third. The same was true in Varna in 1974. But there were some surprises, primarily from the Romanian team. At the 1972 Olympics, they were sixth, finishing 7.55 points behind the third-place Hungarians. Two years later, they were fourth, finishing only 1.30 points behind the third-place Hungarians. And, as the European gymnastics community knew full well, the Romanians were going to pose a challenge in the future thanks to a young ..read more