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Gymnastics History – Meets, Results, and Ephemera from the Past
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1952 Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary MAG WAG

1952: A Tri Meet between Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary

In the April of 1952, two of the world’s gymnastics powerhouses—Hungary and Czechoslovakia—faced off during Hungary’s Liberation Day competition. The Hungarian men’s and women’s teams emerged victorious. 

But the pre-Olympics rivalry didn’t end there. Weeks later, the two nations met again, this time in Prague, with Bulgaria joining the fray for a tri-nation showdown. Once again, Hungary reigned supreme, besting Czechoslovakia in a decisive repeat performance.

On the women’s side, the ongoing duel between Hungarian stars Ágnes Keleti and Margit Korondi continued, with Keleti winning the all-around—one more twist in a season-long back-and-forth between the two. But it was on the men’s side that perhaps the biggest revelation emerged: Bulgaria’s Stoyan Koev surprised the competition by claiming second place in the all-around.

Agnes Keleti, 1956
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1952 Czechoslovakia MAG WAG

1952: The Results of the Czechoslovak National Championships

By May of 1952, when Czechoslovakia held its national championships, the writing was on the wall: Czechoslovakia’s once-dominant women’s gymnastics team was no longer the force it had been four years prior. At the Helsinki Olympics, the defending Olympic champions wouldn’t be the ones to beat. At best, they would be the third-best team. (During Hungary’s Liberation Day competition in April, the Czechoslovak women took second to the Hungarian women, whom the Soviet Union had defeated during a dual meet.)

The Czechoslovak men’s team still had its stalwarts in 1952. The country’s two Olympic medalists from London 1948 were still in the mix. Zdeněk Růžička, a bronze medalist on rings and floor in London, took home the rings title at the 1952 national championships in Humpolec. Meanwhile, Leo Sotorník, who had tied for bronze on vault in 1948, soared to gold on his signature event in the lead-up to Helsinki.

Below, you can find the results of the 1952 national championships. Unfortunately, the newspapers of the time did not add much commentary about the competition.

Ferdinand Daniš, via GYMmedia
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1952 Japan MAG

1952: Japan’s Qualifications and Preparations for the Helsinki Olympics

In 1952, Japanese gymnasts returned to the Olympic Games after World War II. Even though they were not the dominant team that today’s gymnastics fans know and (perhaps) love, they won four individual medals (two silver and two bronze medals) in Helsinki.

Below, you’ll find a portion of the chapter authored by Sasano Toshihiko for Japan’s Official Report on the Olympic Games. It includes the results from the trials before the Olympics, the selection procedures, and the team’s preparations before the Olympic Games. As you’ll see, the Japanese men had “exhaustive” pommel horse practice.

Enjoy the translation below, and check out those landing mats in the image from Helsinki. I wouldn’t want to land on those. Ouch.

HELSINKI, FINLAND – JULY 21: Tadao Uesako of Japan competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Men’s Horse Vault apparatus final during the Helsinki Summer Olympic Games at Messuhalli on July 21, 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
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1952 Hungary MAG WAG

1952: Keleti and Sántha Win Hungary’s Masters Championships

In June of 1952, with the Helsinki Olympic Games just a month away, Hungary’s top gymnasts faced their final proving ground: the national Masters Championships. Ágnes Keleti successfully defended her title, as did Lajos Sántha on the men’s side. However, Margit Korondi, Keleti’s stiffest competition, was missing from the lineup. Her absence left a lingering question: who would be Hungary’s top all-arounder when the world’s best gymnasts took the stage in Helsinki? (Spoiler: It was not Keleti.)

Here’s what was recorded in the Hungarian newspapers at the time.

Ágnes Keleti, 1956
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1952 Hungary MAG WAG

1952: Korondi Wins Hungary’s Third Olympic Trial

As the 1952 Olympics approached, the Hungarian women’s gymnastics team found itself amid a fierce battle for the coveted spots. A series of four trials* would determine who would represent Hungary on the world stage, and the competition was anything but predictable.

In the opening trial at the 1951 Masters Championships, Ágnes Keleti emerged victorious, with Margit Korondi taking second. But the tide shifted at the second trial, the 1952 Liberation Day competition, where Korondi edged out Keleti for the top spot. By the third trial, Keleti seemed poised to reclaim her lead, holding an advantage after the compulsory routines. However, a stumble in the optional exercises opened the door for Korondi to seize the win and solidify her place as a top contender.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the absence of Lajos Sántha, the 1951 Masters Champion, left an opening for János Klencs to step up and make his mark.

Here are the results and contemporaneous commentary from the penultimate trial for Hungary’s Olympic team.

Margit Korondi, 1956

*Note: Some articles indicate that there were only three trials, but other articles indicate that there were four trials, including the Liberation Day competition.

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1952 Czechoslovakia Hungary MAG WAG

1952: Hungary’s Liberation Day Competition

In 1952, Hungary hosted its Liberation Day competition, a pivotal event for gymnasts vying for a spot in the upcoming Helsinki Olympics. For Hungarian athletes, the competition was more than just a national day to remember the end of German occupation; it was another qualifying meeting for the Helsinki Olympics,* and on the women’s side, the spotlight was once again on the contest between two of Hungary’s brightest stars — Ágnes Keleti or Margit Korondi. The pair flip-flopped in the all-around rankings throughout 1952.

For Czechoslovakia, the event offered a chance to measure their progress against Hungary, another European powerhouse. Hungary’s men had taken third place at the 1948 London Olympics, while the Hungarian women had settled for second, just behind Czechoslovakia’s gold medalists. Would Czechoslovakia be able to hold off Hungary again in Helsinki? (Spoiler alert: No.)

The following are the results of the competition, as reported in Hungary’s national press at the time. (Sources: Népsport, April 6 and 7, 1952)

Margit Korondi (HUN)

*Note: Some newspaper reports include this event as one of Hungary’s qualifying rounds for their Olympic team while others do not.

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1952 Hungary MAG Perfect 10 USSR WAG

1952: Perfect 10s Abound during a Soviet Union vs. Hungary Dual Meet

In 1952, the Soviet national gymnastics team traveled to Hungary for a dual meet that coincided with Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Month. This event turned out to be a bellwether for the 1952 competition season. 

At the time, Hungary’s gymnasts had already proven themselves on the world stage, with the women’s team securing second place and the men’s team finishing third at the 1948 Olympics. 

For the Soviet gymnasts, on the other hand, the Helsinki Olympics were particularly pivotal as it represented their first major international meet organized by the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) — though they had previously competed in non-FIG events like the Workers’ Olympiad. The Soviet team’s outstanding performance at this meet made it clear that they would be strong medal contenders at the upcoming 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

From a gymnastics history perspective, this competition is also fascinating because there were three perfect 10s: one from Medea Jugeli for her compulsory vault, one from Dmytro Leonkin for his compulsory rings routine, and one from Viktor Chukarin for his optional pommel horse routine.

Here’s what else happened during the competition.

USSR. October 15, 1956. Soviet gymnast, two-times all-around Olympic gold winner, Viktor Chukarin.
Dmytro Leonkin
Medea Jugeli
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1951 Hungary MAG Perfect 10 WAG

1951: Keleti Scores a Perfect 10 at the Masters Championships

Between World War I and World War II, Hungary was one of the top gymnastics nations. The Hungarian women’s team finished second at the 1934 World Championships and third at the 1936 Olympics. While the Hungarian men didn’t medal as a team, they had several standout gymnasts, including István Pelle, who achieved a perfect score of 32.00 at the 1930 World Championships. (Prior to WWI, the Hungarian men’s team finished second at the 1912 Olympics.)

In 1948, the Hungarian women finished second while the men finished third. But a curious thing happened in 1950. Hungary allegedly skipped the 1950 World Championships for political reasons. Nevertheless, despite missing the World Championships in Basel, Hungary made a strong return to international gymnastics at the 1952 Olympics. Their trials for the Helsinki Games began in late 1951 with the Masters Championships, where Ágnes Keleti and Lajos Sántha emerged as the winners. (Keleti, a Holocaust survivor, passed away on January 2, 2025, just days shy of her 104th birthday.)

Below, you’ll find the results from the women’s and men’s competitions in 1951, along with commentary on the women’s event.

Ágnes Keleti, 1956
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1952 Compulsories MAG Olympics WAG

1952: The Compulsory Routines for the Helsinki Olympics

What were the compulsory routines for the Olympic Games in Helsinki?

At the time, the compulsories changed every two years. So, the compulsory routines in Helsinki were different from those prescribed for the 1950 World Championships in Basel.

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there aren’t videos of the routines on YouTube. But in this post, you can find the drawings and French text for both the men’s and women’s compulsories.

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1952 Olympics WAG

1952: The Rules for the Women’s Competition at the Helsinki Olympics

In 1952, there wasn’t a Code of Points for women’s artistic gymnastics. The “program” established the rules for participants and judges alike. 

It was a different time. While flying rings disappeared after the 1950 World Championships, ensemble routines with portable hand apparatus remained. Those were done to music, but women’s individual floor exercise was performed in silence. Since deductions were not enumerated in the “program,” there was a two-day training course for all judges prior to the competition, and competitors had to rely on their countries’ judges to inform them about how their routines would be evaluated.

Let’s take a look at some of the rules…

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