At the 1963 Universiade, Hungary upset the Soviet team, and Larisa Latynina (URS) had to share the all-around gold with Katalin Makray (HUN). Two years later, in Budapest, the Hungarian team once again found itself on top of the podium, and Makray won another medal in the all-around — this time, a bronze. Her teammate Anikó Ducza stood on top of the podium, defeating Galina Burucheva of the Soviet Union by 0.10.
What follows are the results, as well as coverage from the time.
Results
All-Around
| Gymnast | Country | Total |
| 1. Ducza Anikó | HUN | 38.70 |
| 2. Burucheva Galina | URS | 38.60 |
| 3. Makray Katalin | HUN | 38.35 |
| 4. Alekseeva Tamara | URS | 38.30 |
| 5. Shibuya Taki | JPN | 38.00 |
| 6. Furuyama Yasuko | JPN | 37.85 |
| 7. Tolnai Márta | HUN | 37.45 |
Team
| 1. Hungary | 114.95 |
| 2. Soviet Union | 113.80 |
| 3. Bulgaria | 108.95 |
| 4. France | 106.20 |
| 5. Cuba | 104.30 |
| 6. Austria | 101.75 |
Competition Commentary
Note: The competition was split up over two days: vault and bars on the first day and beam and floor on the second day. The gymnasts did not perform compulsory routines.
On the second day, after floor exercise, the Hungarian team overtook the Soviet team. They were a bit nervous when they went to their final event: balance beam.
An exciting calculation took place in the auditorium when the scorers raised their boards for the first time after the exercise of Márta Tolnai.
Will the Hungarians succeed in overtaking the Soviets?
Kálóczi presented a calm competition on the floor, her exercise was received with great applause and a score of 9.55, that is 0.05 more than what Sergeyeva received. The exercise of Makray with Gershwin’s music with saltos also brought success, and Anikó Ducza performed last with her beautifully executed exercise with valuable saltos.
Already on floor, we have caught up to the Soviet team that was leading after the two apparatus, and our girls secured their victory on beam.
‘Oh, don’t let anything happen on the beam,’ sighed Ducza as the teams switched places.
The audience was already cheering with applause for our team, who had earned the love of the audience and had shown a solid competitive performance.
Their first day of stage fright and nerves dissipated, and all four Hungarian girls presented a valuable, high-quality exercise. After Ducza’s backflip, the audience applauded for minutes.
Népsport, August 26, 1965
Izgalmas számítgatás folyt a nézőtéren, amikor Tolnai Márta gyakorlata után először emelték tábláikat magasba a pontozók.
Vajon sikerül-e megelőzni a kitűnő szovjeteket?
Rálóczi nyugodt, higgadt versenyzésről tett bizonyságot talajon, gyakorlatát nagy taps és 9.55-ös pontszám fogadta, 5 századdal több, mint amennyit Szergejeva kapott. Makray Gershwin zenéjére bemutatott, ugrásokkal tarkított gyakorlata is meghozta a sikert, Ducza Anikó zárta be a sort ugyancsak szépen kivitelezett, értékes ugrásokkal tarkított gyakorlatával.
Már a talajon behoztuk a két szer után vezető szovjet együttest, és gerendán leányaink bebiztosították győzelmüket.
— Jaj, csak gerendán ne legyen semmi baj — sóhajtotta Ducza, amikor a csapatok helyet cseréltek.
A közönség már vastapssal buzdította a mieinket, akik rászolgáltak a közönség szeretetére, és megbízható versenyzésről tettek tanúságot.
Első napi lámpalázuk, idegességük szertefoszlott, és mind a négy magyar leány értékes, nívós gyakorlatot mutatott be. Ducza hátraszaltó leugrása után percekig tapsolt a közönség.
The Soviet team had problems on bars but may have been underscored elsewhere.
The Soviet girls showed a very high degree of preparedness and training. They were strong basically in all apparatus. (Belyaeva and Sergeyeva failed only on the uneven bar, which is why they got below 9 on this apparatus). When Alexeeva and Burucheva, after a marvelously beautiful floor and beam exercise, were left with only 9.6, some experts rightly shook their heads, because those exercises were worth at least 9.8 (if not 9.9).
Képes Sport, August 31, 1965
A szovjet lányok egészen magas fokú felkészültségről és képzettségről tettek tanúságot. Úgyszólván nem volt gyenge szerük. (Beljajeva és Szergejeva rontott csak felemáskorláton, ezért kerültek ezen a szeren 9 alá). Amikor Alekszejeva és Burucseva — csodálatosan szép talaj-, illetve gerendagyakorlata után — csak 9,6 maradt „benn”, néhány szakember jogosan csóválta a fejét, hiszen azok a gyakorlatok legalább 9,8-at (ha nem 9,9-et) értek.
Note: The American delegation felt that the judging was biased in favor of the Hungarians.
My experience with women’s gymnastics is limited, yet it was evident to myself and the crowd that the Russian team headed by Bouroutcheva was by far the strongest. The scoring of the women’s competition definitely showed favoritism toward the Hungarians and away from the Russian and Japanese women.
Bob Hall, Modern Gymnast, Sept/Oct 1965
There was a clear difference in the performance level and expectations of the lower-ranked teams.
As expected, there was a big difference in the knowledge of gymnasts in each country. An example: Ingeborg Stelzl, an Austrian girl with blond hair, was awarded 6.8-6.8-7.0-7.0 (that is, seven points) for her beam routine, and 9.9 points for the floor routine of the Soviet Burucheva (9.8 points).
[…]
When the Cuban girls were working on beam and the pretty Manuela Ponce got an 8.4 for her exercise, the handful of Cuban fans (especially the athletes) explodes into applause as if they had given 9.6 to their compatriot.
Képes Sport, August 31, 1965
Amint várható volt, nagy különbség mutatkozott az egyes országok tornásznőinek tudása között. Egy példa: Ingeborg Stelzl, a szőke hajú osztrák kislány 6,8—6,8—7,0— 7,0—7,0 (azaz hét) pontot kapott gerendagyakorlatára, a szovjet Burucseva talajára pedig 9,9-et is adtak (9,8 lett belőle).
[…]
Amikor a kubai lányok dolgoztak a gerendán, s a csinos Manuela Ponce 8,4-et kapott gyakorlatára, a maroknyi kubai szurkolótábor (főleg az atléták) olyan tapsban tört ki, mintha 9,6-ot adtak volna honfitársnőjüknek.
Valerie Nagy, coach of the Hungarian team and member of the Women’s Technical Committee, had the following to say:
In general, we can be satisfied with Anikó’s performance — said Jenőné Nagy, national coach, after the competition. — Kálóczy was struggling with stage fright, but she proved her talent. I find the Soviet and Japanese reserves excellent. The performance of the Soviet, Japanese and Hungarian women shows that the top of the competition was very good.
Képes Sport, August 31, 1965
Általában elégedettek lehetünk Anikóék teljesítményével — mondotta a verseny után Nagy Jenőné országos szakfelügyelő. — Kálóczy lámpalázzal küszködött, de bebizonyította, hogy tehetséges. Kitűnőnek tartom a szovjet és a japán utánpótlást. A szovjet, a japán és a magyar nők teljesítménye azt mutatja, hogy a verseny élmezőnye igen jó volt.
Here’s what Berthe Villancher, the president of the Women’s Technical Committe, had to say:
“The Hungarians have shown once again how to organize international competitions. We couldn’t expect more from our girls [i.e. the French gymnasts], they just came to Budapest to learn. Apart from Ducza and Makray, I liked the two Japanese girls and all four Soviet girls.”
Képes Sport, August 31, 1965
— A magyarok ismét megmutatták, hogyan kell rendezni nemzetközi versenyeket. A mi lányainktól nem várhattunk többet, ők csak tanulni jöttek Budapestre. Duczán és Makrayn kívül nekem elsősorban a két japán és mind a négy szovjet lány tornája tetszett.
Japan sent only two gymnasts. Shibuya got a rip right before she competed on bars.
Shibuya and Furuyama, who had been practicing hard every day, looked a little thin. On 23rd, starting at 5:30 p.m., there were only two events: vault and uneven bars. Japan started with uneven bars. Shibuya tore her hand during the practice and pulled out her routine with only first aid. Furuyama performed well with her small and nimble moves.
Japan’s Official Report on the 1965 Universiade
渋谷, 古山も連日はげしい練習で少しやせ気味であった。23日午後5時30分より, 跳馬,段違い平行棒の2種目のみ。 日本は段違い平行棒からである。 渋谷が練習中に手の皮をむき応急手当のみで技を抜いた演技はやはりみやぶられた感じがした。 古山は小気味よく技を決めて、 まずまずのできばえ。
Aiba Hiroshi was Japan’s team leader, and, as a male, he was not allowed on the floor during the competition. So, the Japanese women had to perform without any help.
On the second event, vault, both of them were able to perform comfortably. In the latter half of the 24th, each of them had their own specialty, so they had enough time to get used to the competition, and they performed well. The women’s team consisted of only two athletes, and since the team leader was a man, he was not allowed to enter the women’s competition arena, so the performance was left entirely up to the athletes, but we felt comfortable because both were experienced. More than anything else, I am very happy that both women were able to win the 5th and 6th places because of their courage, along with the men’s victory.
Japan’s Official Report on the 1965 Universiade
2種目の跳馬では2人とも余裕をもって当たった。後半の種目24日はそれぞれ得意の種目をもっていたので余裕があり、試合にも馴れて立派なできであった。女子は2人のみでチームとしての参加ができずチームリーダーは男なので競技場には入場することはできない規則なので全く選手にまかせた演技だが、両人とも体験者なのでその点は安心できた。 何よりも試合度胸がつき5, 6位と女子が2人揃って入賞できたことは男子の優勝とともに喜ばしい限りである。
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