1970: The Women’s Competition at the University Games

After boycotting the 1967 Universiade, the Eastern Bloc returned in 1970, and the Soviets swept the podium, winning team gold and the top three places in the individual all-around. Larisa Petrik, who had tied Čáslavská for gold on floor at the 1968 Olympics, won the all-around. And, as always, the Soviet gymnasts were idealized for the quality and fluidity of their movements on floor.

But Soviet gymnasts weren’t the only ones who were pushing the envelope at the Universiade in Turin. The Japanese gymnasts were performing twisting vaults, which would become more common at the 1972 Olympics. On beam, the Hungarian gymnasts took risks by performing aerial cartwheels. (To be sure, Korbut had started performing her standing back tuck on beam at smaller competitions in 1969, but no-handed flight elements like saltos and aerials were uncommon at the time. )

What follows are the results, commentary about the competition, and an interview with Tatiana Schegolkova.

Quick Links: Results | Schedule & Judging Assignments | Commentary | Appendix A: An Interview with Tatiana Schegolkova | Appendix B: All-Around, Places 11-29

Results

Team

1. URS	115.40
2. JPN	113.00
3. HUN	110.90
4. TCH	108.30
5. USA	107.05
6. FRA	104.25
7. CAN	95.40

All-Around, 1-10

Gymnast	Country	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1. Petrik Larisa	URS	9.55	9.60	9.60	9.80	38.55
2. Schegolkova Tatiana	URS	9.50	9.65	9.70	9.65	38.50
3. Golenova Valentina	URS	9.30	9.80	9.50	9.55	38.15
4. Inoue Noriko	JPN	9.50	9.60	9.05	9.50	37.65
5. Krasnevich Irina	URS	9.25	9.55	9.25	9.45	37.50
6. Suzuki Kazuyo	JPN	9.50	8.60	9.50	9.70	37.30
7. Bánfai Ágnes	HUN	9.30	9.35	9.05	9.55	37.00
8. Inatani Kiyoko	JPN	9.45	9.20	8.85	9.40	36.90
9. Hasegawa Takako	JPN	9.50	9.35	8.20	9.75	36.80
10. Gáll Mária	HUN	9.40	9.30	8.65	9.40	36.75

---

Schedule and Judging Assignments

Vault, Floor

Gotta Andreina (Italy)
Logofet Nuia (USSR)
Ikeda Keiko (Japan)
Sequl Lilia (Italy)

Uneven Bars, Balance Beam

Pansecco Paola (Italy)
Remak Éva (Hungary)
Zámostná Alena (Czechoslovakia)
Darst Darlene (USA)

(Source: Japan’s Official Report on the 1970 University Games)

August 31

Schedule	Vault	Uneven Bars
17:00-17:30	USSR CAN	USA HUN
17:30-18:00	USA HUN	USSR CAN
18:00-18:30	TCH FRA	ITA JPN
18:30-19:00	ITA JPN	TCH FRA

September 2

Schedule	Balance Beam	Floor
17:00-17:30	TCH FRA	ITA JPN
17:30-18:00	ITA JPN	TCH FRA
18:00-18:30	USSR CAN	USA HUN
18:30-19:00	USA HUN	USSR CAN

---

Commentary

Japan’s Official Report gives the most thorough account of what happened during the women’s competition in Turin. As you’ll see, body proportions and physiques were starting to become major topics of conversation, and the Japanese delegation believed that bodies — not just skills — were being judged.

In terms of women’s vault, there were no particularly new moves, and most of the competitors from each country performed the Yamashita vaults without any problems. It is noteworthy that two Japanese athletes performed the “Yamashita vault with a twist” and took first place in the team competition, ahead of the Soviet Union by 0.15. On vault, handicaps in terms of body proportions can be covered by relatively good technique, and it is quite possible that Japanese athletes with strong legs and backs will always have an advantage depending on their future practice.

On uneven bars, Japanese athletes performed well and scored high, but there was no new skill or combination of skills. In particular, Goleneva’s (Soviet Union) “back uprise” bar change skill showed the strength of her well-trained back muscles. More work needs to be done on how to control the space between the high bar and low bar and how to create changes.

On balance beam, the Hungarian athletes showed some ingenuity in their skill.

The technique of running from sideways toward the balance beam to a “front salto” and then to sitting sideways on the balance beam was a skill that brought about a change in the phase before the athletes touched the apparatus, and it seemed to have been devised in a way that had never been seen before. The skillful turns of the foreign competitors were also remarkable. They performed one and a half or two turns with speed and ease. It was also wonderful to see Hungarian athletes performing side aerials.

On floor exercise, the Japanese athletes’ tumbling was excellent, and their movements were very well executed, and they got the highest scores among the four events. Japan’s team was just 0.05 behind the Soviet Union — Soviet Union with 29.00 and Japan with 28.95. Individually, as well, we were able to score 9.70 and 9.75, which were the highest scores we have ever achieved in international competitions, and this was the best achievement for us. However, the most important point to be learned from the Soviet Union was in terms of movement. The movements of the Japanese athletes still seem to be moving their arms and bodies in a disjointed manner. It is necessary to thoroughly train the fundamentals of movement, especially at a young age.

Overall, the women’s team can be said to have benefited greatly from the efforts of Suzuki as captain. Inoue, who had to overcome a shoulder injury on the previous day to compete, did her best and finished in 4th place, which was a great achievement. Young athletes Inatani and Hasegawa, who had no previous experience in international competitions, performed well, and Inatani’s steady first attempt was a major factor in the team’s score. On floor exercise, the first performer Inatani’s score of 9.40 was well taken advantage of by the following performers, and the last performer Hasegawa responded well to the audience’s expectation and scored a high 9.75, which was truly impressive. The teamwork in this competition was very good, and the result was much better than expected. I am sure that the foreign athletes could learn a lot from the Japanese athletes in terms of competition management and other technical aspects. However, we should not always point out the inferiority of the foreign athletes, but we should fully absorb their superiority, and this kind of attitude will be the driving force for a great leap forward in the future.

[…]

In the women’s competition, physical proportions are a major issue before technique. Especially in the Soviet Union, it can be inferred that the athletes are clearly selected on the basis of their physique before their technique. In any case, in all competitions, the Soviet Union selected the female athletes with good physical condition, which is completely different from that of other countries. It seems that Soviet women already have an advantage of 0.2-0.3 points without any performance. In our country, too, women’s competition seems to have entered an era in which they have to seriously tackle the issues of physical condition and movement. These two issues have always been raised in the past, but now that the technical level has improved so much, we must somehow consider measures to deal with these issues. This is the most important factor in the future development of women’s competition.

Japan’s Official Report on the 1970 Universiade

女子の跳馬において特に目新らしい技はなく, 各国の選手ともほとんどが山下とびを無難にまとめてい日本選手は2人が “山下とびひねり” を演じ、チームでは 0.15の差でソ連をおさえ首位を占めたのは特筆すべき点であろう。 跳馬では身体のプロポーションにおけるハンディキャップも比較的技術でカバーできるし、足腰の強い日本人が今後の練習次第では常に優位を占めることは十分可能性があろう。

段違い平行棒において, 日本選手は無難にまとめ,高得点をあげたが, 内容的には特に新らしい技や組合わせはみられなかった。 特にゴレネワ (ソ連)の “後だけ上がり ” 系の変化技においては鍛えぬかれた背筋の強さがうかがえた。 高棒と低棒の間の空間をいかに支配するか、どのような変化をもたらすかという点についてもう少しの工夫が必要であろう。

平均台においてはハンガリーの選手が上がり技に工夫をこらしたあとがみられた。

平均台に横向きの状態から助走して、片足踏切りの”前宙” をした後に, 横向き坐になる技などは器械に触れる以前の局面に変化をもたらした技で、これまでにない工夫がなされていたように思われる。 その他外国選手のターンの巧みさが目についた。 1回半, 2回のターンをスピーディに楽にこなしていた。 またハンガリーの選手が側宙を行なっていたのも素晴しかった。

ゆかにおいては日本選手のタンブリングが素晴しく動きも非常によくきまり, 4種目中最も高得点を得ることができた。 ソ連 29.00, 日本28.95とわずか0.05の差でソ連に迫り、個人においても 9.70, 9.75というこれまでの国際試合には得られなかった高得点を得ることができたのは,われわれにとって何よりもの収穫であった。 しかし何といってもソ連に学ばねばならぬ点は動きの点であろう。 日本選手の動きはまだまだ腕と体がばらばらに動いているという感が免れない。 特に低年令のうちに動きの基礎を徹底的に鍛える必要があろう。

全般的にみて女子チームは、鈴木選手のキャプテンとしてチームに与えた力が非常に大きかったといえよう。また前日の肩の故障を押して出場し, ベストを尽しょく4位に食い込んだ井上選手の功績は素晴しく,若手稲谷, 長谷川両選手においては,これまで国際試合の経験がまったくないにもかかわらず, 堂々たる試合運びをし、 稲谷選手の安定した1番目の試技はチームの得点に大きな力となった。 またゆかにおいては1番目の稲谷選手の9.40という得点を後の選手がよく生かし、 最後に演技した長谷川選手は観衆の要望によく応え, 9.75の高得点をマークしたのは本当に立派であった。今回の試合は非常にチームワークがよく, 予想よりもはるかに上廻る結果を得ることができた。 外国選手は日本選手の試合運び, その他技術面においても見習うべき点があったことであろう。 しかしわれわれの態度としては常に他国選手の, われわれよりも劣っている点を指摘するのみではなく, われわれよりも秀れている点を全面的に吸収してゆく態度こそ将来へ大きく飛躍する原動力となるものであろう。

[…]

女子においては技術以前の問題として、 身体のプロポーションが非常に大きな問題とされる。 特にソ連においては技以前に体格的な条件によってはっきりとふるいにかけられていることが推測できる。 とにかくどの大会においてもソ連の女子選手においては他国の選手とまったく異なった身体条件のよい選手を集めている。 ソ連の女子選手は演技をせずして0.2~0.3点程すでに優位に立っているように思われる。 わが国においても, 女子は身体条件の問題と,動きの問題に真剣に取り組まねばならない時代を迎えたように思われる。 これまでもこの2点に関しては毎回叫ばれてきていたが技術的にここまで上達した今日、何とかこの点に関する対策を考えねばなるまい｡ このことが将来に大きく発展する上において何よりも大切な要因といえよう。

---

Appendix A: An Interview with Tatiana Schegolkova

Though Tatiana Schegolkova never competed at a World Championships or Olympic Games, she was a mainstay of Soviet women’s gymnastics, attending many smaller competitions, including the 1971 and 1972 Riga International. Here’s a short interview, published in the Latvian newspaper Sport after the 1970 Universiade.

Sport: At the last test, however, only students representing the sports association Burevestnik competed at our national Universiade in Rostov-on-Don. 

T. Schegolkova: It turned out that I had already won the ticket to Turin at the USSR Cup. But I only found out about it five days before my departure… 

Sport: But now about the competition itself: what were the conditions like, who were the most serious competitors? 

T. Schegolkova: The competition was held in a rather uncomfortable hall, not very suitable for gymnastics. The tarpaulin covering the floor was slippery. It was good that our friends from Czechoslovakia lent us rubber slippers, we felt safer with them. 

[Reminder: The Czecholsovak gymnasts’ shoes were quite popular.]

We couldn’t say much about the competitors at first, because the program was a bit unusual: on the first day, uneven bars and vault, on the second day, beam and floor, only optional exercises. As usual, the Japanese women were strong. The Americans and Canadians showed some difficult elements, but they “performed” rather sloppily. We didn’t realize that the GDR gymnasts, even their Olympic team, have not grown up to the age of university students…

After the first day, when both Larisa Petrik and I scored the most points 19.15, it became clear that we would not be without medals. On the second day, I did better on the beam, Larisa on floor exercise, where she beat me by five-hundredths of a point. We were also the best in the team standings. 

I should add that Turin felt like home (we were guided by the leaders of the Italian Communist Party and took part in several excursions) and like … a normal competition. It was only when we arrived in Moscow and saw the many welcoming people with banners and mountains of flowers that we realized we had achieved something more … 

Sport: Do you have any other major competitions this year? 

T. Schegolkova: I don’t really know. I will be in Adler preparing for the World Championships, which will take place in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, at the end of October. Eight gymnasts will go there, six on a team, two as reserves. But I’m only ninth in the rankings so far… 

Sports (Latvijas PSR Sport biedrību izdevums), Nr. 142, Sept. 10, 1970

«Sports»: Vispirms, lūdzu, pastāstiet, kā jūs nokļuvāt Turīnā? Pēdējā pārbaudē mūsu valsts universiādes sacensībās Rostovā pie Donas taču startēja tikai tie studenti, kas pārstāv sporta biedrību «Burevestņik».
 
T. Sčegoļkova: Izrādījās, ka ceļazīmi uz Turīnu esmu ieguvusi jau PSRS kausa izcīņā. Par to
gan uzzināju tikai dienas piecas pirms izbraukšanas…
 
«Sports»: Bet tagad par pašām sacensībām: kādos apstākļos tās risinājās, kādas bija nopietnākās konkurentes?
 
T. Sčegoļkova: Sacensības notika diezgan neērtā, vingrošanai ne visai piemērotā zālē. Brezents, ar kuru pārklāta grīda, bija slidens. Labi, ka draudzenes no Čehoslovakijas aizdeva gumijas čībiņas, ar tām jutāmies drošāk.
 
Par konkurentēm sākumā nevarējām neko daudz spriest, jo sacensību programma bija mazliet neparasta: pirmajā diena līdztekas un lēciens, otrajā baļķis un brīvās kustības, tikai
izvēles vingrojumi. Kā parasti, spēcīgas bija japānietes. Sarežģītus elementus demonstrēja amerikānietes un kanādietes, taču viņas «strādāja» diezgan netīri. Nejutām vienīgi VDR vingrotājas pat viņu olimpiskā izlase vēl līdz studentu vecumam nav izaugusi…
 
Kad pēc pirmās dienas abas ar Larisu Petriku savācām visvairāk punktu 19,15, tad jau kļuva skaidrs, ka bez medaļām nepaliksim. Otrajā dienā man labāk veicās uz baļķa, Larisai brīvajās kustībās, kur viņa kopvērtējumā apsteidza mani par piecām punkta simtdaļām. Bijām labākās ari komandu vērtējumā.
 
Jāpiebilst, ka Turīnā jutāmies kā mājās (bijām viedos pie Itālijas Komunistiskas partijas vadītājiem un piedalījāmies vairākās ekskursijās) un kā … parastās sacensības. Tikai, kad ieradāmies Maskavā un ieraudzījām daudzos sagaidītājus ar transparentiem un ziedu kalniem, sapratām, ka esam paveikušas kaut ko vairāk …
 
«Sports»: Vai šajā gadā jums paredzētas vēl kādas atbildīgas sacensības?
 
T. Ščegoļkova: Tā īsti nezinu. Adlerā gatavošos pasaules meistarsacīkstēm, kas oktobra beigās notiks Ļubļanā — Dienvidslāvijā. Uz turieni dosies astoņas vingrotājas sešas komandā, divas rezervē. Bet es pagaidām ranga tabulā esmu tikai devītā…

---

Appendix B: All-Around Results, 11-29

11. Zajánosné Oroszi Margit	HUN	36.70
12. Techlová Jarmila	TCH	36.65
13. Spencer Terry	USA	36.55
14. Bellák Erzsébet	HUN	36.15
15. Hodáčová Kateřina	TCH	36.10
16. Lauvar Dominique	FRA	35.45
17. Paulová Miloslava	TCH	35.25
18T. McGarry Patty	USA	34.90
18T. Hartley Sandra	CAN	34.90
20. Košťálová Jindra	TCH	34.85
21. Bauer Barbara	USA	34.75
22. Riddel Carolyn	USA	34.40
23. Leguet Huguette	FRA	33.95
24. Ducellier Françoise	FRA	33.75
25. Gagetta Manuela	ITA	33.30
26. Gertosio Elvire	FRA	33.00
27. Dean Karen	CAN	32.80
28. Swinton Elizabeth	CAN	26.70
29. Lamonthe Louise	CAN	26.05

---

More on the University Games