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.

Quick Links: Women’s Results | WAG Commentary | Men’s Results | Men’s Commentary

Women’s Results

Team

	FX	UB	BB	VT	Total
USSR	114.80	115.55	115.45	114.75	460.55
Hungary	113.95	111.80	114.05	111.50	451.30

Note: The results were based on the top six all-around scores rather than the top six scores on each event.

Note #2: At the 1952 Olympics, the gymnasts performed an ensemble routine using portable hand apparatus. However, the gymnasts did not do their group rhythmic routines at this dual meet.

All-Around

1. Gorokhovskaya Maria	URS	9.60	9.70	9.65	9.60	38.55
Opt.		9.80	9.80	9.85	9.85	39.30
Total		19.40	19.50	19.50	19.45	77.85

2. Korondi Margit	HUN	9.70	9.60	9.60	9.65	38.55
Opt.		9.80	9.70	9.85	9.55	38.90
Total		19.50	19.30	19.45	19.20	77.45

3. Jugeli Medea	URS	9.45	9.65	9.40	10.00	38.50
Opt.		9.50	9.60	9.75	9.65	38.50
Total		18.95	19.25	19.15	19.65	77.00

4. Bocharova Nina	URS	9.60	9.75	9.70	9.55	38.60
Opt.		9.35	9.45	9.80	9.60	38.20
Total		18.95	19.20	19.50	19.15	76.80

5. Minaicheva Galina	URS	9.65	9.55	9.35	9.45	38.00
Opt.		9.70	9.70	9.65	9.65	38.70
Total		19.35	19.25	19.00	19.10	76.70

6. Danilova Pelageya	URS	9.35	9.65	9.50	9.40	37.90
Opt.		9.75	9.60	9.75	9.55	38.65
Total		19.10	19.25	19.25	18.95	76.55

7. Gulyás Erzsébet	HUN	9.30	9.45	9.40	9.65	37.80
Opt.		9.60	9.60	9.60	9.65	38.45
Total		18.90	19.05	19.00	19.30	76.25

8. Perényi Edit	HUN	9.50	9.30	9.30	9.25	37.35
Opt.		9.60	9.65	9.70	9.40	38.35
Total		19.10	18.95	19.00	18.65	75.70

9. Kuznetsova	URS	9.45	9.60	9.20	9.00	37.25
Opt.		9.60	9.50	9.85	9.45	38.40
Total		19.05	19.10	19.05	18.45	75.65

10. Tyapkina Roza	URS	9.40	9.55	9.20	9.75	37.90
Opt.		9.50	9.65	8.55	9.55	37.25
Total		18.90	19.20	17.75	19.30	75.15

11. Urbanovich Galina	URS	9.60	9.65	9.50	9.20	37.95
Opt.		9.15	9.70	8.80	9.50	37.15
Total		18.75	19.35	18.30	18.70	75.10

12. Keleti Ágnes	HUN	9.00	9.70	9.70	8.50	36.90
Opt.		9.85	9.70	8.65	9.45	37.65
Total		18.85	19.40	18.35	17.95	74.55

13. Daruházi Irén	HUN	9.40	9.25	9.45	8.50	36.60
Opt.		9.45	9.00	9.60	9.40	37.45
Total		18.85	18.25	19.05	17.90	74.05

14. Bodó Andrea	HUN	9.20	8.85	9.00	8.95	36.00
Opt.		9.55	9.15	9.50	9.60	37.80
Total		18.75	18.00	18.50	18.55	73.80

15. Tass Olga	HUN	9.60	9.20	9.80	8.80	37.40
Opt.		9.40	6.85	9.80	9.45	35.50
Total		19.00	16.05	19.60	18.25	72.90

16. Zalai Mária	HUN	8.90	9.00	8.95	7.90	34.75
Opt.		9.45	9.45	9.45	9.50	37.85
Total		18.35	18.45	18.40	17.40	72.60

Commentary on WAG

Compulsories

Note: You can find the compulsories for the Olympics here.

The coverage was highly propagandistic.

It was a huge preliminary interest in the National Sports Hall on Tuesday afternoon the first day of the Hungary-Soviet Union national gymnastics competition. Although on the first day there were only compulsory exercises on the show, the viewers almost completely filled both stands of the Sports Hall.

On one of the walls of the beautifully decorated room, an inscription proclaimed: “Our role model is the Soviet athlete!”

[…]

The two anthems were played, and then Gyula Hegyi, the president of the OTSB, gave his welcome speech. He emphasized that Soviet athletes came to our country not only as competitors, but also as true friends. This national team competition is also a significant event because it is hold within the framework of Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Month.
Nemzeti Sport, March 13, 1952

Hatalmas érdeklődés előzte meg kedden délután a Nemzeti Sportcsarnokban a Magyarország – Szovjetunió válogatott tornászviadal elsőnapi küzdelmeit. Bár az első napon kizárólag előírt gyakorlatok szerepeltek a műsoron, mégis a nézők csaknem teljesen megtöltötték a Sportcsarnok mindkét lelátóját.

A gyönyörűen feldíszített terem egyik falán felirat hirdette: „ Példaképünk a szovjet sportoló!’

[…]

Elhangzott a két himnusz, majd Hegyi Gyula, az OTSB elnöke elmondta üdvözlő beszédét. Hangsúlyozta, hogy a szovjet sportolók nem csak mint versenyzők, hanem mint igaz barátok is érkeztek hazánkba. Ez a válogatott viadal azért is jelentős esemény, mert magyar-szovjet barátság hónapja keretében kerül lebonyolításra.

There were several mistakes on floor exercise. Keleti, in particular, struggled.

Reminder: At the Olympics, gymnasts could repeat their compulsory routines. The second score counted.

Korondi performed her exercise flawlessly, so to speak, deserving of a leading position. Minaicheva only made a minor mistake when standing up from the seat rest. Tass showed her exercise much better than expected. Bocharova and Urbanovich were a little uncertain about the arabesque. During her first attempt, Keleti also made a mistake in the arabesque, making an even bigger mistake, so she was not included in the leading group.
Nemzeti Sport, March 13, 1952

Korondi, úgyszólván hibátlanul hajtotta végre gyakorlatát, teljesen megérdemelte a vezető helyet. Minajcseva csak az ülőtámaszból való felállásnál vétett kisebb hibát. Tass a vártnál sokkal jobban mutatta be gyakorlatát.. Bocsarova és Urbanovics a mérlegbeállításnál bizonytalankodott kissé. Keleti első gyakorlatánál ugyancsak a mérlegállást hibázta el, az ismétlésnél gyakorlat ugyanezen részéinél még nagyobb hibát vétett s így nem került az élcsoportba.

While Jugeli was exceptional on vault for the Soviet Union, the Hungarian team struggled.

Handspring twist This is the Olympic compulsory exercise on this event. All Soviet competitors excelled on vault. The execution of Jugeli’s 10-point vault left nothing to be desired. Her landing was also perfect. Mrs. Gulyás and Korondi were acceptable among the Hungarians,while the others proved again that they still have a lot of room for improvement. Keleti competed nervously, not quite right.
Nemzeti Sport, March 13, 1952

Kézenátfordulás-csavarral. Ez az olimpiai előírt gyakorlat ezen a szeren. Minden szovjet versenyző kiválót nyújtott lóugrásban. Dzsugeli 10 pontos ugrásának kivitele semmi kívánnivalót nem hagyott maga után. Talajra érkezése is tökéletes volt. Gulyásné és Korondi nyújtott elfogadhatót a magyarok közül, a többieknél ismét bebizonyosodott, hogy ezen a szeren még sok a javítanivalójuk . Keleti idegesen versenyzett, nincs teljesen rendben.

Optionals

The floor routines were “of a very high standard.”

During the optional exercises, Keleti was the best. Even though she suffered a minor injury from the warm-up, she showed off her very strong exercise in a great design. Korondi also gave an excellent performance, the only mistake was that her routine was a little monotonous. It has a lot of handsprings. Gorokhovskaya began with a beautiful salto, but at the end she shook slightly. In general, the whole floor competition was of a very high standard.
Nemzeti Sport, March 14, 1952

Keleti a gyakorlatában jól vegyítette a lendületi és erő-részeket és kiváló volt a kivitelezése. Gorohovszkaja lendületesen dolgozott, térdforgása és légbukfenc-leugrása kitűnően sikerült. Urbanovics főleg erőmozdulatokra építette fel gyakorlatát, Korondi rövid, de igen erős anyagú gyakorlatát jól mutatta be, Minajcseva vetődése a felső karfa fölött nagyszerűen sikerült lt. Tass az előrekelepnél földre tette a lábát, s ezért került az utolsó helyre.

Keleti had a well-balanced routine on bars while Urbanovich relied on strength elements.

Reminder: The 1952 rules for the Olympics encouraged gymnasts to avoid too many strength elements.

Keleti combined the swing and strength parts well in her exercise and her execution was excellent. Gorokhovskaya worked vigorously, her knee rotation [i.e. penny drop] and landing from her salto in the air were excellent. Urbanovich built her exercise mainly on strength movements […]. Tass put her foot on the ground at the start, and that’s why she came in last place.
Nemzeti Sport, March 14, 1952

Keleti a gyakorlatában jól vegyítette a lendületi és erő-részeket és kiváló volt a kivitelezése. Gorohovszkaja lendületesen dolgozott, térdforgása és légbukfenc-leugrása kitűnően sikerült. Urbanovics főleg erőmozdulatokra építette fel gyakorlatát […]. Tass az előrekelepnél földre tette a lábát, s ezért került az utolsó helyre.

Note: Indeed, before Korbut did the standing back salto off the uneven bars, Gorokhovskaya did a tucked version of the dismount off the low bar. You can see it here.

There was a high level of difficulty on beam.

There was a lot of élan in Tass’s very well-constructed exercise. She certainly carried out her exercise and, in the end, she deserved first place on this event. Gorokhovskaya was especially successful in her handstand, with many parts of strength involved in her difficult exercise. Bocharova’s handstand half-turn and straight dismount was the best. Korondi certainly performed her difficult exercise, and her beautiful lowering was received with great applause by the audience. Keleti presented the most difficult exercise in the whole field, but after the splits, she turned under the apparatus, and that’s why she got such a score. Urbanovich made a bigger mistake on the landing.
Nemzeti Sport, March 14, 1952

Tass igen jól összeállított gyakorlatában sok volt a lendületi rész. Biztosan hajtotta végre gyakorlatát és ezen a szeren végeredményben megérdemelten került az első helyre. Gorohovszkajiának különösen a kézenállása sikerült, sok erő-rész szerepelt nehéz gyakorlatában. Bocsarovának kézenállásból végzett félfordulata és kanyarlati leugrása sikerült a legjobban. Korondi biztosan hajtotta végre nehéz gyakorlatát, szép leterpesztését nagy tapssal fogadta a közönség. Keleti mutatta be az egész mezőnyben a legnehezebb gyakorlatot, de a spárga után a szer alá fordult, s ezért kapott ilyen bevés pontot. Urbanovics a leugrásnál vétett nagyobb hibát.

Note: You can see Bocharova’s dismount (from a different competition) here:

The Soviets were far better on vault.

Even now, the Soviet competitors gave excellent performances on this event, most of them vaulted a handspring. This was best achieved by Jugeli, then Gorokhovskaya. Korondi vaulted a nice, elongated body “hecht”. It was on this event that Gorokhovskaya secured her required victory in the all-around competition.
Nemzeti Sport, March 14, 1952

Ezen a szeren most is kiváló teljesítményt nyújtottak a szovjet versenyzők, legnagyobb részük kézenátfordulást ugrott. Ez a legszebben Dzsugelinek, utána Gorohovszkajának sikerült. Korondi szép, nyújtott testű „csukát” ugrott. Gorohovszkaja ezen a szeren biztosította be az egyéni összetett versenyen előírt győzelmét.

Men’s Results

Note: The newspaper coverage of the men’s competition pales in comparison to the women’s competition. There were many comments like “Great routines were presented by the Soviet competitors,” which does not add much context. As a result, this section will not be as detailed.

Team

1. Soviet Union	580.45
2. Hungary	561.85