Who really stole the show in Helsinki—the powerhouse newcomers in snake-green, or the regal World Champions gliding like deer through a sunlit forest? (Those descriptions will make sense if you read on.)
And when the chalk dust of compulsories settled, who stood where in a competition where misread rules, shaky landings, and perfectly coiffed hair all played a role?
Step inside the 1952 Olympic women’s gymnastics arena and discover what happened on Tuesday, July 22, during the women’s compulsories.
Quick Links: Historical Context | Gymnastics Context | Standings | Video | Commentary
Historical Context
To help you get situated, here are a few events that happened in 1952:
- In February, King George VI passed away, and Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, became Queen Elizabeth II.
- On March 3, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a New York state law that prohibited communists from teaching in public schools. (Reminder: The Soviet Union was competing at the Olympics for the first time.)
- Days later, on March 10, Fulgencio Batista took power in Cuba in a coup.
- The Allied occupation of Japan ended through the Treaty of San Francisco, which came into force on April 28, 1952.
- In the world of books, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
Gymnastics Context
Not your type of history? No problem. Here’s some gymnastics history to help you orient you.
The Soviet Union
- The Soviet Union had competed in international competitions like the 1937 Workers’ Olympiad.
- The Soviet Union became affiliated with the FIG in 1949 — even before becoming a member of the IOC in 1951.
- At the 1952 Olympics, Soviet gymnasts competed at a major FIG event for the first time.
- For more on the Soviet Union’s entrance into the Olympics, check out this post.
Prior to the Soviet Union’s participation, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Sweden were the teams to beat.
The Results at the 1948 Olympics
- Gold: Czechoslovakia
- Silver: Hungary
- Bronze: United States
Note: There were only team medals in 1948.
The 1950 World Champions
- Team: Sweden
- Team Portable Apparatus: Sweden
- All-Around: Helena Rakoczy, Poland
- Vault: Helena Rakoczy, Poland
- Beam: Helena Rakoczy, Poland
- Flying Rings or Uneven Bars: Gertrude Kolar, Austria; Ann-Sofi Petterssen, Sweden
- Note: Both gymnasts competed on flying rings.
- Note #2: At the 1950 FIG Congress, the Women’s Technical Committee voted to strike flying rings from the program.
- Floor Exercise: Helena Rakoczy, Poland
- You can find the rules for the 1950 World Championships here, as well as a quick recap of the competition here.
- Also important to note: The top two teams in the world (i.e. Czechoslovakia and Hungary) did not travel to Switzerland for the 1950 Worlds.
Other helpful tidbits
You can find the 1952 compulsory routines here, and you can find the women’s rules here.
Standings
After compulsories, you could guess the pecking order, but nothing was certain. Final rankings would only shake out after optionals, since team scores were based on the top six all-around performances—not the highest marks on individual apparatus.
With that wrinkle in mind, here’s how the leaderboard looked after day one.
Team
Note: These rankings are based on all eight scores — not just the top six all-around scores per team after the first day of competition.
| CTRY | FX | BB | UB | VT | Total | Final Ranking |
| 1. URS | 74.28 | 74.20 | 75.00 | 76.78 | 300.26 | 1 |
| 2. HUN | 73.90 | 73.17 | 74.74 | 73.24 | 295.05 | 2 |
| 3. TCH | 73.01 | 70.94 | 70.00 | 72.92 | 286.87 | 3 |
| 4. BUL | 71.87 | 72.33 | 69.34 | 70.25 | 283.79 | 7 |
| 5. ITA | 69.54 | 67.49 | 71.34 | 74.51 | 282.88 | 6 |
| 6. SWE | 72.51 | 67.67 | 68.39 | 71.74 | 280.31 | 4 |
| 7. GER | 71.67 | 62.80 | 70.34 | 71.68 | 276.49 | 5 |
| 8. FRA | 69.59 | 66.78 | 65.68 | 69.80 | 271.85 | 12 |
| 9. POL | 71.22 | 64.04 | 64.00 | 70.26 | 269.52 | 8 |
| 10. AUT | 70.67 | 64.13 | 65.31 | 68.07 | 268.18 | 10 |
| 11. ROU | 68.74 | 69.24 | 68.11 | 61.90 | 267.99 | 9 |
| 12. FIN | 71.03 | 67.61 | 58.84 | 66.26 | 263.74 | 13 |
| 13. USA | 68.74 | 66.05 | 69.61 | 58.68 | 263.08 | 15 |
| 14. NED | 65.61 | 65.77 | 65.23 | 65.97 | 262.58 | 14 |
| 15. GBR | 64.90 | 64.78 | 60.27 | 71.51 | 261.46 | 16 |
| 16. YUG | 69.54 | 66.65 | 65.07 | 59.82 | 261.08 | 11 |
Note: The Official Report reads, “The situation at the top after the compulsory exercises was: 1) U.S.S.R. 226.08, 2) Hungary 224.42, 3) Bulgaria 216,38, 4) Czechoslovakia 215.53, 5) Italy 212.90, 6) Germany 212.78 and 7) Sweden 212.34.”
However, these figures were calculated retroactively by adding the compulsory scores of each team’s top six all-arounders after both the compulsory and optional rounds were complete. On the evening of July 22, 1952—the first day of competition—there was no way to know which gymnasts would finish as their team’s top six all-arounders. For instance, after compulsories, Czechoslovakia’s top six gymnasts had a combined score of 215.99. But Alena Reichová, the team’s fourth-best gymnast in compulsories, ultimately ranked only eighth among her teammates in the final all-around standings, meaning her compulsory scores did not count toward the official team total.
The Top 10 All-Around Contenders
| Gymnast | CTRY | FX | BB | UB | VT | Total | Final Ranking |
| 1. Bocharova Nina | URS | 9.40 | 9.46 | 9.56 | 9.80 | 38.22 | 2 |
| 2. Gorokhovskaya Maria | URS | 9.50 | 9.43 | 9.63 | 9.63 | 38.19 | 1 |
| 3. Urbanovich Galina | URS | 9.43 | 9.40 | 9.16 | 9.70 | 37.69 | 5 |
| 4. Korondi Margit | HUN | 9.40 | 9.46 | 9.70 | 9.10 | 37.66 | 3 |
| 5. Minaicheva Galina | URS | 9.36 | 9.13 | 9.36 | 9.73 | 37.58 | 4 |
| 6. Jugeli Medea | URS | 9.30 | 9.13 | 9.23 | 9.73 | 37.39 | 9 |
| 7. Danilova Pelageya | URS | 9.23 | 9.26 | 9.43 | 9.46 | 37.38 | 7 |
| 8. Keleti Ágnes | HUN | 9.50 | 9.43 | 9.46 | 8.90 | 37.29 | 6 |
| 9. Tass Olga | HUN | 9.23 | 9.40 | 9.30 | 9.26 | 37.19 | 11 |
| 10. Shamrai Galina | URS | 9.23 | 9.43 | 9.33 | 9.03 | 37.02 | 8 |
The Hungarian press was positive that their countrywomen and the Soviets would dominate the women’s medals:
After the compulsory exercises, you could already see that the fate of the Olympic championships would be decided between the Soviet and Hungarian competitors in all events and in the team competition.
Esti Budapest, July 23, 1952
Az előírt gyakorlatok után már látni lehetett, hogy minden szeren és a csapatversenyben is a szovjet és a magyar versenyzők között dől el az olimpiai bajnokságok sorsa.
And, in the end, the prophecy was mostly correct. The Soviet Union and Hungary won all the gold medals save for the team portable apparatus title, and, as we will see in a future post, much ink was spilled over Sweden’s victory in the group rhythmic competition. But for now, the compulsories…
Video
You can see the compulsory vault in this video:
Commentary
Detailed accounts of the 1952 women’s compulsories are scarce, and the ones that exist often come with a distinct slant. Case in point: the way Germany’s Olympic Report described the Polish women.
Some say that the Poles are the most beautiful. They move with natural grace, all very young, with long, curly hair. The dark red of her jersey, interrupted by a narrow, white belt, brings out the fabulous figures.
“Frauenturnen,” Olympiade 1952: Auszug aus dem offiziellen Standardwerk des Nationalen Olympischen Komitees
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes come from this chapter in Germany’s Official Report.
Einige sagen, die Polinnen seien die Schönsten. Sie bewegen sich mit natürlicher Anmut, alle sehr jung, mit langen, lockigen Haaren. Das dunkle Rot ihres Trikots, von einem schmalen, weißen Gürtel unterbrochen, bringt die pagenhaften Gestalten vorteilhaft zur Geltung.
(Don’t worry, there is actual commentary about the gymnastics below.)
Or the English women:
Amazing and not at all according to our ideas, the Englishwomen: small, slightly stocky figures, dark-haired, a little cramped in appearance and performance. There is nothing cheerful about them and rarely does a smile blur the impression of joyless seriousness.
Erstaunlich und so gar nicht unseren Vorstellungen entsprechend die Engländerinnen: Kleine, etwas gedrungene Gestalten, dunkelhaarig, in Auftreten und Leistung ein wenig verkrampft. Es geht nichts Fröhliches von ihnen aus und selten verwischt ein Lächeln den Eindruck freudlosen Ernstes.
According to the Germans, the Soviets captivated the audience, but in an animalistic way:
How different, on the other hand, are the Russians in their snake green jerseys! Not only their cat-like movements, their sovereign confidence – as if they were at home – but above all their uninterrupted whirring between and on the apparatuses, before and after the competition, always draws attention to them. If Russians are in competition, you have the impression that only Russians are there! As soon as an apparatus is free, there are already two or three of these very young and lively creatures on it, quickly an entrance, quickly a connection — and with such confidence!
Wie anders dagegen die Russinnen in ihren schlangengrünen Trikots! Nicht nur ihre katzenhaften Bewegungen, ihre souveräne Sicherheit — so als ob sie zu Hause wären — sondern vor allem ihr ununterbrochenes Herumquirlen zwischen und auf den Geräten, vor und nach dem Wettkampf, läßt immer wieder die Blicke auf sie lenken. Sind Russinnen im Wettkampf, hat man den Eindruck, als ob nur Russinnen da seien! Kaum ist ein Gerät frei, da sind auch schon zwei, drei dieser sehr jungen und quicklebendigen Geschöpfe oben, schnell einen Aufgang, schnell eine Verbindung — und mit welcher Sicherheit!
Note: Though I am critical of the overall tone and tenor of these descriptions, they are helpful. For example, while looking at black and white photos from the archives, I would have never known that the Soviets’ uniforms were green. That said, “snake green” is a choice. The Hungarian press described the color of the leotards as an “emerald green.” (We’ll see that description in a future post about the group rhythmic exercises.)
The Swedes were regal deer.
But the Swedes prove that royal tranquility also works. They come all in white, only the light blue of their coat of arms contrasts impressively with the long, smooth, white-blond hair. In the behavior of their movements, a quiet, graceful discipline is expressed – Swedes do not walk, they stride, royally, like deer in the light-flooded forest. But the light is in their eyes.
Doch daß auch königliche Ruhe wirkt, beweisen die Schwedinnen. Sie kommen ganz in Weiß, nur das helle Blau ihres Wappens kontrastiert eindrucksvoll mit den langen, glatten, weißblonden Haaren. In der Verhaltenheit ihrer Bewegungen kommt eine stille, anmutige Disziplin zum Ausdruck — Schwedinnen gehen nicht, sie schreiten, königlich, wie Rehe im lichtdurchfluteten Wald. Das Licht aber ist in ihren Augen.
Radiant and earthy, the Finnish gymnasts were deemed to be the personification of their sauna-steeped, milk-fed, forest-and-berry homeland.
Striking is the healthy and well perfused skin of the Finnish girls. They are truly a picture of their homeland, the land of the sauna, the good milk, the forests and the berries. “Sisters of the Earth”, yes, this is a picture of their nature and attitude.
Auffallend die gesunde und gutdurchblutete Haut der finnischen Mädel. Sie sind wirklich ein Bild ihrer Heimat, des Landes der Sauna, der guten Milch, der Wälder und der Beeren. ,,Schwestern der Erde”, ja, das ist ein Bild ihres Wesens und ihrer Haltung.
Polished and posed, the American gymnasts hid authenticity behind nylon, coiffed hair, and practiced smiles—an image in need of an Olympic sauna’s thaw.
Their lively opposition comes from America. The natural is barely visible in the faces and movements of its gymnasts. They want to look “lady-like”, and this includes the white nylon suit, the highly undulated hair and a smile that does not come from the heart. The moved and moving image becomes a painted, almost solidified painting, which says nothing more. And yet it is their image that – we may hope – will be corrected in the sauna of the Olympic encounter.
Ihr lebendiger Gegensatz kommt aus Amerika. Das Natürliche ist in den Gesichtern und Bewegungen seiner Turnerinnen kaum noch sichtbar. Sie wollen „lady-like” wirken, und dazu gehört der weiße Nylonanzug, das hochondulierte Haar und ein Lächeln, welches nicht aus dem Herzen kommt. Das bewegte und bewegende Bild wird hier zum gemalten, ja fast erstarrten Gemälde, welches nichts mehr aussagt. Und doch ist es ihr Bild, welches — so dürfen wir hoffen — in der Sauna der Olympischen Begegnung eine Korrektur erfahren wird.
From tense and inhibited beginnings, the German gymnasts transformed over three days into radiant, high-spirited performers who captivated the Olympic crowd with graceful mastery and joy.
The German women and girls undergo a remarkable transformation during the course of the competition. Anyone who sees them begin at the balance beam, with intense concentration, inhibited and deadly serious, would not think it possible that, on the third day, they would deliver such a relaxed and inspiring performance, an obvious transformation from indisposition to disposition. The inhibited start has its natural causes. For the first time in 15 years, German gymnasts are taking part in an international competition again, n apparatus that is not commonly used in Germany and on which they had to learn the most elementary basics within a year. But the German gymnasts’ journey in Helsinki is a perfect example of the benefits of physical education. They have struggled to get in shape, really struggled, and when success became apparent in the competition, they were overcome by a mysterious glow that lifted their spirits and put them in the right frame of mind. This enabled them not only to achieve their high performance on the third day, but also to create their image, the Olympic image, as they swung the rope for the last time, beaming with inner joy, delighting all the spectators and — like Schwarzmann a few days earlier — parting with them as if they were their guests, who were happy to take away with them the image of an enchanting harmony of being and expression in their hearts from the transience of the moment.
Die deutschen Frauen und Mädel machen im Verlauf des Wettkampfes eine merkwürdige Wandlung durch. Wer sie am Schwebebalken beginnen sieht, mit belastender Konzentration, gehemmt und todernst, der hält es nicht für möglich, daß sie am dritten Tag eine so gelöste und begeisternde Leistung bieten, eine offensichtliche Wandlung von der Indisposition zur Disposition. Der gehemmte Beginn hat seine ganz natürlichen Ursachen. Zum ersten Male seit 15 Jahren nehmen deutsche Turnerinnen wieder an einem internationalen Treffen teil, zudem noch an Geräten, die in Deutschland nicht üblich sind und an denen sie innerhalb Jahresfrist erst einmal die elementarsten Grundübungen erlernen mußten. Aber gerade der Weg der deutschen Turnerinnen in Helsinki ist ein Beispiel leibeserzieherischer Wohltat. Sie haben um ihre Form gerungen, wirklich gerungen, und als im Wettkampf der Erfolg sich zusehends einstellt, erfaßt sie eine rätselhafte Rückstrahlung und führt sie in die Hochstimmung, in die Disposition. Damit erreichen sie nicht nur ihre hohe Leistung am dritten Tag, sondern auch ihr Bild, das olympische Bild, als sie strahlend vor innerer Freude zum letzten Mal das Seil schwingen und alle Zuschauer begeistern und — wie wenige Tage vorher Schwarzmann — als ihre Gäste entlassen, die glücklich sind, aus der V ergänglichkeit der Stunde das Bild eines zauberhaften Zusammenklanges von Wesen und Ausdruck in den Herzen mitnehmen zu dürfen.
Germany’s Official Report seemed to dwell more on the gymnasts’ outfits than on the substance of their compulsory routines. As for the actual gymnastics, the report noted:
The compulsory exercises of the first day
Balance beam: Right at the beginning of our new and therefore “unsafe apparatus.” The Russians and Hungarians impress with their dreamlike confidence. They do gymnastics with much greater strength than the Germans, who are more concerned with the flow of the exercises. The order is fair. The first unexpected result, however, is that the German gymnasts are better than the Swedes, who are at home on this apparatus.
Bars: The Germans are at a disadvantage because, according to the official report, they did not receive a correction to the announcement. A deduction of 0.5 points is agreed upon. The German gymnasts, however, risk all the unknown connections and look a bit insecure as a result. Irma Walther reaches the coveted limit for the first time of the 9 points. Hungarians and Russians show very good, almost balanced skills. As expected, Italy is also very strong with this apparatus. The Swedes, who obviously do not like this apparatus, again stay behind Germany.
[Reminder: During the Women’s Technical Committee meeting, there was a debate about the women’s compulsory bar routine. Many had misinterpreted the French text and, as a result, had prepared incorrectly for the competition.]
Vault: The performances of all teams are more balanced. All Germans come out with surprisingly high ratings (9.03-9.30), but for the first time Lydia Zeitlhofer has decisive bad luck: too timid on the first attempt, too fast on the second, so that she has to turn away hastily (7.50). The Russians and Hungarians show great stability, not needing to push off from the handstand in their high approach. The little Italian girls (all between 9.03 and 9.50) vault very precisely. They even relegate the Hungarian women to third place. Elisabeth Ostermeyer, jumping carefree and fresh, is the best German with a score of 9.30.
Floor Exercise: The Swedish team elevates the poorly chosen compulsory routine to a high level with their fluid and energetic performance, and lively performances can also be seen in the Germans, who now seem safer. Ostermeyer (9.00), Grages (9.06) and Zeitlhofer (9.13) do gymnastics elegantly and safely. Irma Walther loses an even higher score due to an uncertainty in the seated balance. The powerfully controlled bodies of the Russians and Hungarians freeze in the holding parts to absolute stillness. When jumping with half a turn into the standing scale, they are highly superior to all teams.
Schwebebalken: Gleich zu Beginn unser neues und darum „unsicheres Gerät”. Die Russinnen und Ungarinnen bestechen durch ihre traumhafte Sicherheit. Sie turnen mit viel größerer Kraft als die Deutschen, die sich mehr um den Fluß der Übungen bemühen. Die Reihenfolge ist gerecht. Das erste unerwartete Ergebnis aber ist, daß die deutschen Turnerinnen besser sind als die Schwedinnen, die doch auf diesem Gerät zu Hause sind.
Barren: Die Deutschen sind im Nachteil, da ihnen laut amtlichem Bericht eine Korrektur
der Ausschreibung nicht zugegangen ist. Man einigt sich auf 0.5 Punkte Abzug. Die
deutschen Turnerinnen riskieren jedoch alle die für sie unbekannte Verbindung und
wirken dadurch etwas unsicher. Irma Walther erreicht erstmalig die begehrte Grenze
der 9 Punkte. Ungarinnen und Russinnen zeigen ein sehr gutes, fast ausgeglichenes Können. Erwartungsgemäß ist auch Italien an diesem Gerät sehr stark. Die Schwedinnen, die dieses Gerät offensichtlich nicht lieben, bleiben wiederum hinter Deutschland.
Pferdsprung: Die Leistungen aller Mannschaften sind ausgeglichener. Alle Deutschen kommen mit überraschend hohen Wertungen heraus (9.03-9.30), aber zum ersten Male hat Lydia Zeitlhofer entscheidendes Pech: im ersten Sprun~ zu zaghaft, im zweiten Sprung zu forsch, so daß sie überstürzt abwenden muß (7.50). Großartige Standsicherheit der Russinnen und Ungarinnen, die im hohen Anflug den Handstand nicht nachzudrücken brauchen. Die kleinen Italienerinnen (alle zwischen 9.03 und 9.50) springen sehr exakt. Sie verweisen sogar die Ungarinnen auf den 3. Platz. Die unbekümmert und frisch springende Elisabeth Ostermeyer erreicht als beste Deutsche 9.30.
Bodenturnen/Gymnastik: Die Schwedinnen heben die wirklich nicht glücklich gewählte Pflichtübung durch ihren fließenden und schwungvollen Vortrag auf eine hohe Ebene Gute gymnastische Arbeit ist auch bei den Deutschen zu sehen, die jetzt sicherer wirken. Ostermeyer (9.00), Grages (9.06) und Zeitlhofer (9.13) turnen elegant und sicher. Irma Walther verliert eine noch höhere Punktzahl durch eine Unsicherheit bei der Sitzwaage. Die kraftvoll beherrschten Körper der Russinnen und Ungarinnen erstarren in den Halteteilen zu absoluter Stille. Beim Umsprung mit halber Drehung in die Standwaage sind sie allen Mannschaften hoch überlegen.
In its official report, the U.S. team highlighted a problem that arose during compulsories:
To add to our troubles, we lost points when Meta Elste slipped off the beat board on her first compulsory horse vault and missed her second try completely. On top of that, it was considered wise to withdraw Doris Kirkman from the second day’s competition when she sustained a painful re-injury to her right foot. This was done in order to permit her to compete the following day in the team drill in which we were required to have a full team of eight competitors.
Roberta Bonniwell, United States 1952 Olympic Book
Stay tuned for information on the women’s optionals and the group exercises with hand apparatus.
Appendix: The Gymnastics Program
More on 1952