Author: Gymnastics History

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1962 MAG Perfect 10 WAG World Championships

1962: Czechoslovakia’s Coverage of the World Championships in Prague

In 1962, Prague hosted the World Championships, and, all in all, it was a successful competition for Czechoslovak gymnasts. On the women’s side, the team finished second, and Čáslavská defeated all the Soviet gymnasts except for Latynina in the all-around. She also was the gold medalist on vault and the bronze medalist on floor, while Bosáková was the gold medalist on beam and the silver medalist on bars. On the men’s side, the team took home bronze, and Krbec won gold on vault.

Here’s what the Czechoslovak weekly sports newspaper Stadión reported.  As we’ll see, there were 10s being thrown out by individual judges. (No gymnast received enough 10s to receive a final score of 10.) At the same time, the newspaper noted that there were some “thoughtful mistakes” by the judges, but it did not dive into what those mistakes were.

Even if you don’t read the text below, enjoy the photos. Stadión was a highly visual periodical.

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1962 Czechoslovakia Interviews & Profiles WAG

1962: Čáslavská — “Ophelia, with the Heart of a Warrior”

In 1962, Věra Čáslavská won her first all-around title at the Czechoslovak Championships, and heading into the World Championships in Prague, the expectations were high for the star of Czechoslovak gymnastics. The Czech-language sports newspaper Stadión printed an article on Čáslavská, which is part profile, part Shakespearean play, and part fairytale.

Note: A fairytale seems bizarre, but pohádky (fairytales) are a vibrant genre in Czech culture. Čáslavská even wrote one about gymnastics in her autobiography, which you can find translated here.

My Thought Bubble: That said, the combination of fairytale and Shakespearean characters is a bit bizarre, but the profile gives us an idea of how Czechoslovak journalists wrote about athletes at the time.

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1962 USSR WAG

1962: Čáslavská Wins the Tournament of Seven Countries in Tbilisi

Shortly after the tri-meet between Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and the Soviet Union, those countries faced each other once again in Tbilisi. Added to the mix were other socialist and communist countries, including Hungary, China, Poland, and Romania.

With Latynina absent, Čáslavská once again won the all-around title, proving that she would be a force to be reckoned with at the 1962 World Championships in Prague.

Below, you can find Sovetsky Sport’s coverage of the competition.

Čáslavská at. the1962 World Championships in Prague, Copyright: imago/CTK
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1962 Czechoslovakia East Germany MAG USSR WAG

1962: Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and the Soviet Union Compete before Worlds

No surprise: The Soviet men’s team defeated the Czechoslovak and East German teams, and Yuri Titov, the 1959 European All-Around Champion, won the all-around title

The surprise: Months before the Prague World Championships, the Czech and East German women defeated the Soviet team, and Čáslavská won the all-around. 

Granted, the top Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina, was not present. However, Čáslavská’s victory over Astakhova was a harbinger of good things to come. After finishing behind Astakhova at the 1960 Olympics (eighth compared to third) and the 1961 European Championships (tied for third compared to second), Čáslavská finally beat Astakhova during this tri-meet. Then, at the 1962 World Championships, Čáslavská finished second, defeating all the Soviet gymnasts except for Latynina.

Here’s more about the tri-meet, as well as short interviews with several of the Soviet gymnasts. An interesting question came up: Would it be correct to give the judges the optional routines written out before the competition? Not surprisingly, all the athletes said no.

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1962 Czechoslovakia Floor Music

1962: Czechoslovak Floor Routines — The Story Behind the Routines

In the lead-up to the 1962 World Championships in Prague, the pages of the Czechoslovak sports periodical Stadión were filled with articles and photos related to gymnastics, one of which told the story behind three gymnasts’ floor routines: Hana Růžičková’s, Věra Čáslavská’s, and Eva Bosáková’s. It’s an interesting article, given that the extant videos do not have sound. Plus, the article contrasts the Czechoslovak style with the Soviet style.

This last point is important because, as we look back on the history of the sport, we tend to group old routines together, categorizing them all as “balletic.” But national teams made a conscientious effort to differentiate their routines and styles.

Another factor to consider: The use of music for individual floor routines was relatively new at the time. 1958 was the first time that music for women’s floor was used at a World Championships or Olympics. As a result, countries were trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t work.

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1962 Czechoslovakia Interviews & Profiles

1962: A Profile of Hana Růžičková, the 1961 ČSSR Champion

Hana Růžičková didn’t want to be a gymnast. She dreamed of wearing white skating boots, but when those boots never materialized, she started gymnastics in 1956 at the age of fifteen. By 1960, she was a member of the Czechoslovak team that won silver at the Rome Olympics, and one year later, in 1961, Hana Růžičková was the surprise champion of the Czechoslovak Championships. (Věra Čáslavská fell off beam, and Růžičková was able to capitalize on it.) 

What follows is a translation of a profile on Růžičková. It was printed in February of 1962, a few weeks after her win at the 1961 Czechoslovak Championships. Not only does it tell the story of a gymnast from a small village who had to balance work, training, and a long commute, but it also raises broader questions, such as: At what age should athletes start special training?

[Note: The age at which Růžičková started gymnastics sometimes varies in articles. For example, the report on the 1961 Championships suggested that she started in 1958.]

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1961 Czechoslovakia MAG WAG

1961: Šťastný and Růžičková Win the Czechoslovak Championships

In 1961, the Czechoslovak Championships were exciting on the women’s side. Coming into the championships, Věra Čáslavská was the clear favorite. At the Rome Olympics in 1960, she finished eighth in the all-around, the highest finish among the Czechoslovak gymnasts. Then, she tied for third at the 1961 European Championships, finishing behind Larisa Latynina and Polina Astakhova. But, despite her promising international results, Čáslavská had never won a senior national all-around title. 

In 1961, it seemed like the title would finally be Čáslavská’s, but she fell off the beam. And Czechoslovak star Eva Bosáková had a major error on bars. Hana Růžičková was able to capitalize on those mistakes and win the Czechoslovak title. (East German gymnast Ute Starke was a foreign guest and technically had the highest all-around title in the competition.)

On the men’s side, the competition was more anti-climactic. Jaroslav Šťastný, the best gymnast on the Czechoslovak team at the 1961 European Championships, took home the title. (Though, Aleksander Rokosa, a Polish guest, technically had the highest all-around total in the competition.)

Here’s a bit more about the competition.

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1961 MAG USA USSR WAG

1961: U.S. Gymnasts Compete in the Soviet Union

In January of 1961, a group of Soviet gymnasts headed to the United States for an extensive tour of the country. Months later, U.S. gymnasts headed to the Soviet Union for a dual meet in August of 1961. In a show of friendship, U.S. and Soviet gymnasts alternated routines. Rather than having an entire team compete back-to-back, a Soviet gymnast competed on, say, vault, and then an American gymnast competed on vault.

Speaking of vault, one of the main stories was a three-way tie for the women’s vault title, which produced a rather cramped podium.

L. Latynina, M. Nikolaeva, and B. Maycock
photo: Pravda, August 25, 1961

In this post, you’ll find news coverage and videos of the trip.

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1961 MAG USA USSR WAG

1961: Soviet Gymnasts Tour the United States

In 1971, the Soviet gymnasts did a quick tour of the United States, competing at Penn State and Temple University.

10 years prior, in 1961, the Soviet gymnasts did a much more extensive trip. The women competed at West Chester, while the men competed at Penn State. On top of that, there were exhibitions across the country, including in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Urbana, Illinois; and a performance during an NBA game at Madison Square Garden.

The trip was arranged by the Amateur Athletic Union with the sanction of the U.S. State Department.

Below, you’ll find both U.S. footage, as well as Soviet and U.S. news articles. It’s interesting to see how the gymnasts were depicted in different publications and mediums during the Cold War.

Note: In the next post, we’ll look at the U.S. gymnasts’ trip to the Soviet Union for a competition in August 1961.

Sep 09, 1960, Rome Olympics, L-R: MARGARITA NIKOLAEVA, SOFIA MURATOVA, and LARISA LATYNINA.
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Shakhlin on His Career from the 1958 Worlds through the 1966 Worlds

In the penultimate chapter of his autobiography, Boris Shakhlin takes us from the 1958 World Championships in Moscow to the 1966 World Championships in Dortmund. Along the way, he gives us a glimpse into his tactics as a competitor — ways that he and his teammates tried to throw their competitors off their game. He also shares little tidbits of information. For example, did you know that Soviet athletes received one cake for each gold medal that they won?

Here’s a translation of the fourth chapter of Shakhlin’s book.

Left-right: Takashi Ono, Yuri Titov, Boris Shakhlin at the 1960 Olympics . 1960. Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano.
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