In June of 1952, with the Helsinki Olympic Games just a month away, Hungary’s top gymnasts faced their final proving ground: the national Masters Championships. Ágnes Keleti successfully defended her title, as did Lajos Sántha on the men’s side. However, Margit Korondi, Keleti’s stiffest competition, was missing from the lineup. Her absence left a lingering question: who would be Hungary’s top all-arounder when the world’s best gymnasts took the stage in Helsinki? (Spoiler: It was not Keleti.)
Here’s what was recorded in the Hungarian newspapers at the time.
As the 1952 Olympics approached, the Hungarian women’s gymnastics team found itself amid a fierce battle for the coveted spots. A series of four trials* would determine who would represent Hungary on the world stage, and the competition was anything but predictable.
In the opening trial at the 1951 Masters Championships, Ágnes Keleti emerged victorious, with Margit Korondi taking second. But the tide shifted at the second trial, the 1952 Liberation Day competition, where Korondi edged out Keleti for the top spot. By the third trial, Keleti seemed poised to reclaim her lead, holding an advantage after the compulsory routines. However, a stumble in the optional exercises opened the door for Korondi to seize the win and solidify her place as a top contender.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the absence of Lajos Sántha, the 1951 Masters Champion, left an opening for János Klencs to step up and make his mark.
Here are the results and contemporaneous commentary from the penultimate trial for Hungary’s Olympic team.
Margit Korondi, 1956
*Note: Some articles indicate that there were only three trials, but other articles indicate that there were four trials, including the Liberation Day competition.
In 1952, Hungary hosted its Liberation Day competition, a pivotal event for gymnasts vying for a spot in the upcoming Helsinki Olympics. For Hungarian athletes, the competition was more than just a national day to remember the end of German occupation; it was another qualifying meeting for the Helsinki Olympics,* and on the women’s side, the spotlight was once again on the contest between two of Hungary’s brightest stars — Ágnes Keleti or Margit Korondi. The pair flip-flopped in the all-around rankings throughout 1952.
For Czechoslovakia, the event offered a chance to measure their progress against Hungary, another European powerhouse. Hungary’s men had taken third place at the 1948 London Olympics, while the Hungarian women had settled for second, just behind Czechoslovakia’s gold medalists. Would Czechoslovakia be able to hold off Hungary again in Helsinki? (Spoiler alert: No.)
The following are the results of the competition, as reported in Hungary’s national press at the time. (Sources: Népsport, April 6 and 7, 1952)
Margit Korondi (HUN)
*Note: Some newspaper reports include this event as one of Hungary’s qualifying rounds for their Olympic team while others do not.
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.Dmytro LeonkinMedea Jugeli
What were the compulsory routines for the Olympic Games in Helsinki?
At the time, the compulsories changed every two years. So, the compulsory routines in Helsinki were different from those prescribed for the 1950 World Championships in Basel.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there aren’t videos of the routines on YouTube. But in this post, you can find the drawings and French text for both the men’s and women’s compulsories.
In 1952, there wasn’t a Code of Points for women’s artistic gymnastics. The “program” established the rules for participants and judges alike.
It was a different time. While flying rings disappeared after the 1950 World Championships, ensemble routines with portable hand apparatus remained. Those were done to music, but women’s individual floor exercise was performed in silence. Since deductions were not enumerated in the “program,” there was a two-day training course for all judges prior to the competition, and competitors had to rely on their countries’ judges to inform them about how their routines would be evaluated.
The Helsinki Games were the first Olympics that used an official Code of Points for men’s gymnastics. (The 1950 World Championships had used the 1949 Code of Points, as well.) But not everything could be covered in the extremely short Code of Points. As a result, the program for gymnastics in Helsinki included an additional 24 pages of rules for the men’s competition. Let’s take a look at some of the rules in place.
