Category: 1972

1972: A Preview of the USSR Championships

Post author By Gymnastics History
Post date February 23, 2023
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In the lead-up to the 1972 Olympics, the first big test for Soviet gymnasts was the USSR Championships, held in Kyiv at the end of March and the beginning of April.

Tourischeva and Lazakovich were the clear favorites on the women’s side, but people were eager to see if gymnasts from the 1968 Olympics like Karaseva and Voronina could hang on. Dronova, another aspirant for the Olympic Team, was still recovering from an injury.

There were three clear frontrunners on the men’s side: Klimenko, Voronin, and Andrianov.

Here’s a short preview of the competition.

Nikolai Andrianov, 1972, Hamburg, Germany

Reminder: The USSR Championships and the USSR Cup were two separate competitions. Both competitions were held in the lead-up to the 1972 Olympics.

Note: Korbut is not mentioned in the article. In her autobiography My Story, Korbut posits that Stanislav Tokarev, the author of this article, did not appreciate her gymnastics prior to the Munich Olympics.

1972 East Germany USSR WAG

1972: The East German Women’s Team Defeats the Soviet Team before Munich

Post author By Gymnastics History
Post date February 20, 2023
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In October of 1971, just days after the European Championships, the Soviet Union and the East German gymnasts faced off. The Soviet Union won, and Olga Korbut won the all-around.

A few months later, in March of 1972, the two teams held another dual meet. This time, the East German team won, and Karin Janz won the all-around.

Ludmilla Tourischeva was absent, and reportedly, Olga Korbut had to withdraw due to injury. Nevertheless, the East German press was excited about this victory during an Olympic year, especially the team’s progress on floor exercise.

Let’s take a look at what happened…

Janz, 1972 Summer Olympics, Date: 31.08.1972 Copyright: imago/Sven Simon

1972 Compulsories MAG Olympics WAG

1972: The Compulsory Routines for the Munich Olympics

Post author By Gymnastics History
Post date February 16, 2023
1 Comment on 1972: The Compulsory Routines for the Munich Olympics

At the 1972 Olympics, the men’s compulsories followed the standard format: set routines that each gymnast had to perform exactly as the text stated. (Reminder: In 1969, the FIG decided to make compulsories valid for four years rather than having separate compulsories for the World Championships and Olympic Games.)

The women’s compulsories, on the other hand, took a different path: there were specific skills and a specific order in which those skills had to be performed, but each national team was responsible for designing its own routines.

Let’s take a look at the compulsory routines.

Games of the XXth Olympiad, Munich 1972: Gymnastics Regulations

1972 MAG Olympics WAG

1972: The Qualification Criteria for Gymnastics at the Munich Olympics

Post author By Gymnastics History
Post date February 13, 2023
1 Comment on 1972: The Qualification Criteria for Gymnastics at the Munich Olympics

A qualification system was put in place for the Munich Olympic Games. Countries had to achieve specific scores during a set period in order to participate in the Olympic Games.

Here were the rules guiding the process.