Soviet gymnasts first competed at the Olympics in 1952, and from 1952 through 1968, there was always a Soviet gymnast on the men’s all-around podium at the Olympics. Then, 1972 happened, and there were no Soviet all-around medalists in men’s artistic gymnastics.
Here’s what Sovetsky Sport, the primary sports newspaper of the Soviet Union, wrote.
Before the Olympics started, Kato Sawao was the favorite for the all-around title.
The big favorite for the all-around victory is Kato Sawao, who can probably only beat himself by always daring to exaggerate to the utmost. That would be the hour for world champion Kenmotsu, the “eternal” runner-up, Nakayama, or the latest discovery, Kasamatsu, but maybe also for the 20-year-old Russian Nikolai Andrianov or the North Korean Li Song Sob, about whom wonderful things are said.
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Number 393, 24 August 1972
Großer Favorit auf den Zwölfkampfsieg ist Sawao Kato, der wohl nur sich selber schlagen kann, indem er stets das Aeußerste wagend einmal übertreibt. Das wäre dann die Stunde für Weltmeister Kenmotsu, den «ewigen» Zweiten Nakayama oder die neueste Entdeckung, Kasamatsu, vielleicht aber auch für den 20jährigen Russen Nikolai Andrianow oder den Nordkoreaner Ri Son Sep, von denen man sich Wunderdinge erzählt.
After compulsories in Munich, Endo Yukio, the Japanese head coach, thought that four gymnasts had a chance to win:
“We’ll still win all the gold medals. However, my tip for the all-around victory has become a bit more comprehensive: Kenmotsu, Kato, Kasamatsu or Andrianov.” He no longer named arguably the best specialist of past world championships and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City — Nakayama — although the latter did well on his feared equipment, the pommel horse, with a score of 9.30.
Deutsches Sportecho, August 29, 1972
„Wir gewinnen alle acht Goldmedaillen!” Nach der Absolvierung der Pflicht glaubten viele, daß Endo sich etwas bremsen würde. Nichts dessen. „Wir gewinnen trotzdem alle Goldmedaillen. Mein Tip für den Mehrkampfsieg ist allerdings etwas umfassender geworden: Kenmotsu, Kato, Kasamatsu oder Andrianow.“ Er nannte nicht mehr den. wohl besten Gerätespezialisten vergangener Welttitelkämpfe und der Olympischen Spiele von 1968 in Mexiko-Stadt, nicht Nakayama, obwohl dieser an seinem Angstgerät, dem Seitpferd, mit 9,30 gut über die Runden kam.
In the end, Kato was able to defend his all-around title from Mexico City, but it wasn’t an easy victory. The all-around final on August 30, 1972, was a nail-biter. Having qualified first, Kato wouldn’t regain the lead until the final routine. (Reminder: Kato missed the 1970 World Championships due to an Achilles tear.)
Let’s dive in…
What did the Soviet press think about the Soviet men’s team winning silver for the fourth-straight Olympics?
Here’s what Sovetsky Sport, the primary sports newspaper of the Soviet Union, wrote.
On Tuesday, August 29, the men’s artistic gymnasts competed in the optionals portion of the competition. (You can read about the compulsories here.) Coming into the finals, Japan had a 2.85 lead over the Soviet Union, and reigning Olympic all-around champion Sawao Kato had a 0.05 lead over Nikolai Andrianov.
Tsukahara once again thrilled the audience with his originality. At the 1970 World Championships, it was his vault that captivated the audience. At the 1972 Olympics, it was his “moon salto” off high bar — an element for the Space Age.
Let’s take a look at what happened during the final day of the team competition.
After the compulsory program, Sovetsky Sport, the main sports newspaper of the USSR, printed its recap of the competition. Not surprisingly, the writer was complimentary toward the entire Soviet women’s artistic gymnastics team, adding delightful lines like, “For O. Korbut, with her unique tricks on uneven bars, performing the compulsories is as easy as shelling peas.” Of course, there were some rough spots on beam, but as the writer points out, all the teams struggled with beam.
As for the Soviet men, that was a different story. The newspaper only had good things to say about Andrianov and pointed out that Alexander Maleeev and Vladimir Shchukin did not have enough experience to be strong contributors to the team score.
Below, you can find a translation of Sovetsky Sport’s coverage.
On Sunday, August 27, the men’s artistic gymnasts gathered in the Olympic Sports Hall for what could be a long haul.
This was the first Olympic Games with a separate all-around final. As a result, the top gymnasts faced four days of competition (compulsories, optionals, all-around finals, and event finals). Previously, they had had only three days of competition (compulsories, optionals, and event finals).
From the start, it looked like the status quo would be upheld: Japan with team gold, the Soviet Union with team silver, and East Germany with team bronze. (Meanwhile, the U.S. gymnasts had a disastrous compulsory round.)
Let’s take a look at what happened…
Heading into the gymnastics competition at the 1972 Olympics, which teams were the favorites? Which individuals were expected to win the all-around?
Here’s what was written in newspapers across the globe.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was one of the powerhouses in women’s gymnastics. But in the lead-up to the Munich Olympics, they had dropped in the rankings. At the 1966 World Championships, they finished first. At the 1968 Olympics, they finished second. Then, at the 1970 World Championships, they were third. Nevertheless, Czechoslovakia was one of the favorites for bronze in Munich.
On the men’s side, the team had finished 4th at both the 1966 World Championships and the 1968 Olympic Games. But they dropped to 9th at the 1970 World Championships, which is where they finished in Munich. (Based on their scores at their national championships, a medal seemed out of the question.)
Here are the results for the 1972 Czechoslovak National Championships.
Who would make Japan’s men’s team for the Munich Olympics? The gymnastics world couldn’t wait to find out. As a Hungarian newspaper put it, “It is easier to win a gold medal than to get onto the Japanese national team.”
In the end, there were three members of the 1970 World Championship team (Nakayama, Tsukahara, and Kenmotsu), the 1968 Olympic All-Around Champion (Kato), the 1970 University Games All-Around Champion (Okamura), and Kasamatsu, who tied for fourth at the 1972 Riga International and won one of Japan’s qualifying competitions for Munich.
On the women’s side, the team was aiming for a bronze medal after its disappointing fourth-place finish in Mexico City.
What follows is a translation of the teams’ goals and the results from the selection competitions. This post also includes an article from Hungary on the men’s team selection.
At the 1968 Olympics, many outside Japan were surprised when Kato Sawao won. But within Japan, it was less of a surprise. Heading into the Olympics, Sasano Toshihiko said as much in the press:
Toshihiko Sasano, manager of the Japanese gymnastic team, said both men and women gymnasts are in best condition, particularly Yukio Endo and Sawao Kato.
The Yomiuri, Oct. 13, 1968
That’s because, as we’ll see below, Kato Sawao won Japan’s Olympic Trials, which were held months ahead of time — just as they are today.
As for the women’s team, they had finished third at the 1966 World Championships, and they had expectations for a team medal in Mexico City.
But in the two years between the Worlds and Olympics, there had been a changing of the guard. For example, Ikeda Keiko, who had finished third in the all-around at the World Championships in Dortmund, was no longer one of the top gymnasts in 1968.
Here are more details on Japan’s Olympic Trials for the Mexico City Olympics.