Category: Perfect 10

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1972 Japan Perfect 10

1972: Nakayama Scores a 10 at Penn State

At the beginning of 1972, the Japanese women’s and men’s teams did a tour of the United States. They stopped at San Fernando Valley State College, California State College at Fullerton, Chicago, Temple University, and Penn State. During the final stop, Nakayama Akinori scored a 10.00 on high bar.

Previously, when gymnasts like Čáslavská, Janz, or Zuchold scored 10s at their national championships, the numbers were reported in a tempered manner. But when Nakayama scored a 10.00 at Penn State, hundreds of words were dedicated to this moment in history. In many ways, the reporting on the dual meet in State College, PA, is a preview of the tone and hype that would appear at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. 

So, with no further ado, here’s the article from the Centre Daily Times on January 31, 1972.

Note: Curiously, Gymnast‘s coverage of the 1972 Japanese tour did not mention the 10.00.

Nakayama Akinori, 1970, Ljubljana World Championships
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1966 Czechoslovakia MAG Perfect 10 WAG

1966: Čáslavská Scores a 10.0 at the Czechoslovak Championships

With three months to go until the World Championships, the Czechoslovak women’s team looked strong at the national championships. Not only did Čáslavská score a 10.0 on floor, but they had seven gymnasts score a 76.00 or better in the all-around.

On the men’s side, there was much rumination about what went wrong in Tokyo. At the 1962 World Championships, the Czechoslovak men were third. At the 1964 Olympic Games, they dropped to sixth. Sotorník, the head coach of the team, even mentions his team’s work with a psychologist.

Here’s the coverage of the 1966 Czechoslovak Championships from the sports magazine Stadión.

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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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European Championships MAG Olympics Perfect 10 WAG World Championships

The Perfect Scores before Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim

Before Nadia Comăneci’s and Nellie Kim’s perfect 10s at the 1976 Olympic Games, there was a long line of gymnasts who obtained perfect scores at the Olympic Games, the World Championships, or the European Championships. (Originally, the World Championships were called the International Tournament.)

Some of them even managed perfect totals, meaning that they received the maximum score for their compulsory and optional routines combined.

So, here’s a chronological list of the gymnasts who were “perfect” before Comăneci and Kim.

Kunstturn-WM in Basel 1950: Barren-Sieger Hans Eugster (Photo by RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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1907 MAG Perfect 10 World Championships

1907: Perfect Scores Abound at the World Championships in Prague

Almost 70 years before Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim scored their perfect 10s at the Montreal Olympics, there were several perfect scores awarded during the 1907 International Tournament. (The International Tournament was the original name for the World Championships.) 

The majority of those perfect scores were for the French team. Nevertheless, the Czech Sokols, newcomers to the International Tournament, took first, ending the French team’s winning streak.

Oh, and, in 1907, one of the first age controversies in gymnastics occurred.

The Czech team. Source: V. slet všesokolský 1907: pamětní list vydaný péči
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1905 MAG Perfect 10 World Championships

1905: The World Championships That Almost Didn’t Happen

The 1905 International Tournament (now called the World Championships) almost didn’t happen. 

Why?

Because of a debate over rings.

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1938 MAG Perfect 10 World Championships

1938: Another Perfect 10 and Shot Put Struggles during the Men’s Competition at the World Championships

In 1938, Eugen Mack had yet another perfect score on vault. However, it wasn’t enough to beat the Czechoslovak team.

The Swiss team struggled in athletics (and rings). Shot put, in particular, dashed their hopes of becoming world champions.

Reusch, one of the top Swiss gymnasts, had a particularly rough time with athletics. Though Reusch won four apparatus titles, his scores didn’t count for the team total, which was based on the top six all-around scores. Reusch finished 7th on his team and 24th in the all-around overall. He scored a 0 in shot put (7.45 m).

Michael Reusch, Zürcher Illustrierte, July 8, 1938
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1928 MAG Olympics Perfect 10

1928: A Costly Math Error during the Men’s Competition at the Amsterdam Olympics

The men’s competition at the 1928 Olympics was a close battle between Czechoslovakia and Switzerland. It came down to the very last event, vault, on which Czechoslovak gymnast Šupčík fell and on which Swiss gymnast Eugen Mack received a perfect score for his compulsory routine.

Modern gymnastics fans might be surprised to know that one of the countries performed to music. During its ensemble floor routine, Yugoslavia told the history of its nation through music and movement. (Technically, it wasn’t Yugoslavia at the time but rather the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes or SHS for short.)

Of course, there was a fair share of judging drama. It’s gymnastics.

Unfortunately, there were some organizational problems, too. Due to a mathematical error, the wrong person received the bronze medal on rings.

Swiss gymnast Georges Miez (1904-1999) at the 1928 Summer Olympics, held at the Olympisch Stadion (Olympic Stadium) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, August 1928. Miez won gold in the Men’s artistic individual all-around, Men’s artistic team all-around, Men’s horizontal bar, and won silver in the Men’s pommel horse. (Photo by Bob Thomas/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
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1950 MAG Perfect 10 World Championships

1950: A Perfect 10 in the Men’s Competition at the World Championships

In 1950, Hans Eugster scored a perfect 10 on the parallel bars at the World Championships. It was the first 10 under the very first men’s Code of Points (1949). 

The competition wasn’t without its judging controversies that spilled over into the pages of the French and Swiss newspapers.

Kunstturn-WM in Basel 1950: Barren-Sieger Hans Eugster (Photo by RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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1968 MAG Perfect 10 USSR WAG

1968: A Flurry of 10.0s in the Soviet Union

At the 1967 European Championships, Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská scored two 10.0s. One year later, during the lead-up to the Mexico City Olympics, the Soviet gymnasts scored four 10.0s at their domestic competitions.

Given the flurry of 10.0s just before the 1968 Olympics, it’s somewhat surprising that there weren’t any 10.0s in Mexico City.

Let’s take a look at what happened at the USSR Nationals and the USSR Cup.

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