In 1972, Zdena Dorňáková won the all-around at the Czechoslovak National Championships when she was only 14. She finished 27th in the all-around at the Munich Olympics, suffered an injury right before the 1973 European Championships, and finished 19th in the all-around at the 1974 World Championships in Varna.
Because she won the national title at such a young age, she was a source of fascination in the Czechoslovak media in the early 1970s, and she was portrayed as the gymnast who might rehabilitate Czechoslovak gymnastics. Below, you’ll find a 1973 profile of her, as well as a 1974 interview.
A topic of interest: The tension between the capital and the peripheral gyms. This was not a uniquely Czechoslovak problem. For instance, it was a challenge for Swiss gymnasts, as well.
At the 1973 University Games, the Soviet women were able to repeat their 1970 success, winning team gold and sweeping the all-around podium. They also won gold on every individual apparatus — with Olga Korbut winning three of the four event finals. (The Moscow University Games held an all-around final and apparatus finals for the first time.)
The increasing level of difficulty was evident at the 1973 Universiade. Even though the Women’s Technical Committee was debating whether to ban a standing back tuck on beam, more and more gymnasts were attempting the skill after Korbut and Thies did the skill in Munich. At least three gymnasts performed the skill at the 1972 Soviet National Youth Championships, as did Joan Moore at the 1972 Chunichi Cup. And at the 1973 University Games, Hayashida also attempted a standing back tuck.
Women’s vault was also changing. Gehrke had done a Tsukahara at the 1972 Riga International, and one year later, the vault was becoming more commonplace with Bogdanova winning the vault title in Moscow with her “masculine Tsukahara,” as Sovetsky Sport called it.
Here’s what happened at the 1973 University Games…
Olga Korbut at the World University Games at the Lenin Central Stadium. The exact date of the photograph is unknown. Nikolai Naumenkov/TASS PUBLICATION
I think it’s important to document the floor music used at major gymnastics competitions. It tells us a lot about the general cultural zeitgeist in the world, as well as what gymnasts and their coaches think the judges will or will not like.
In 1970, the Women’s Technical Committee set the competitive age limit at 14. One year later, they issued an explanation of sorts. It included a warning to members, recognizing that abusive methods were leaving child gymnasts damaged. By setting the age limit at 14, their hope was to see more “mature work” that displayed a “woman’s charm.”
Here’s what was recorded in the 1971 FIG bulletins about the question of age in women’s artistic gymnastics.
In 1973, newspapers around the globe printed some version of this headline: “Olga ‘May Say Goodbye Forever.’”
The articles typically went on to explain that Olga Korbut, the fan favorite of the Munich Games, might end her gymnastics career because the FIG had decided that her skills were too dangerous.
Not surprisingly, the newspapers got some of the details wrong. One Japanese newspaper wrote, “The 89-pound Olympic gold medalist has been banned from performing a breathtaking double backward somersault on the balance beam” (The Daily Yomiuri, July 18, 1973).
To be clear, the FIG did not ban a double back on the beam, nor did Korbut perform a double back on the beam. But in early 1973, the Women’s Technical Committee (WTC) was set to ban two skills that Korbut popularized: the standing back tuck on beam, as well as dismounting the bars by pushing off with one’s feet.
Then, over the course of the year, the members of the WTC slowly walked back their decision.
So, here’s a brief history of the Women’s Technical Committee’s decisions in 1973, as well as a translation of Korbut’s interview that sent shockwaves around the globe.
Bildnummer: 03508694 Datum: 28.08.1972 Copyright: imago/Werner Schulze
Olga Korbut (UdSSR) – Stufenbarren; quer Olympische Spiele 1972 Sommerspiele Kunstturnen Geräteturnen Vneg Vsw München Turnen OS Sommer Damen Einzel Einzelbild Aktion Personen Kurios
Reminder: Korbut was not the only gymnast to do a standing back tuck on beam at the 1972 Olympics. Nancy Thies (USA) also did one in Munich. Nor was she the only gymnast to dismount the uneven bars using her feet. Her teammate Bogdanova was doing a double-twisting version of Korbut’s dismount. Korbut was the most famous gymnast to perform those skills and thus became a lightning rod for the issue.
Note: The articles below will mention Korbut’s coach. Korbut has alleged that Knysh sexually assaulted her. Knysh has denied the allegations.
The Riga International was one of the first major international competitions in 1973. Olympic gold medalists Nikolai Andrianov, Klaus Köste, and Elvira Saadi competed, but it wasn’t a well-attended event:
The attendance was very light for both men’s and women’s events with some increase during the finals.
Gymnast, June/July 1973
Riga was a place where gymnasts often debuted new skills. In 1972, Tsukahara did his full-twisting double back off high bar, and Gehrke became one of the first women to do a Tsukahara on vault. In 1973, Andrianov did one of the first double pikes on floor.
Historical context: At the 1962World Championships, Hristov of Bulgaria attempted one of the first double backs at a major international competition. (He face-planted it.) Eleven years later, the world finally saw one of the first double pikes.
After boycotting the 1967 Universiade, the Eastern Bloc returned in 1970, and the Soviets swept the podium, winning team gold and the top three places in the individual all-around. Larisa Petrik, who had tied Čáslavská for gold on floor at the 1968 Olympics, won the all-around. And, as always, the Soviet gymnasts were idealized for the quality and fluidity of their movements on floor.
But Soviet gymnasts weren’t the only ones who were pushing the envelope at the Universiade in Turin. The Japanese gymnasts were performing twisting vaults, which would become more common at the 1972 Olympics. On beam, the Hungarian gymnasts took risks by performing aerial cartwheels. (To be sure, Korbut had started performing her standing back tuck on beam at smaller competitions in 1969, but no-handed flight elements like saltos and aerials were uncommon at the time. )
What follows are the results, commentary about the competition, and an interview with Tatiana Schegolkova.
Source: Universiade Torino ’70: Giochi mondiali della FISU
In 1963 and 1965, the Hungarian team won the team titles at the University Games. They were unable to defend their title because Hungary boycotted the competition in support of North Korea:
The Tokyo 1967 Summer Universiade certainly had its challenges even before the competition started, with the Eastern bloc nations such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, North Korea, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, and Cuba boycotting the Games because of the political dynamics at the time. The first to boycott was North Korea, who demanded that it be referred to as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea during the Universiade, a request that was denied. The countries from the East then rallied around their communist ally and also pulled out.
Source: Spotlight: Remembering the Tokyo 1967 Summer Universiade
Reminder: At other competitions, there was controversy over referring to the German Democratic Republic as East Germany.
As a result, the 1967 University Games were a rather small competition that ended with Japan winning easily over the United States, and Matsuhisa Miyuki winning the all-around comfortably. (Yes, there was a time when the U.S. women sent teams to the University Games.)
Here are the results, as well as a translation of Japan’s Official Report on the 1967 University Games.
Caption: Matsuhisa Miyuki, winner of the women’s individual all-around, with her excellent form on floor exercise (left) and balance beam (right). (女子個人総合で優勝した松久ミユキ選手の床運動 (左)と平均台 (右)のみごとなフォーム)
Source: Japan’s Official Report on the 1967 University Games
At the 1963 Universiade, Hungary upset the Soviet team, and Larisa Latynina (URS) had to share the all-around gold with Katalin Makray (HUN). Two years later, in Budapest, the Hungarian team once again found itself on top of the podium, and Makray won another medal in the all-around — this time, a bronze. Her teammate Anikó Ducza stood on top of the podium, defeating Galina Burucheva of the Soviet Union by 0.10.
What follows are the results, as well as coverage from the time.
Top right: Katalin Makray; Center: Shibuya Taki and Furuyama Yasuko; Bottom: Galina Burucheva. Source: Képes Sport, August 31, 1965
The results of the gymnastics competition at the 1963 University Games in Porto Alegre, Brazil, were quite unexpected.
At the 1962 World Championships, Yuri Titov and LarisaLatynina won the all-around titles. One year later, at the Universiade in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Titov finished off the podium, and the Japanese men swept the top three places in the all-around. On the women’s side, Latynina, who had won every World and Olympic all-around title since 1956, had to share first place with Hungary’s Katalin Makray. On top of that, Hungary beat the Soviet Union, which had won team gold at every World Championships or Olympic Games since 1952.
Granted, there were some fundamental differences between the University Games and other major competitions. No compulsory routines, for example. Only four gymnasts per team. No event finals. Nevertheless, the results were surprising.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to track down information about this competition. So, this post relies on the book Unversíade 1963: História e resultados dos Jogos Mundiais Universitários de Porto Alegre by Rodrigo Koch.
