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1972 Olympics WAG

1972: The Women’s All-Around Final at the Munich Olympics

The third rotation of the women’s all-around final (competition II) in Munich is one of the most famous moments in the history of gymnastics. It was widely covered in the media at the time, and it continues to be mentioned in almost every history about women’s gymnastics. 

You probably know the story. 

Heading into the third rotation, Korbut had a 0.075 lead over Tourischeva. When Korbut mounted the bars, she messed up a simple glide kip, and from there, things fell apart. After her routine, she burst into tears — a moment that appeared on television sets and in periodicals around the world. With a score of 7.50 on bars, she lost all chances of an all-around medal.

In the words of one Wall Street Journal writer, the American public forgot about the politics of the Cold War and saw Olga as human: “She was simply a 17-year-old girl from a small town, crying in anguish at her failures and glowing over her successes” (WSJ, Sep. 6, 1972).

But that’s not all that transpired during the competition. So, let’s take a look at what happened on August 30, 1972. 

Copyright: imago/Colorsport Gymnastics – 1972 Munich Olympics – Women s Individual All-Around The gold medal winner, USSR s Lyudmila Turishcheva. Sports Hall, Olympic Park, Munich, West Germany.
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1972 Olympics USSR WAG

1972: Sovetsky Sport on the Soviet Women’s Team Gold

In 1972, the Soviet Union won its sixth-straight team title, and Sovetsky Sport, the main sports newspaper of the Soviet Union, printed over 1,000 words about the competition. The article highlighted the star power of Korbut and Tourischeva, the gentle guidance of coach (and former Soviet star) Polina Grigoryevna Astakhova, and the team’s ability to rally after Antonina Koshel’s mistakes on floor and bars.

Here’s how the 1972 women’s optional competition was covered in the Soviet press.

Datum: 31.08.1972 Copyright: imago/Pressefoto Baumann Olympische Spiele München 1972 , Turnen Frauen Olga KORBUT (UdSSR)

Note: In this photo, you can see how the beam was just wood without padding.
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1972 Olympics USA WAG

1972: Reactions to the U.S. Women’s Fourth-Place Finish

At the 1948 Olympic Games, the U.S. women took home the bronze medal. 24 years later, the U.S. women almost found themselves on the podium again. They took fourth place — 2.35 points behind the Hungarian team. Yet, many U.S. members of the gymnastics community felt that they should have been third.

Here are a few of the reactions.

Munich, Germany – 1972: Cathy Rigby competing in the Women’s gymnastics event at the 1972 Summer Olympics / Games of the XX Olympiad, Olympic Sports Hall. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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1973 Czechoslovakia WAG

1973: Czechoslovakia Restructures the WAG Program after Munich

From 1936 until 1968, Czechoslovak women’s artistic gymnasts always won at least one medal at the Olympics. In 1972, that streak ended. It led to Czechoslovakia reorganizing its training, creating a more centralized training system with Vít Matlocha at the helm. The coaches’ goal: find a way to recreate Korbut’s magic in Czechoslovakia.

Reminder: Jaroslava Matlochová, who was Čáslavská’s coach at the end of her career, had left to coach in Italy. After Munich, she returned to Czechoslovakia to lead the women’s program with her husband.

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1972 Olympics WAG

1972: The Women’s Optionals at the Munich Olympics (Competition 1b)

On Monday, August 28, the women’s artistic gymnasts competed in the optionals portion of the competition. (You can read about the compulsories here.) Coming into the finals, the Soviet Union had a 1.85 lead over East Germany, and reigning co-European champion Tamara Lazakovich had a 0.10 lead over Karin Janz of East Germany.

Let’s take a look at what happened during the final day of the team competition — the day that Olga Korbut enchanted the world.

Datum: 31.08.1972 Copyright: imago/Pressefoto Baumann Olympische Spiele 1972 München Turnen Frauen Olga KORBUT (UdSSR)
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1972 MAG Olympics USSR WAG

1972: Sovetsky Sport’s Coverage of the Compulsories in Munich

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.

Copyright: imago/Werner Schulze Nikolai Andrianov (UdSSR) – Barren
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1972 Olympics WAG

1972: The Women’s Compulsories at the Munich Olympics (Competition 1a)

On Sunday, August 27, 1972, the women’s artistic gymnasts started the long slog of the Olympics. 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 as if the Soviet Union and East Germany had gold and silver locked. But bronze was still up for grabs, and it would cause a lot of heartache in the U.S. gymnastics community.

Copyright: imago/Karl-Heinz Stana
Irene Abel (DDR) – Pferdsprung
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1972 MAG Olympics WAG

1972: Preview of the Gymnastics Competition at the Munich Olympics

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.

Datum: 01.09.1972 Copyright: imago/Colorsport Gymnastics, Ludmilla Tourishcheva. Sports Hall, Olympic Park, Munich, West Germany.
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1972 Czechoslovakia MAG WAG

1972: The Results from Czechoslovakia’s National Championships

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.

Zdena Dorňáková, Stadión, No. 38, Sept. 18, 1973
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1972 Japan MAG Training WAG

1972: Japan’s Olympic Trials Results and Goals for Munich

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.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 24: Sawao Kato of Japan competes in the Floor of the Artistic Gymnastics Men’s Individual All-Around final during the Mexico City Summer Olympic Games at the National Auditorium on October 24, 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)