Category: WAG

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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)
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1968 Japan MAG WAG

1968: Japan’s Olympic Trials

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.

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)
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1972 Interviews & Profiles USSR WAG

1972: A Profile of Tamara Lazakovich in Soviet Life

Going into the 1972 Olympics, Tamara Lazakovich was one of the favorites. At the 1971 European Championships, she tied with Ludmilla Tourischeva for all-around gold. In addition, she won gold medals on the uneven bars and balance beam, as well as silver medals on vault and floor exercise. At the time, Berthe Villancher, President of the Women’s Technical Committee, held Lazakovich up as the ideal on beam.

The magazine Soviet Life ran a short profile of Lazakovich before the Olympics. It gives the details of her career.

Note: You can read an interview with Lazakovich here. It gives some interesting details about her career. For example, Lazakovich wanted to quit the sport.

The cover of Soviet Life, August 1972

Author: Lev Kuleshov
Photographs: Sergei Lidov
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1972 USSR WAG

1972: Was Olga Korbut Supposed to Be on the Soviet Team in Munich?

If you grew up watching U.S. gymnastics coverage, you might think that Olga Korbut was not supposed to be on the Soviet team in 1972. During an ABC replay of the 1972 Olympics, the commentators remarked:

“She was a last-minute substitute on the Soviet team, replacing Nina Dronova who had broken her wrist. Olga wasn’t even listed in the Russian team biographies.”

A similar remark was printed in Gymnast (now International Gymnast) magazine in an article about the 1972 Chunichi Cup, in which Dronova competed:

The Russians were represented by three girls, Ludmilla Tourischeva, 1st All-Around in Munich, Lyubov Burda, 5th All-Around in Munich, and 14-year-old Nina Dronova who was a member of the USSR Olympic team until she broke her wrist several weeks before the games. She was replaced by Olga Korbut.

Gymnast, February 1973

But is that what happened? The Soviet press told a different story.

November 1-4, 1972. Grodno, Byelorussian SSR, USSR. Three times Olympic Champion in artistic gymnastics Olga Korbut. The exact date of the photograph is unknown. Vitaly Sozinov/TASS PUBLICATION
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1972 MAG USSR WAG

1972: Korbut and Andrianov Win the USSR Cup

Months earlier, in April, Ludmilla Tourischeva and Nikolai Andrianov won the 1972 Soviet Championships — both with errors. At the 1972 Soviet Cup, Tourischeva had another mistake, and this time, Olga Korbut was able to capitalize on it and win the competition. As for Andrianov, he further cemented his position as the top Soviet gymnast heading into the Olympics.

Below, you’ll find the results, a Soviet video montage, as well as newspaper articles about the competition. I’ve translated full articles so that you can have the experience of a gymnastics fan who was trying to piece together what happened in the pages of the newspaper Izvestiia.

November 1-4, 1972. Grodno, Byelorussian SSR, USSR. Three times Olympic Champion in artistic gymnastics Olga Korbut. The exact date of the photograph is unknown. Vitaly Sozinov/TASS
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1972 Hungary Interviews & Profiles WAG

1972: Profiles of Ilona Békési, Krisztina Medveczky, and Monika Császár

In 1972, the Hungarian team won bronze at the Olympics, yet little has been written about the team’s gymnasts in the English language. To give some personality to the names in the record books, I’ve translated newspaper profiles of three gymnasts: Ilona Békesi, Krisztina Medveczky, and Monika Császár.

Ilona Békési was indisputably the top gymnast on the team. At the 1971 Hungarian Nationals, she swept every event, and as you’ll see, she was often portrayed as a tenacious gymnast with great willpower. Krisztina Medveczky was depicted as the young, wide-eyed teammate who was only 14 when she made the team. And Monika Császár was a humble gymnast who did not enjoy the spotlight.

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1972 Hungary MAG WAG

1972: Békési and Molnár Win the Hungarian Masters Championships

At the 1972 Hungarian Masters Championships, Ilona Békési won her second straight all-around title, and Imre Molnár won his third straight title. Zoltán Magyar, who would later become known as the greatest pommel horse worker of the 1970s, had a rough competition, especially on pommel horse.

In this post, you’ll find the results from the championships, as well as the newspaper articles covering the men’s and women’s all-around competitions. As far as I know, there aren’t videos of the competition online, so you’ll have the experience of a gymnastics fan who had to read about what happened in the newspapers.

Molnár (left) and Békési (upper right), Képes Sport, June 13, 1972
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1972 East Germany Interviews & Profiles WAG

1972: The Artist on the Beam — A Profile of Erika Zuchold

Erika Zuchold was an integral part of East Germany’s rise in women’s gymnastics. She missed the 1964 Olympics due to an Achilles tear, but when she returned to competition, she was one of the leaders of the German team at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.

Zuchold earned a total of 10 World and Olympic medals. She was known for her impressive Yamashita on vault and is often credited as the first gymnast to perform a back handspring on beam. Today’s fans know her because her name lives on in the Code of Points for the Zuchold transition on uneven bars.

Zuchold’s Yamashita, 1970 World Championships
You can see the Zuchold transition at the 0:16 mark in the video above (from the 1972 all-around final).

At the 1970 World Championships, Zuchold came back from a meniscus tear (and “other complicated injuries”) and won gold on both vault and beam.

As you’ll see below, she was also a lover of ice cream. 

What follows is a profile of Zuchold that ran in Neue Zeit right before the Olympic Games.

Erika Zuchold, 1972 Olympic Games, Copyright: imago/Werner Schulze
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1972 East Germany MAG WAG

1972: Janz and Köste Win the All-Around at the East German Championships

Four months before the Olympic Games, East Germany held its national championships. As expected, Karin Janz and Klaus Köste won the all-around titles. Behind them, you could see the Olympic team starting to take shape.

Let’s take a look at the results and reports on the 1972 East German Championships…

Klaus Köste DDR-Mehrkampfmeister im Turnen. Photographer: Liebers Copyright: ADN-ZB

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L0420-0024 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons
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1972 MAG Riga International WAG

1972: Korbut and Andrianov Win the Riga International

The Riga International was one of the big competitions early in the 1972 competitive season. It allowed gymnasts to try out the compulsory routines in an international setting and test new elements.

On the women’s side, Korbut swept all five gold medals while performing many of the skills that would captivate the world in Munich. (Unfortunately, her struggles on bars continued.) Plus, Bogdanova (URS) performed one of the first double fulls off beam, while Gehrke (GDR) performed one of the first Tsukahara vaults in women’s artistic gymnastics. 

On the men’s side, Tsukahara unveiled a new dismount off high bar: a full-twisting double back. And Zoltán Magyar performed his famous travel on pommel horse.

Here’s what else happened at the 1972 Riga International…

A medal from the Riga International
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