Category: World Championships

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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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1966 Books Czechoslovakia WAG World Championships

Čáslavská’s Reaction to the 1966 Worlds in “The Road to Olympus”

Even though Čáslavská won the all-around and vault titles, and even though the Czechoslovak team defeated the Soviet team, the 1966 World Championships were still a low point for her — one that she hardly remembers. When she returned home from the competition, she received many letters, some of which were hate mail.

What follows is a translation of The Road to Olympus (Cesta na Olymp), Čáslavská’s 1972 autobiography. Here’s how she remembers Dortmund…

Note: You can read the main article on the 1966 World Championships here.

(GERMANY OUT) Die tschechische Kunstturnerin Vera Caslavska auf dem Schwebebalken, aufgenommen bei den Kunstturn-Weltmeisterschaften in Dortmund am 24.09.66. . (Photo by Schirner/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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1958 Books Czechoslovakia WAG World Championships

Čáslavská’s Early Years in “The Road to Olympus”

In 1972, Věra Čáslavská published her autobiography, The Road to Olympus (Cesta na Olymp). It provides a detailed recounting of her early days through the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

As a child, Čáslavská was a mischievous and funny child. Though a performer at heart, she struggled with stage fright until her mother helped her work through it, and as an adult, she came to see it as an asset. 

Čáslavská started with ballet, then added ice skating, and finally found gymnastics. Initially, she trained under Czechoslovak gymnastics legend Eva Bosáková, and when Bosáková was away with the national team, Čáslavská used to sneak into the gym to train. Given her relationship with Bosáková, Čáslavská found it difficult to beat her mentor.

From the start, the international crowd loved Čáslavská. At the age of 16, during her first World Championships in 1958, Čáslavská wowed the audience in Moscow — so much so that the public demanded a performance by Čáslavská, even though she didn’t make the floor finals.

Below, I’ve translated sections of Čáslavská’s autobiography, tracing her early years in sports through to her first World Championships in Moscow in 1958.

The cover of Čáslavská’s autobiography
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1970 Gym Nerd Trivia World Championships

1970: Gym Nerd Quiz about the World Championships

If you’re reading this site, you’re a gym nerd at heart. Now, it’s time to see just how much of a gym nerd you are. Take the quiz below to find out how much you know about the 1970 World Championships.

To study, you can review the posts on the 1970 men’s competition and the 1970 women’s competition.

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1970 Hungary World Championships

1970: The World Championships from a Hungarian’s Perspective

The Hungarian delegation’s reaction to the 1970 World Championships is fascinating. As you’ll see in the articles below, they envied the organization and financial resources of the top countries, and after a sixth-place finish for the women and an eleventh-place finish for the men in Ljubljana, they certainly would not have predicted the future: a team bronze medal in women’s gymnastics at the 1972 Olympic Games.

In addition, the second article raises an astute question: Had the era of long careers in women’s gymnastics ended? It’s a question that would re-emerge in several articles during this time period. 

What follows is a translation of two articles printed in Békés Megyei Népújság on January 6 and 7, 1971. They were written by József Lukács, who would go on to become the Hungarian women’s head coach from 1983 to 1989.

Copyright: imago/Frinke Vorstellung der Turnerriegen
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1970 Romania World Championships

1970: Reflections on Romanian Gymnastics after Worlds in Ljubljana

At the 1970 World Championships, the Romanian women’s team took 5th place while the men’s team took 8th. Afterward, Constantin Macovei, a reporter for the Romanian sports periodical Sportul, wrote a series of reflections. He criticized the unfair judging in Ljubljana and praised the women’s program for being on track, particularly Ceampelea and Ioan. 

As for the men’s program, Macovei provided several concrete suggestions, including scheduling matches that will push the gymnasts rather than give them a guaranteed victory. In addition, he looked forward to the performances of upcoming gymnasts like Adrian Stoica, who would one day become the President of the Men’s Technical Committee at the FIG.

Elena Ceampelea, Source: Wikimedia
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1970 WAG World Championships

1970: The Women’s Competition at the World Championships

The 1970 World Championships are often overshadowed by Čáslavská and Kuchinskaya’s rivalry in 1968 and by Korbut’s pyrotechnics in 1972. But the competition in Ljubljana was exciting in its own right.

First, there was the changing of the guard. Czechoslovakia was once the Soviet Union’s biggest rival. But East Germany assumed that position in 1970, and at one point in the competition, it seemed like East Germany might win team gold.

Second, the all-around competition was thrilling. The title was Karin Janz’s to lose, and well, unfortunately, she ended up losing it during the final rotation.

Let’s take a look at what happened…

Turn-Weltmeisterschaft in Ljubljana, Siegerehrung Mannschaft, UdSSR auf Platz 1, v.li.: Sinaida Woronina, Larissa Petrik, Ljubow Burda, Tamara Lasakowitsch, Ljudmila Turischtschewa, Olga Karasewa
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1970 MAG World Championships

1970: The Men’s Competition at the World Championships

The 1970 World Championships were a pivotal moment in the history of gymnastics. Men’s vault was considered boring in the late 1960s. But that changed at the 1970 World Championships when Tsukahara unveiled his namesake vault. The crowd loved it. In fact, during the optionals portion of the World Championships, the crowd protested Tsukahara’s 9.75.

Note: If you want to be extremely pretentious, you can call a “Tsukahara” a “Tivoli Vault.” Reportedly, that’s what Tsukahara was going to name the vault.

In addition to the debut of the Tsukahara vault, Kenmotsu, the 1970 World All-Around Champion, attempted a triple twist on floor. After the 1968 Olympics, he spent two years trying to personalize his gymnastics. It’s debatable whether or not he achieved his goal. Endo, Japan’s head coach at the time, bluntly said, “What sets Kenmotsu apart from others? I do not know very well.” Ouch.

Here’s what else happened at the 1970 World Championships…

Turn-Weltmeisterschaft in Ljubljana: Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan) Turn World Cup in Ljubljana Mitsuo Tsukahara Japan
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1970 Japan World Championships

1970: Kato Sawao Tears His Achilles Tendon

At the 1970 World Championships, the favorite for the men’s all-around title should have been Kato Sawao, the winner of the all-around in Mexico City in 1968. However, in February of 1970, he tore his right Achilles tendon while tumbling on floor. It was a major topic of conversation at the World Championships in Ljubljana. Here’s just one news report on the matter:

Endo: “Early this year [Kato] suffered an Achilles tendon injury during a dismount, which was difficult to heal. By the time things got going again, he was already eliminated. Too bad for him, but there was nothing that could be done about it.”

De Tijd, Oct. 31, 1970

Endo: “Begin dit jaar kreeg hij bij een afsprong een achillespeesblessure, die moeilijk genas. Toen het weer een beetje ging, was hij al geëlimineerd. Jammer voor hem, maar daar was niets aan te doen.”

The injury wasn’t just a major topic of conversation at the 1970 World Championships; it was also a major moment in Kato’s life. In his autobiography, The Path of Beautiful Gymnastics: The Story of Kato Sawao (美しい体操の軌跡加藤沢男物語), Kato dedicates two entire chapters to his Achilles tear, his recovery, and his mindset after the injury. What follows are translations of short excerpts from his book.

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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1970 Compulsories MAG WAG World Championships

1970: The Compulsory Routines for the World Championships in Ljubljana

What were the compulsory routines for the World Championships in Ljubljana?

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there aren’t videos of the routines on YouTube. But in this post, you can find the English text and drawings for both the men’s and women’s compulsories.

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