Sovetsky Sport. September 23, 1966. The Czechoslovakian gymnasts were given the opportunity to start with something with which they could immediately captivate the audience, and captivate them with their undeniable charm - the floor exercises.
The compulsory floor exercise is not too complicated - a few 'flicks,' a high jump at the beginning and a 'swallow' in the middle. And if the jump with its expression and freedom of soaring creates a certain mood in the judges and spectators, then the 'swallow' serves as a kind of quality control - physical balance reflects the mental balance of the athlete.
At first the Czechoslovak girls (the young generation of the team) - Krajcirova and Kostalova - were a little nervous (9.3 and 9.4). Things got getter - Kubickova-Poznerova 9.533, Rimnackova 9.433, and Sedlackova 9.6.
Caslavka prepared diligently, rehearsing her famous flight over and over again. And now she is making her first appearance on the carpet in Dortmund. How well she understands and knows how to do everything, how she decorates each combination with lacy movements of her hands, and how akin to the character of the music is the idyllic half-smile on her pale, porcelain-like face. The jump is high, although it could be higher. She was being stingy. The 'swallow' is quite passable, and the rest is excellent. Only in one 'flick' Caslavska slightly lost her pace. 9.8 is a high score.
Here's an interesting detail: her teammates were so confident in her that at the moment of the leader's floor exercise, they turned their backs to her and measured the run-up before the next event - the vault.
Kostalova is tasked with vaulting first. Her attempt is successful (9.366), and a chain reaction begins, which takes with it more and more points.
Rimnackova is a nice girl. She has speed and smiles. Having landed, she looked at the judges and fluttered her eyelashes, as if winking: look at me - a cheerful vaulter. She earned 9.433. Then she looked at the coach Jaroslava Matlochova very seriously. Did I cope?
Kubickova seems a bit heavy. It's harder for her to land. She's looking for extra support at the last moment. She lands it a bit to the side, and this costs a few fractions (9.4). And so, slightly frowning, she moves away.
Sedlackova is a sociable person. She manages to do everything in the tiny pause between vaults - put fluffy magnesia on her palms, straighten her bangs with the back of her hand, say a word to her teammates, and glance at the stands. But she knows her main business for sure - 9.5 points.
Krajcirova barely touches the horse. It seems that it burns her palms. She touches it and tries to fly away. 9.533.
Only Caslavska remains. The first attempt she is pulled to the side - and she is unable to hold on. But her smile is steady. She is the best companion to have in a difficult fight. During the second attempt Caslavska flies far and only at the very end she hops a little, as if she is letting an invisible skipping rope pass under her feet. But this does not count. 9.766.
The scores on the uneven bars were on the rise. Rimnackova 9.333, Sedlackova 9.433, Kostalova 9.533, Kubickova-Poznerova 9.6, Krajcirova 9.7, Caslavska 9.8! Can you imaging what kind of team this is? Can you imagine - Vera smiled while performing on the bars: in all the flights, turns, and hangs. We have seen smiles on the floor, on the balance beam, but here...
She lost two fractions of a point on her swing and on the backswing - she was a little late, noticeably only to one judge's meticulous eye. Everything else - you can't find fault.
On the beam, the Czechoslovakian gymnasts resort to 'voting' for the first time. Krajcirova starts, loses her balance several times, and now she has to go to the apparatus again. She will get 9.466 later, but for now her temporary failure will cause some nervousness.
Here is Kubickova-Poznerova. Several times it seems that if the ground is slipping from under her feet. After a barely noticeable balance, equilibrium is restored. 9.4.
Calm returns to the Czechoslovakian team after Rimnackova confidently completed her exercise. She has a high score of 9.4, and she is not going to hide her joy. Kostalova has 9.433, Sedlackova has 9.566. That leaves Caslavska with 9.666.
And here is the team result. The Czechoslovakian gymnasts have 190.995. Caslavska has 39.032 after the compulsory program. The second result in the team is Sedlackova (38.099). These are the benchmarks for our girls, who will take to the platform four hours later.
S. TOKAREV and A. CHAIKOVSKY