Sovetsky Sport. May 30, 1967. On Saturday, the Amsterdam Congress Centre, where the European Championships were taking place, was packed. You already know the name of the champion - Caslavska. And it was like this.
Vera was on the uneven parallel bars. It's a routine of the highest difficulty. But there were many mistakes: she lost her tempo, touched the top bar with her feet, and couldn't stay on at the end. A flag was thrown over the judges' tables - a sign that the judges seriously disagreed in their scores. Apparently, the name of the world champion still has a magical effect. Here is the score: 9.433. Our girls are full of courage and determination. Druzhinina's performance on the balance beam is almost flawless and full of such grace that it seems that the chords of Chopin's etude, now sounding for a floor performance, are being played for her. The score - 9.733. The beginning of Kuchinskaya's routine, a handstand, stunned everyone. Even Natasha's coach V. Reison grabbed his head - Natasha unexpectedly changed the beginning. But it's the optional program. And, maintaining the pace and enthusiasm, she earns 9.766. Our next apparatus is the floor exercise. Druzhinina got a solid 9.8 points. Natasha is a little paler than usual. And yet she is all seriousness and concentration during both the pirouette and the 'Kolpinska.' Perhaps she worked more cautiously than usual - 9.833.
It seems that Caslavska's usual calm is beginning to change. It's hot in the gym, and she has thrown a sweater over herself and is sitting huddled up. And when she came to the beam, she was all determination and pressure and a series of original elements. True, Natasha is ahead, although her advantage is very small, in thousandths.
The third apparatus, the vault, is the most dangerous for us. Kuchinskaya's score is 9.6. Well, nothing is lost yet. And Zina Druzhinina has quite a decent reserve for the silver medal - 9.5. Even Caslavska's floor exercise, executed almost flawlessly (9.866), only slightly tipped the scales. So, after the third apparatus, Kuchinskaya is in the lead.
The uneven bars. This is Natasha's apparatus. At all her recent training sessions and competitions, she has received scores not lower than 9.8. The current start of the routine is extremely difficult: a 360-degree turn on the upper pole with a drop to the bottom pole... But after the lift with a bend, there was a fatal mistake. She missed the pole and fell. Continuing the routine, she fell in her knees when dismounting. This cost her all hopes of winning.
On Sunday, medals were awarded on the individual apparatus. Traditionally, it began with the vault. The first one was Kuchinskaya. The most difficult vault was a sideways somersault with a 270-degree twist. Among the participants of the championship, Natasha is probably the only one who performs it. But at the end she leaned forward a little - and the score was 9.6. Following her, the gymnast from Czechoslovakia M. Krajcirova performed a sideways vault with flying colors: 9.633. It must be said that most of the participants preferred simpler vaults, and even Caslavska did not introduce anything new on this event. But her vault, a Yamashita, is perfectly rehearsed, to put it mildly. This stability has already created a certain psychological mood among the judges and spectators. The score of 9.9 was unattainable for the other participants. The young GDR athlete Karin Janz showed an excellent example of the domestic vaulting school. Her first attempt caused controversy among the judges, but her second was unanimously awarded a 9.8 and the bronze medal. What can I say about Zina Druzhinina? Compared to the world championship, she has significantly improved her vault technique, and the flight phase has become longer, but the disadvantage is still the same - a weak landing.
Uneven bars. Due to her low score, Kuchinskaya does not participate in this event. All our hopes are on Druzhinina and her routine with its top-notch elements. In gymnastics terminology, one of them reads as follows: on the top bar, a forward turn without hands and a back swing to a handstand with a turn around. Zina worked boldly, with a flourish and at a good pace. But on the simplest element, she touched the bar. Even the magnificent twist at the end didn't help - 9.466. Caslavska was unrivaled on this apparatus. Her new, recently learned exercise on the uneven bars is somewhat monotonous in composition but is extremely difficult. The turn to the stand is interesting, and she performs a takeoff from the top bar with a 360-degree twist. Many other gymnasts have a very high difficulty of combinations.
Beam is our apparatus. The hegemony of Soviet gymnasts here has been unshakable so far, especially in composition. And despite losing first place, we can once again assert this. Many teams have already approached us in the technique of performing individual elements. At these competitions, a small rarity is also an Arabian back flip from a seated position, and various acrobatic combinations ending with a spectacular dismount. The tempo of execution has also increased.
What actually happened on this apparatus? The tone was set by Druzhinina's 9.766. Kuchinskaya shows all the stances, leaps, and flips that the gymnast seems capable of - 9.9. Next up is Caslavska. The hall has never been so quiet. What will she show? A tricky 360-degree turn on her knees, a spectacular pose, leaps - everything seems flawless. Again there is a disagreement among the judges, and the competition is again suspended. After a short consultation, an absolute score is given - 10!
The last final, floor exercises, was truly a symphony of movement and beauty. The first chord belongs to Zina Druzhinina. With her fiery performance she seemed to break the tension of a difficult day, calculations were discarded, and everyone openly admired the gymnast. And then Natasha Kuchinskaya. She seems to embody antiquity itself, from the turns of her head to the tips of her fingers. And at the same time, she performs a whirlwind of the most difficult acrobatic elements. But Caslavska beat them all. The judges once again gave the all-around champion's performance the highest score - the coveted ten!
M. KONDRATIEVA