Sovetsky Sport. December 16, 1967. The winner of the USSR Cup in gymnastics has been determined. It was Moscow's Army man V. Kerdemelidi (111.45). A. Kozeev (Burevestnik) was five hundredths of a point behind him. Next were V. Shamenko (Dinamo, 110.85), M. Bogus (Dinamo) and V. Leontiev (Army) - 109.7 each, and A. Arkaev (Profsoyuz, 109.65).
Numbers can sometimes speak louder than words. It just so happened that the fight for the Cup came down to a rivalry between two gymnasts. Throughout the competition, they were separated from each other by five hundredths of a point, no more, no less.
After the compulsory program, Valery Kerdemelidi had 55.1 and A. Kozeev had 55.05. Then the competition went in the following order: V. Kerdemelidi, vault 9.3; A. Kozeev, rings 9.4; V.K., parallel bars 9.4; A.K, vault 9.3; V.K., high bar 9.45; A. K., parallel bars 9.4; V.K., pommel horse 9.3; A.K., floor 9.3; V.K., rings 9.5; A.K., pommel horse 9.5. And now let's put introductions to the apparatus.
On the parallel bars, Kerdemelidi finished with a forward somersault with a full twist. Kozeev repeats this dismount. Their scores are the same. On the horizontal bar, Kerdemelidi shows a spectacular release move, increasing the tempo to the limit - a double somersault crowns the routine. Kozeev, on the other hand, methodically builds up momentum, breaking the invisible line of the circle with one difficult element after another, and flies off, drilling through the air with a double twist. Again the scores are equal. Kozeev goes for broke. It's necessary to win back these ill-fated five hundredths. The beginning of his floor is a double twist. The ending is also a double twist. But Kozeev squatted deeply and touched the mat with his hand. Kerdemelidi has 0.1 more, without showing off his difficulty, and performed a well-constructed routine cleanly.
On the pommels, Kozeev was 'on the horse.' His seat is high, the transitions from the handles to the body were made with ease. Kerdemelidi 'licked' the horse - he worked a little too heavily. Kozeev was 0.2 higher.
As we can see, the comparison is in Kozeev's favor in many cases.
It is characteristic that both rivals scored the same amount of points in the optional program. The same five hundredths of a point were lost by Kozeev in the floor exercises of the compulsory program, where he received 8.9. This weakness in the all-around should be taken into account by both the talented 22-year-old gymnast and his young coach A. Kolakov.
A few words about others. I remember a detail of the elegant E. Logikov's (Burevestnik) performance on the floor. He has excellent hand work. It turns out beautifully and expressively when the gymnast follows his movements with his eyes. The acrobatics of 18-year-old A. Katkov (Profsoyuz) is also very strong. It's a pity that his connctions are too simple.
It's also a pity that the average of the top six is over 26. This is, of course, a good age for sports maturity, but let's take into account that if Kozeev weren't there, that number would already be 27...
V. GOLUBEV, Master of Sports (our special correspondent)