Sovetsky Sport. December 15, 1967. The USSR Cup in gymnastics continues in Kuibyshev. After the compulsory program, L. Turischeva (Dinamo) is in the lead among the participants of the youth championship with 37.1, followed by T. Kitlyarova (Profsoyuz 2) with 36.9. Third place is shared by L. Surmeneva (Profsoyuz 2) and L. Ryzhenko (Army) with 36.75. Next are L. Kondrasheva and L. Burda (Spartak) with 36.6.
Lyuba Burda is already a well-known athlete. But Burda is not in the top three yet. The reason for this is not only her angularity (although this drawback is still noticeable - her movements seem too sharp). It's jsut that her compulsory routines - the individual elements - are not polished enough yet. Lyuba seems to perform them clearly and systematically. But there is no smoothness of transitions between the combinations. The impression of a certain sloppiness of handwriting is created.
Although it's nice to watch the girls approach the apparatus - prim, with their heads held high - the performance of some gymnasts, especially the young ones, looked rather pale. Needless to say, learning the compulsory program for Master of Sports is far from the same as learning optional exercises. There is less time, and there are some tricky things that require a lot of strength training. For example, Svetlana Moskaleva from Dinamo performed at the Schoolchildren's Spartakiad and the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in the Candidate program and stood out noticeably. Her data is excellent - long-legged, tall, flexible, delicate - but the Master program has not been worked out, and the exercises are performed with difficulty. She, like many girls, clearly lacks strength. Of course, there are exceptions. Tamara Lazakovich (also Dinamo and also Vitebsk, V. Dmitriev's school) coped playfully with the compulsory program and only hesitated on the uneven bars. She is only 13 years old, small enough to fit under a table, but is built strongly.
The girls' vaults are lagging behind. The cartwheel is not a very successful vault. Almost everyone takes a step to the side. The experienced Surmeneva found an antidote: at the moment of landing on the springboard, she made a wave of her arm against the movement - she hit the board exactly. It seems simple, but you have to think it through carefully.
The leader of the competition, Turischeva, is a nugget of the most valuable merit. Her technique is almost impeccable. She was remembered for the speed of performing exercises and the precision of each element. She performed the floor routine with inspiration, in one breath. But Turischeva is a special conversation.
Kitlyarova performed confidently. In the floor routine, it seemed to me that she performed her optional routine by mistake - the routine was so personal, lyrical, and heartfelt. Kitlyarova's skill has improved noticeably, and she will certainly be among the main contenders for the Cup.
V. GOLUBEV, Master of Sports (our special correspondent)