Sovetsky Sport. April 11, 1971. On Saturday, at the Yubileiny Sports Palace, competitions for the USSR Cup in gymnastics began - a tournament whose importance is difficult to overestimate.
Leningrad fans and television viewers will be able to see the best gymnastic forces in the country, because members of the main and youth teams of the USSR national team, as well as those with whom our senior team coaches pin certain hopes for the future, are allowed to compete.
Unfortunately, leading up to the Cup, a group of athletes preparing to take to the platform suffered disappointing losses. Viktor Lisitsky, winner of four silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics, announced his retirement from the sport. Lisitsky, a captain in the Soviet Army, trains young gymnasts at CSKA sports school and at the same time is preparing to defend his Ph.D. dissertation. Mikhail Voronin had injuries that did not allow him to properly prepare for a decent start. According to Voronin, it's not in his nature to show the judges unfinished routines. We will not see Olga Voroshilina, Rusudan Sikharulidze, or Olga Korbut - they are sick.
All the rest will attend. If the number of favorite men has decreased, then among the women the number has increased. In addition to those gymnasts who won the title of world team champion, a whole galaxy of talented young people will enter the competition for the USSR Cup - Elvira Saadi, Tatiana Schegolkova, Lyudmila Sukhovskaya. Senior coach of the women's team, Larisa Latynina, suggested paying special attention to these young athletes - Valentina Lisova, Zinaida Znosenko, Tamara Prokhovskaya, and Ekaterina Vishnyakova. These gymnasts are progressing quickly. These are our reserves.
We expect a lot from the USSR Cup. First of all, it's important to find out what changes have occurred since the world championships in Ljubljana. The performance of our men at the world championship was subjected to serious criticism. The senior coach of the men's team, Vladimir Smolevsky, said that now many gymnasts are not afraid to introduce the maximum number of difficult elements into their routines.
Young talents are replacing the veterans. Who are you, 1972 Olympian? Will you be able to fully demonstrate your abilities here in Leningrad?
So, the platform. All the strongest were placed into one group. However, its ranks thinned even before the start. A day before the start of the competition, N. Andrianov received a minor injury during podium training and cannot compete. A. Maleev entered the platform with a fever, received low scores on two events, and withdrew. Four remained: Klimenko, Diomidov, Bogdanov, and a junior from Minsk N. Nedbalsky, who was included as a participant at the last moment. As expected, Klimenko took the lead after two events. He performed especially confidently in floor exercises and on pommel horse. As usual, Klimenko was distinguished by a high culture of movement, purity, and stability. He confidently maintained the lead until the very end of the competition.
Veteran Diomidov once again proved that experience and confidence sometimes weigh more than the drive and ambition of the young. However, he ended up in second place only after the last rotation, in which young Muscovite V. Boiko, who previously had scores no lower than 9.25, unexpectedly failed and received only 8.5. The pommel horse turned out to be an enchanted apparatus. It was tamed by G. Bogdanov, whose qualities as an all-arounder were becoming more and more evident. Strange as it may seem, Bogdanov got his lowest score on his best event - floor exercise (8.95). He has increased his difficulty significantly; now he starts with a double somersault and ends with a double twist.
The experienced gymnasts of the national team managed to repel the attacks of the young ones on the first day. But there is another day of competition ahead.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
Men. Scores in brackets are in event order. 1. Klimenko (Moscow) - 56.5 (9.6, 9.6, 9.5, 9.35, 9.3, 9.15); 2. Diomidov (Moscow) - 55.55 (9.25, 9.4, 9.05, 9.3, 9.4, 9.15); 3. Bogdanov (Moscow) - 55.2 (8.95, 9.4, 9.1, 9.0, 9.4, 9.35) and Boiko (Moscow) - 55.2 (9.25, 8,5, 9.35, 9.3, 9.5, 9.3).