Sovetsky Sport. September 1, 1972. This is a story about flowers and thorns, about dried tears and smiles, and also about hopes, which we will return to later.
And again, this huge arena under the translucent, fairytale-like roof... The final. But today our girls are not together, the draw has separated them, shuffling the cards in such a way that it's hard to tell at a glance who to watch. And now the gymnasts are on their own, because Astakhova can't be in four places at once. She is where her help is needed most at this very difficult moment, she is by Lyuda's side, who is starting with the vault; as for Olya and Tamara, there's no need to worry about them right now, even if you blindfolded them, they will still perform their floor exercise routines just like the day before, or even better, because now it will be more difficult. Just yesterday, Korbut uttered a phrase that was born directly from her admiration for all the wonderful gymnastics, from the miracles that overwhelmed her: "It's interesting when things are this difficult." Despite her spontaneity and vivacity, Olya often baffled adults with the unexpected seriousness of her statements, which she delivered in a very serious manner. We will tell you about another of her answers to journalists, which was recorded and repated many times on radio and television.
But now let's return to the moment when Turischeva began her vault. She did everything as if her coach Rastorotsky was standing right beside her. Lyuda landed perfectly after the vault. And from that calm, confident vault, it was clear that nothing would faze her today, nothing would throw her off balance, that she had calculated everything precisely and was already anticipating her signature performance. After all, Turischeva would be finishing with floor exercises, while her rivals would be competing on the uneven bars and balance beam, where the danger of a fall lurks around every turn of the winding, dizzying path leading to the podium. And yet, only a tiny margin separated them.
Janz, who was walking alongside Turischeva (they both had a score of 38.425), glanced sideways at the balance beam. Karin frowned, perhaps because she didn't like the draw. Or perhaps because only here did she realize what was missing from her routine: those very poetic lines that this girl from Grozny had translated into movement. Turischeva scored 9.65 for her performance. At that moment, Janz received a score of 9.4. The crowd roared, as they were cheering for Turischeva, Janz, and Korbut, and the audience generally enjoyed this intense competition.
But a moment later... However, here we simply refer readers to the television broadcast that captured Olga Korbut's floor routine on the Olympic mat on Tuesday. Because, as I've said before, it's impossible to describe all those leaps and somersaults. And this time it was even more wonderful. Such a lively, unique cheerfulness, childlike generosity, and adult courage and inspiration. The judges gave Korbut a 9.8, and she immediately took the lead. Then Olga scored 9.65 (as did Janz), and Turischeva received the same fashionable score that evening for her uneven bars routine... And Korbut remained in the lead.
They moved on to the uneven bars - Olya, along with Lazakovich, who was in her group, and the confident Zuchold, for whom any difficulties were no problem. And the anxious Dornakova, who was still worried about the Czechoslovakian gymnasts' falls from the balance beam the previous day that had dropped the team to fifth place. Each of the women sitting here on the bench below had her own worries...
Later Olga Korbut explained everything that had happened on those ill-fated uneven bars. She answered a question from a correspondent of Bavarian Radio and Television at the press conference:
"I never thought something like this could happen. Probably because I simply lack experience. And I need to learn, but I do like the uneven bars..."
What happened was that as soon as she stepped onto the lower bar, she accidentally kicked the mat with her feet, then brushed against it again, and everything went wrong. And although, due to inertia, she performed the two most difficult elements well, especially the dismount, and although the arena roared with applause, an unbearable weight fell upon her slender shoulders. Olya ran off the platform, buried her face in Tamara's shoulder, and burst into tears. 7.5 - these numbers flashed on the scoreboard, shattering Olya's dream. But then Erika Zuchold ran up to her, hugged her, and began whispering something in her ear, but tears blurred the girl's vision, and the entire arena signed sympathetically.
She had one event left. She moved towards the beam, and the cameramen rushed after her with their cameras, because the director was merciless; he was looking for a close-up of her face, he wanted to glimpse her soul, her tragedy. But she didn't notice anything. You should have been how the audience applauded her when she wiped away her tears and approached the balance beam. The audience admired the courage of the athlete who, upon seeing the apparatus, forgot about everything else, easily jumped onto the beam, and performed everything perfectly. The score was 9.8, and the arena erupted in a standing ovation, captivated by the girl's courage, grace, and indomitable will.
Meanwhile, the invisible duel, the final duel for the title of the all-around best gymnast of the Olympics, had already begun. But it seemed to us that everything had already been decided. Janz approached the uneven bars somewhat listlessly, indifferently. Her routine was fast-paced and very well-rehearsed, and yet at some point she made a mistake, a small one, but a mistake nonetheless That was enough for the judges to give her a score of 9.7. And a minute later - that's just how the timing worked out - Turischeva appeared on the mat. Everything was in her hands. She took complete control. These were the same floor exercises as the day before. But Lyuda was different. With extraordinary inspiration, she performed one diagonal sequence, and the twist was executed like she had never done it before. The lightness and grace, the very precise transition from one position to another - all of this allowerd Turischeva to create such a cohesive and visually stunning performance that her victory was no longer in doubt. The judges awarded her 9.9. It was a score worthy of an all-around champion.
Later there was a press conference, and questions poured in like a hailstorm. For a whole hour, the hall, overflowing with journalists, wouldn't let the girls sitting at the table leave. The questions were varied - both personal and broad-ranging. Lyuda talked about how she had thought about this day the day before. She thought about it very calmly, without being nervous at all, as she confessed.
Janz, in turn, talked about herself. Then, in response to an interesting question about the relationship between gymnasts from the USSR and the GDR, Lazakovich answered first:
"We are true friends. Everyone could see that."
And Janz looked at her and added, "All I have to do now is confirm it."
They sat next to each other - the gymnasts from the USSR and the GDR. It was their evening, their celebration. They had come here after stepping down from the winners' podium, where Turischeva stood on the top step, Janz on the second, and Lazakovich on the third.
Olya wasn't standing on any podium. But she was sitting at the same table with them, and although her eyes were swollen from tears, they were dry. And at the end of the press conference, she even cheered up when she was asked what she would be doing tomorrow during the individual apparatus competition. Korbut glanced back and looked at Polina Grigorievna Astakhova, they whispered to each other, and Astakhova replied:
"You will see that Olga made a mistake by accident and that she won't cry anymore."
TECHNICAL RESULTS
All-around competition. 1. L. Turischeva (URS) - 77.025; 2. K. Janz (GDR) - 76.875; 3. T. Lazakovich (URS) - 76.85; 4. E. Zuchold (GDR) - 76.45; 5. L. Burda (URS) - 75.775; 6. A. Hellmann (GDR) - 75.55; 7. O. Korbut (URS) - 75.1; 8. E. Saadi (URS) - 75.075 ... 16. A. Koshel (URS) - 74.2
S. BLIZNYUK