Sovetsky Sport. April 5, 1972. Twenty-year-old student from Vladimir, N. Andrianov, became the all-around champion of the USSR for the first time. The silver medal went to M. Voronin, and the bronze medal went to V. Klimenko.
There were not sixteen men in the final, as planned, but only eleven. The point is that the gymnasts who fulfilled the master's standard (108 points) qualified for the finals. You can imagine how crushed V. Karasev, a participant in the Mexico Olympic, was, but after the team competition he took 12th place in the individual standings with a score of 107.9 points.
Well-known gymnasts made it to the finals, but among them there was one newcomer - Vladimir Shchukin, winner of the youth competition at the V USSR Spartakiad. For the first time, Vladimir participated in the adult competition as part of the Armed Forces that and won a gold medal for the team championship. His individual achievement is simply sensational - fourth place! So the twenty-year-old Minsker won the right to become a candidate for the Olympic team.
Shchukin should be singled out for one important reason. This is a gymnast who showed unusual, vivid routines. Of course, this is the merit of his coach A. Ovsyak, an interesting man, subtly feeling modern trends in gymnastics. Osvyak gave his pupil an unusual construction of exercises on some apparatus. It cannot be said that Shchukin showed something unique, but there is an element of novelty in almost every one of his routines. However, I will come back to Shchukin.
Andrianov, Voronin, and Klimenko could fight for the gold medal. These three are far superior to the rest of the gymnasts in terms of skill level. The only question was in what order they would finish. As you remember, in the compulsory program Andrianov was 1.2 points ahead of Klimenko, who took second place. This is a lot, but any failure, any mistake is strictly punished by the judges. The Vladimir gymnast had received a 7.0 on the parallel bars a day earlier (this score did not affect the result in the all-around), and such a failure could have serious consequences. Psychologically, of course.
The main thing was to get off to a good start. And Andrianov declared on the first apparatus that he intended to fight until the end. He got the highest score on floor exercise for his high double somersault and well-tailored routine (9.6). In general, the men have seen some progress in this event - acrobatics have become more diverse, more colorful, and the routines themselves have become more dynamic. Shchukin chose to do an original version of a tumbling run not diagonally but in a straight line. He did everything cleanly and was awarded 9.45, overtaking both Voronin and Klimenko who both scored 9.4.
Andrianov's coach N. Tolkachev put on his glasses and wrote something on a piece of paper. It was obvious that he was terribly worried, but he kept himself in control, because it can mean trouble when the coach's excitement is transferred to the student. Nikolai Grigoryevich tried to joke: "I wonder how many events Nikolai will withstand before he starts to stumble?" I said that Andrianov is still a stable gymnast and he is unlikely to fall somewhere. In response, Tolkachev painfully squeezed my arm above the elbow, closed his eyes, and said nothing - he was afrid that I might jinx it.
Andrianov again had the highest score on the pommel horse (9.55), with Voronin scoring 0.1 less. Klimenko's score was 8.9. The judges felt that his routine wasn't difficult enough. The finalists had special requirements for the difficulty of the routine, which are much higher than the international rules. Thus, Andrianov increased the gap from Voronin and Klimenko. To put it bluntly, our leaders have never been in such a situation in domestic competitions. Looking ahead, I note that Andrianov is now a full-fledged leader of our men's gymmnastics team. He proved this with his subsequent excellent performance.
Nikolai is a guy with character. He worked great on the rings, he shot into the handstand like a bullet, and his static positions were clearly held. When dismounting with a double twist, he took a step which affected his score - 9.45. This really bothered him, and he angrilty muttered under his greath something like: "Well, Kolya, wait, I'll make you get the dismount." Tolkachev calmed him down...
There was a new rule in vault. The gymnast was given only one attempt, and the run was limited to 20 meters. Sergei Diomidov complained: "It's very unusual, it makes you want to vault a second time but in principle you have to mobilize yourself for one attempt.." I will say the following about Diomidov himself.
Sergei is going through a difficult period in his life. He has recently started training less, and he doesn't perform with his former ease. Some people tried to convince Diomidov that it was time for him to quit - to give way to the young. He was confused by these conversations and began to become lukewarm about training. Even though he's not in the best sports shape, Sergei is now in fifth place. This result is modest for him. However, it gave him confidence, and at the end of our conversation after the competition, Sergei said: "I will still fight."
Vaulting should be considered in more detail. This is the event where Soviet gymnasts dictate fashion. Shchukin performed a front somersault and landed in his tracks (9.55). Klimenko hit his Tsukahara excellently (9.5). Andrianov performed the same vault as Shchukin, but not as well (9.45). Voronin got 9.35 for a full-twisting handspring.
The variety of vaults was pleasing to the eye, and other gymnasts also showed beautiful vaults. If only there was such progress on the other events...
Parallel bars. We are waiting for Andrianov's performance. There was not a shadow of doubt on his face. Virtuous - this is how you can characterize his performance. And the judges were generous - 9.7. The championship medal is almost in his pocket, because the high bar (Nikolai's signature event) remained. Well, you already know that everything ended well for Andrianov.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR gymnastics championships. All-around. Men. 1. Andrianov (Burevestnik) - 113.25; 2. Voronin (Dinamo) - 111.55; 3. Klimenko (Army) - 110.45; 4. Shchukin (Army) - 109.35; 5. Diomidov (Army) - 109.0; 6. E. Mikaelyan (Burevestenik) - 108.55; 7. Bogdanov (Army) - 108.4; 8. Boiko (Army) - 108.3; 9. Maleev (Army) - 108.25; 10. Kozeev (Zenit) - 108.0.
V. GOLUBEV