Sovetsky Sport. April 1, 1972. The USSR championship in gymnastics has started. After the compulsory program in the women's team competition, Dinamo, Burevestnik, and the Armed Forces are in the lead. In the individual competition, L. Turischeva and T. Lazakovich share first place. Their teammate O. Voroshilina is in third place.
The high toe is one of the classic canons of beam performance. In recent years, under pressure of acrobatic difficulty, this detail has been discarded. But in the judging of this competition, special attention is paid to it; hence, a series of events.
Dinamo began with floor exercises. Voroshilina with her leaps, and the graceful, flexible E. Saadi looked very pleasant. Turischeva demonstrated her usual power and pressure, and if it weren't for a slight walking on her hands in a handstand, the score would have been higher than 9.55. She was followed by Saadi (9.5) and Voroshilina and Lazakovich (both 9.4).
In order not to return to the floor exercise, I will mention the Army gymnast O. Karaseva (it was her second apparatus). Apart from her usual class, her composition also stood out due to its original music. Last year, the athletes and coaches were informed that at this year's championship, the performance of the compulsory program, while strictly adhering to the prescribed movements, could be accompanied by arbitrary accompaniment. The goal was to encourage creativity. Olga was the only one who took the risk, and her routine to a popular song about a girl who was waiting for a sweetheart was extremely fresh and new.
In the meantime, as Dinamo fluttered over the floor mat, in the other corner of the arena, where Spartak performed, the former national champion L. Burda temporarily dropped out of the group of contenders for the title - she bent her legs when dismounting from the uneven bars - 8.8.
In vault, as always, it was the springboard that decided a lot, which not everyone succeeded in. Turischeva was the best, and her post phase of the vault was also very good. She continued to lead with 19.05 points, followed by Lazakovich with 18.8, then Saadi and Karaseva, who got 9.5.
Dinamo's third event was bars. Both Turischeva and Lazakovich flashed here. Their dismount with a wide preliminary swing was equally magnificent, and the winged elementin the middle, the so-called false flight, Lazakovich did it a little better, almost as good as Koshel who does it perfectly. Lazakovich received 9.7, but 0.2 still separated her from Turischeva.
Before the Dinamo team performed on the beam, it seemed that now the dispute was only for third place, since both Turischeva and Lazakovich had confidently entrenched themselves in their positions. But here Lazakovich performed as if every step led to the abyss. She didn't complete the turn. For this, she was penalized 0.3 points. The remainder was done on the balls of her feet. It's so beautiful, so high. But then she told me that she was tired by the end - the main thing was not to fall. In short, she got only 9.05.
Turischeva starts her run to the beam and stutters. She returns, runs again, and again stutters, as if choosing a leg. In the middle of the routine she had a loss of balance, which also cost 0.3. Also, like Lazakovich, she lost the rest due to turns on the foot - 8.85. Our leaders, who are generaly capable of standing and walking on a balance beam like ballerinas, should not, even for a moment, even in the excitement and intensity of the competition, deviate from their style.
Voroshilina got into third place because she walked and turned beautifully and accurately. This is the unanimous opinion of the judging panel.
The men's compulsory competition finished late in the evening. N. Andrianov (Burevestnik) is in the lead - 56.2, followed by N. Klimenko (Army) - 55.0, and M. Voronin (Dinamo) - 54.9.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
USSR gymnastics championships. Compulsory program. Women. 1. Turischeva (Dinamo) and Lazakovich (Dinamo) - both 37.55; 3. Voroshilina (Dinamo) - 37.35; 4. Saadi (Dinamo) and Karaseva (Army) - both 37.25; 6. Korbut (Army) - 37.15.
Team standings. 1. Dinamo 1 - 223.15; 2. Burevestnik - 216.2; 3. Armed Forces - 216.15; 4. Labor Reserves - 215.45; 5. Trud - 215.45; 6. Spartak - 213.65.
S. TOKAREV