Sovetsky Sport. October 29, 1974. The 27-year-old Japanese Shigeru Kasamatsu, a television company employee, became the all-around world champion. Only 0.125 behind him was a 22-year-old student from Vladimir, Nikolai Andrianov, who won the silver medal.
It was like a distance run. It was an amazing race in which the leader ran first the whole time, and the third one bypassed the second for a moment, and the second responded with a spurt and was already sitting on the leader's heels, who had begun to stumble from fatigue. It was a courageous duel by Nikolai Andrianov, whom we knew as a spirited, fair-haired young man, but in whom we saw a fighter who did not lose his composure, battling with four Japanese at once. After all, he pursued Kenmotsu, Kenmotsu caught up with him, then Kajiyama and Tsukahara went on together, and only the sixth stayed in place - Mikaelyan. Edvard confidently went the distance (9.6, 9.5, 9.6, 9.6, 9.45, 9.55), but he had recently recovered from a serious injury and could not do more. And all this, finally, was a refutation of all sorts of sad forecasts (including my own) regarding the unattainability of gold. The Japanese did not prove invincible. Kolya could have become the all-around champion, if not for three circumstances, to which I will return at the end.
The three leaders were in the same group, who started on the high bar, and displayed a special gymnastic aesthetic in their performance on this apparatus - the planned flight of large white birds, transitioning into a whirlwind rotation during the dismount. After the high bar, Andrianov was 0.725 behind Kasamatsu and 0.075 ahead of Kenmotsu.
Floor. Andrianov and Kasamatsu each got 9.55. Kenmotsu got 9.6 and was only 0.025 behind. One step.
Pommel horse. Andrianov received 9.65, Kasamatsu and Kenmotsu each got 9.7. Kenmotsu goes a step ahead - also by 0.025.
Rings. According to the draw, Kenmotsu followed Andrianov all the time. He keeps him in his sight, this impeccably correct gymnast, who does not forgive his opponents for mistakes. But then the lot played a cruel joke on him. Andrianov was powerful and impetuous on the rings, clearly stood up after his 'moon' dismount, and his score of 9.8 broke the Japanese. The strong man barely made it into a handstand. 9.55. Now he is behind again and will not be ahead again. Now Kolya is chasing Kasamatsu, with 0.675 between them.
On vault, Andrianov wins back another 0.05, almost flawlessly performed a tucked front somersault, to which the opponent responded with only an inaccurate 360-degree twist.
Bars. Kasamatsu has a rough breakdown during his performance of a Diomidov turntable, and he almost falls. Kolya worked reliably.
Could he win? He could. Recall two breakdowns in the compulsory, which cost him at least a point. But that was his fault. Now - it's about someone else's fault.
The judging panel on the high bar, headed by Spaniard E. Gonzalez, gave Andrianov 9.45. Our team filed a protest, motivated something like this: yes, Andrianov didn't stand on his feet in the landing after a unique triple somersault. The deduction here is up to 0.3 points. However, the FIG rules strongly recommend encouraging innovation, and it is illogical to deduct with the same high penalty to Andrianov and Kasamatsu, who also lost his balance, touched the platform with his hands, but performed a double twist that set one's teeth on edge. The members of the jury of appeal went to the console. But then the President of the FIG, Arthur Gander, appeared in the arena with an unsteady gait.
The President usually does not watch competitions, and I am not at all going to hide what the whole gymnastics world knows voraciously: it is difficult to watch when everything is floating and swaying before your eyes. A few years ago, Gander's compatriot, the famous coach Jack Gunthard, who raised the Olympic champion Franco Menichelli, told me in a personal conversation (with witnesses): "We Swiss are ashamed of Gander's moral character."
In a word, Gander intervened, and the protest was rejected.
Much later, when Kasamatsu fell on the parallel bars, the Swiss judge E. Lehmann assembled a team, although there was no difference in the scores - everyone brought out a 9 and a little lower. And 12 minutes in front of the audience, literally pounding with his fist, forced the judges to raise the score. And they raised it - to 9.15, and that was enough. Gander didn't come to the console.
I have nothing against Shigeru Kasamatsu. He is an excellent craftsman, although, as it turned out, his nerve fibers are not made of alloy steel. And of course, I am not inclined to justify Andrianov's mistakes in the compulsory program. In general, there were mistakes from the gymnasts. But simply, fairness is fairness.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
Gymnastics world championships. Varna, 26 October. Men. All-around. 1. Kasamatsu (JPN) - 115.5 (9.55, 9.7, 9.7, 9.75, 9.15, 9.6); 2. Andrianov (URS) - 115.375 (9.55, 9.65, 9.8, 9.8, 9.65, 9.45); 3. Kenmotsu (JPN) - 114.75 (9.6, 9.7, 9.55, 9.6, 9.45, 9.6); 4. Kajiyama (JPN) - 115.65; 5. Tsukahara (JPN) - 114.6; 6. Mikaelyan (URS) - 114.175; 7. Thune (GDR) - 114.0; 8. Szajna (POL) - 113.725; 9. Marchenko (URS) - 113.7; 10. Shamugiya (URS) - 113.375 ... 13. Safronov (URS) - 112.575
S. TOKAREV