Molodezh Gruzii. November 30, 1974. One of the most memorable sporting events of this year is rightly considered to be the world gymnastics championships in Varna, Bulgaria, where, as is well known, the Soviet national team achieved great success.
After this, our gymnasts gave exhibition performances in the USA, which made a lasting impression on American sports fans. Now the Soviet athletes, including R. Sikharulidze, N. Dronova, and P. Shamugiya, will travel to Australia and New Zealand.
The Soviet gymnastics delegation at the world championships was headed by D. Pertanava, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Physical Culture under the Council of Ministers of the Georgian SSR. A correspondent from Molodzh Gruzii (Youth of Georgia) asked him to answer a few questions.
Q: What did the world gymnastics championships reveal about the development of this fascinating sport?
A: A great deal has changed. Gymnastics is developing at an unprecedented pace. Athletes from Hungary, East Germany, Romania, the USA, and West Germany have noticeably improved their skills (for the first time, a representative of this country won a gold medal - on the horizontal bar). Therefore, Soviet athletes, especially the men, had to engage in intense competition not only with the Japanese this time. Judge for yourselves: the Hungarian virtuoso Mgayar performed the best on the pommel horse, the Japanese athlete Kasamatsu, a magnificent athlete, won the gold medal in floor exercises and vault, Gienger from the West German team became the owner of the highest award on the horizontal bar, and in the rings competition there was even the first case in the history of the world championships when the gold medals among men were shared - our Andrianov and the Romanian Grecu stood on the same step of the podium... This is how much the competition has increased, and how much the geography of countries with excellent gymnastics teams has expanded.
Q: As an example of strong competition, you mentioned male gymnasts... But what was women's gymnastics like?
A: I think the same point of view applies to women as well. But our gymnasts still did something extraordinary, significantly outperforming everyone at the championship and, in a way, even surpassing themselves...
Q: The success was truly phenomenal. The awards won by the charming 'weaker' half of the Soviet national team are impressive...
A: Of course! Lyudmila Turischeva, Olga Korbut, Elvira Saadi, Rusudan Sikharulidze, Nina Dronova, and Nellie Kim won almost everything there was to win. Only Zinke (GDR) on the uneven bars and Perdikulova (Czechoslovakia) in the vault managed to 'win back' the gold and bronze medals, respectively.
Q: In your opinion, what contributed to this outstanding achievement by the women's team?
A: Never bevore has such a strong, well-balanced, determined, and cohesive team competed at a world championship. I believe the extremely high level of skill combined with immense mental strength played a decisive role in this victory. Each of our gymnasts had ther latest original elements in their routines.
Q: How would you describe each of these graceful representatives of Soviet gymnastics?
A: I'll start with the all-around champion. Lyuda Turischeva is a focused, calm girl, distinguished by her impeccable execution of elements of any difficulty. She loves classical music and is exceptionally conscientious. She performs her duties as the Komsomol organizer of the national team well. Today, she is undoubtedly the strongest gymnast.
Unlike the more academic Turischeva, the spirited Olga Korbut embodies a romantic style in gymnastics, in which reality and fantasy are closely intertwined. This simple Belarusian girl captivates the audience from the very first seconds of her performance. She performs incredibly difficult elements, requiring not only immense talent but also courage and tireless effort, with confidence, playfulness, and a smile. Always with a smile. We were amazed: how is it possible to perform a somersault on the balance beam and smile at the same time?! Unfortunately, the judges weren't always kind to her, and some of them even explained this by "Korbut's unusually increased popularity." She studies at a pedagogical institute in her native Grodno and is interested in medicine.
Elvira Saadi is a wonderful teammate, sensitive to her friends, and possesses the very valuable ability to get the team in the right mindset. She brought valuable points to the team. As an athlete, she constanaly strives for improvement and is demanding of herself.
Rusudan Sikharulidze captivated everyone's attention at the championship. Her performance was delightfully graceful and ethereal. In Varna, she was nicknamed 'the Madonna' and journalists admitted that she would have won a beauty contest if one had been held.
Nina Dronova brought so much cheerfulness to the team that it will probably be enough for the next competitions as well. She knows how to infect others with both fun and the excitement of competition. She is very open and sincere. She performed consistently on all the apparatuses, and for her amazing courage and ease, she was called 'the second Korbut.' But I tend to think that this is indeed the unique Dronova who, presumably, is destined for the most remarkable achievements. However, the representatives of our republic have already achieved excellent results: Sikharulidze became the fifth-best gymnast in the world, and Dronova the seventh. That's impressive!
Nellie Kim is a competitive gymnast in the style of Turischeva, with a very promising future, according to experts. She performs complex elements and combinations with ease. It's just a shame that she injured her leg during the vault in Varna. This affected her results to some extent.
Q: The Georgian female representatives, as noted, performed successfully overall. What can be said about P. Shamugiya in this regard?
A: At the beginning of our conversationm, I spoke about the unusually increased competition among male gymnasts. Paata competed against the strongest athletes on the planet and passed this difficult test with flying colors. Performing excellently on the final day of the championship, he overtook such serious rivals as Thune (GDR), Szajna (Poland), and Grecu (Romania) in the individual standings, moving from seventeenth place to tenth with a score of 113.375 points. To be among the top ten gymnasts at the world championships, alongside Japanese gymnasts Kasamatsu, Tsukahara, our own Andrianov, and other renowned athletes, is, of course, a great honor. This is a significant achievement. Frankly, Paata Shamugiya was little known on the international stage before this championship. By proving that he deserved his place on the Soviet national team, Paata made an excellent impression as an all-around gymnast who, as a rule, performs modern elements on all apparatuses...
Q: What are the challenges facing the Soviet national gymnastics team today?
A: I would say this applies not only to the members of the 1974 national team, because the next major international competition is the highest-ranking event - the XXI Olympic Games in Montreal. And to be on the national team by then, you need to prepare very thoroughly starting now. It's possible that new names will emerge during the preparation process, deserving a place in the country's best team.
Q: And what about the gymnasts of the republic?
A: We must make every effort to achieve high team and individual results at the upcoming VI Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. This is regarding the specific tasks for the 'tangible' future, so to speak...
Another aspect of the issue is that the gymnastics sections of sports organizations in our republic must continue to search for and nurture young talents, and prepare a new generation of gifted athletes for the Moscow Olympics. There was a period when the work of selecting and traning gymnasts weakened, and the results were most unfortunate. And today in Georgia, there are role models for aspiring gymnasts to look up to. The Georgian gymnastics school must revive its once-lost traditions, and young people need to take care of this as well.
Q: Who or what would you like to talk about in closing?
A: About whom? About the coaches of our athletes. Gans Burdzhanadze, the coach of P. Shamugiya, his brother Sergei Burdzhanadze and Valentina Klimova, the coaches of N. Dronova, and Anzhelina Gabriashvili, the coach of R. Sikharulide, made a huge contribution to the success of their proteges, whose confident technical skill was based on solid psychological preparation - and this is the merit of their direct mentors.
In general, the coaches of our team once again proved themselves to be sensitive mentors, kind advisors, and friends to their charges. The incident I'm about to describe clearly demonstrates this. Just before the opening of the world championships, while our team was training in the Palace of Sports, a hook on the uneven bars manufactured by the German company Reuther broke during Olga Korbut's training session. Polina Astakhova, ignoring the fact that a heavy projectile was falling towards her, managed to prevent Olya from falling in mid-air, thus saving her from a potentially serious injury.
Q: Which day in Varna do you remember the most?
A: The day after a meeting with the Bulgarian People's Republic soldiers, organized by representatives of the Dimitrov Komsomol, we learned that Moscow had been chosen to host the 1980 Olympics. That same evening, as if in celebration, our girls gave their homeland a gift - gold medals in the team competition.
Gymnastics! Truly happy is the one who manages to reach its heights. But this path is not easy. It is overcome by those who are capable of titanic effort, boundless and unwavering love, and a dreamy and joyful inclination towards creativity and imagination.
Interview by N. BROLADZE