Sovetsky Sport. August 21, 1981. Muscovites were greatly interested in the annual international gymnastics competitions under the program of the XIX Spartakiad of Dinamo-related sports organizations of the socialist countries. And this is no coincidence. The champions of past Dinamiads were such well-known gymnasts as M. Voronin, E. Saadi, R. Sikharulidze (all USSR), K. Janz (GDR), B. Hristov (BUL), D. Grecu (ROM), J. Tabak (TCH), and I. Molnar (HUN).
We decided to tell the story about this year's competitions, where gymnasts from five socialist countries participated, in the form of short interviews with interested interlocutors.
The first word, from Yu. Titov, president of the FIG: The competitions were well organized. An atmosphere of conviviality and friendship reigned. Such tournaments are a good school for young gymnasts, a kind of review of reserves.
M. Voronin, head coach of the Dinamo Central Committee: The gymnasts of our team were given the task of testing a number of new elements that they had prepared for the USSR Championship. Of course, not everything went smoothly and there were errors. But now the situation in gymnastics is this: he who does not take risks does not win. Therefore, new elements should be tested in advance. Among the foreign gymnasts, I liked T. Mettke from the GDR, who continued the tradition of R. Bruckner and won floor exercise, and A. Farkas from Hungary. It was also pleasant to watch the performances of the veteran from Romania, N. Oprescu, with whom we have competed.
L. Arkaev, senior coach of the men's national team of the USSR: I try not to miss any opportunity to see the candidates for the USSR national team in action. I followed very closely the performances of V. Artemiev, Yu. Balabanov, M. Tsygankov, and S. Ryazanov. We will draw conclusions after the USSR Championships in September in Minsk.
L. Varga, multiple Hungarian champion, winner of the 1961 Dinamo Spartakiad on parallel bars, and international-category judge: World gymnastics has changed beyond recognition in the last 20 years. We never dreamed of the elements that today's gymnasts perform with ease. I really liked the young Soviet athletes, especially M. Tsygankov's high bar routine. Our gymnasts A. Farkas and J. Kakuk also performed well, reaching the finals in almost all events. Muscovites will probably see these masters at the World Championships.
S. Diomidov, head coach of the women's national team of TsS Dinamo: We gave Olympic champions N. Shaposhnikova and E. Naimushina the opportunity to perform out of competition, so that they could try out their new exercises in a calm atmosphere. In general the gymnasts coped with their tasks. At this stage, their performance can be considered successful, although for me, the new coach of Dinamo, it has now become clearer what needs to be worked on. I liked the young gymnasts of the GDR, especially S. Rau.
V. Rastorotsky, Merited Coach of the USSR: Four gymnasts from Rostov-on-Don participated in these competitions: N. Shaposhnikova, A. Shishova, N. Yurchenko, and E. Ponomarenko. In general, they all performed well. For Shaposhnikova, this was her first competition after the Olympics. Of course, performing after such a long break is not easy. Natasha lost eight kilos, prepared a new floor exercise, which was choreographed by the famous gymnast T. Schegolkova, and learned a new vault - from a round-off, a back flip and a piked back somersault. Her total in the all-around was 38.8 (9.7, 9.6, 9.8, 9.7), which at the moment suits me as a coach. With Natalia Yurchenko, we decided to try completely new and more complex exercises on all the events. For example, on floor, she did three different double somersaults (a moon salto, a double somersault after a twisting pike in transition, and a double somersault at the end of the routine after a tempo somersault and a back handspring). Few gymnasts in the world can show such a repertoire. On vault, N. Yurchenko showed a unique vault: from a round-off, a back handspring and one-and-a-half back somersault with a full twist. Her score was 9.7.
L. Latynina, head coach of the Moscow team: I watched Natalia Shaposhnikova and Natalia Yurchenko very carefully. Natalia Shaposhnikova has changed, matured, become more feminine and even prettier. She appeared before me in some new and more advantageous capacity. Her new floor exercise and vault are memorable. But I was especially struck by Natasha Yurchenko. With her performance, she proved that not only gymnasts with bows can do super-difficult elements, but tall gymnasts with good physical preparation. Yurchenko's performance was spectacular, and she brought many pleasant moments to the audience and to specialists.
TECHNICAL RESULTS
XIX Dinamo Spartakiad. Moscow. August 12-14.
Men's team: 1. Dinamo USSR - 282.55; 2. Dinamo GDR - 277.45; 3. Ujpesz Doja HUN - 268.65
Women's team: 1. Dinamo USSR - 190.50; 2. Dinamo ROM - 181.1; 3. Dinamo GDR - 180.70
All-around. Men. 1. A. Popov (URS) - 57.05; 2. M. Tsygankov (URS) - 56.95; 3. V. Artemiev (URS) - 56.8; 5. S. Ryazanov (URS) - 56.05; 5. T. Mettke (GDR) - 55.5; 6. A. Hirsch (GDR) - 55.45
All-around. Women. 1. A. Shishova (URS) - 38.15; 2. T. Arzhannikova (URS) - 38.05; 3. E. Ponomarenko (URS) - 47.8; 4. N. Yurchenko (URS) - 37.75; 5. S. Rau (GDR) - 37.65; 6. L. Baicea (ROM) - 37.55.
Individual event winners. Men. T. Mettke, FX (18.7) and PB (19.15); V. Artemiev, PH (19.1); S. Ryazanov, RG (19.4); A. Popov, VT (19.025), M. Tsygankov, HB (19.7).
Women. N. Yurchenko, FX (19.45) and VT (19.45); E. Ponomarenko, UB (19.6); A. Shishova, BB (19.5).
YU. SABIROV