Komsomolskaya Pravda. May 6, 1975. Nikolai, many readers wanted to talk to you. Hundreds of postcards with questions arrived at the editorial office. Here are perhaps two of the most popular.
M. Smirnova from Krasnoyarsk, L. Arsenyeva from Tula, V. Shlyapnikov from Moscow, and many others ask: When did you become a gymnast? How many awards have you won?
I've been doing gymnastics since I was twelve. On March 29, 1964, I first came to the Vladimir children's sports school and met my future coach, Nikolai Grigoryevich Tolkachev.
I've won over a hundred medals in total. The most prized of them were the silver medals from the Munich Olympics and last year's World Championships. And the most memorable were the two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals from the European Championships in Madrid. I was selected as an alternate for the championships, and it was only by a lucky coincidence that I made it onto the podium.
N. Goltsev from Ulyanovsk, V. Smirnov from Cheboksary, L. Atayev from Alma-Ata: How were you different from your peers as a child?
Most likely, not at all. Perhaps I was overly cocky.
N. Marchenko from the Karaganda region, L. Shin from Uglegorsk, and others: What brought you to gymnastics?
Perhaps the more correct question is, "Who brought me?" My neighbor, Zhenya Skurlov, brought me to the gym. He'd decided to get serious about working out and brought me along. Just for company. Back then, I had no idea what gymnastics was. The coach came up to me and asked, "How many pull-ups can you do on the bar? If you can't do that many, we won't count you." I was offended. What do you mean, not many? I just went and did seventeen...
N. Strizhev from Vladivostok, J. Paulins from Riga, Yu. Voronkov from Chelyabinsk: Do you remember your first competition?
How could I not remember! It was in that same year, 1964: the city children's championship. I started off performing very well. Well, I thought, first place is guaranteed! And I got so arrogant that, when I stepped onto the mat, I completely forgot my floor routine. I even burst into tears of shame. It was a good lesson for the future.
E. Yasnov from Svetdlovsk, V. Kameneva from Kiev: Are you ever afraid? How do you overcome fear?
I certainly am! Modern gymnastics isn't your average morning routine. But overcoming fear is entirely possible. For example, when learning new, difficult elements, I incorporate them into old, tried-and-true routines. It turns out you're practically 'slipping through' the new element almost instantly.
I. Kokhan from Moscow: What sports are especially beneficial for gymnastics?
Trampoline jumping. Also the GTO (Ready for Labor and Defense) all-around competition.
I. Damskaya from Sevastopol: What's more important in gymnastics: hard work or talent? Can an athlete with average physical abilities but a strong will succeed on the gymnastics platform?
It's possible! And vice versa - without hard work and persistence, you won't achieve anything in gymnastics.
There's a guy I study with at the Vladimir Pedagogical Instute's Faculty of Physical Education. When he entered the Institute at 17, he was probably the most awkward of all the gymnasts. But he worked his butt off. Now he's a Master of Sports. And we don't make fun of him like we used to...
M. Boiko from Voroshilovgrad, V. Antokhina from Kaluga, I. Streltsov from Khabarovsk: Who is your main rival?
At international competitions, it's the Japanese gymnasts, especially Kasamatsu. At domestic competitions, it's all my Olympic teammates. Each of them is strong...
Yu. Antonov from Moscow, V. Lebedev from Kemerovo: What do you think: does sporting bad luck and sporting luck exist?
Regarding bad luck, that's true. At the Olympic Games in Munich, I needed to cleanly land any vault, even the simplest one, on my second attempt, and I would have won. But I fell... And last year, at the World Championships, the exact same story repeated itself. Sporting luck, I think, does exist.
N. Fedorova from the Krasnodar region, V. Silantyev from Magnitogorsk: Do you think our gymnasts will be able to successfully compete with the Japanese at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics?
We still compete on equal terms with them. In terms of the difficulty of our routines, our athletes are in no way inferior to the Japanese, and in some ways, we even surpass them. The only thing that currently prevents us from winning is technical flaws in our routines.
N. Toropova from the Voroshilovgrad region, L. Migunko from Lvov: Will you compete in the 1980 Olympics?
I hope so. In that case, it will be my last competition.
L. Kharchenko from Donetsk, R. Vishnevskaya from Odessa: Do you have a role model?
Mikhail Voronin.
L. Shelokhvast from Ukraine, V. Smolkina from Smolensk, I. Bobrov from Omsk: Which female gymnast do you like the most?
Nellie Kim, for her courage and iron character.
M. Lysenko from Kharkov, L. Danilova from Perm, and others: How and when did you meet Lyuba Burda?
In 1968, at a training camp in Leselidze. Lyuba was already a member of the national team and preparing for the Mexico City Olympics, and I was preparing for the Olympic Hopes tournament. After the Munich Olympics, we got married. We now have a son, Seryozha.
T. Minina from the Dzhanbul region, I. Krasnorutsky from the Kharkov region: Will we see your wife on the platform again?
No. Lyuba is currently studying at the Vladimir Pedagogical Institute and plans to work as a coach.
A. Maslov from Gubakha, V. Migunova from Tashkent, M. Suleimanova from the North Kazakhstan region, and others: Why do you love gymnastics?
For its beauty. Gymnastics is akin to art, and all great gymnasts were distinguished by a truly creative approach to their performances. A gymnast, like an artist, must bring joy to the audience with every appearance on the platform.
S. SHACHIN