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For the Soviet team, the 1972 all-around final was a whirlwind. There were six Soviet gymnasts in the final and only one Soviet coach on the floor. Polina Astakhova had to run from apparatus to apparatus to spot, adjust equipment, encourage, and comfort.
Sovetsky Sport captured the excitement of the competition by giving a rotation-by-rotation analysis. In the end, the newspaper of record praised the friendship between the Soviet and East German gymnasts: “They were sitting side by side — the gymnasts from the USSR and the GDR. It was their evening, their celebration.”
Copyright: imago/Colorsport Gymnastics – 1972 Munich Olympics – Women’s Individual All-Around The gold medal winner, USSR’s Ludmilla Tourischeva
The third rotation of the women’s all-around final (competition II) in Munich is one of the most famous moments in the history of gymnastics. It was widely covered in the media at the time, and it continues to be mentioned in almost every history about women’s gymnastics.
You probably know the story.
Heading into the third rotation, Korbut had a 0.075 lead over Tourischeva. When Korbut mounted the bars, she messed up a simple glide kip, and from there, things fell apart. After her routine, she burst into tears — a moment that appeared on television sets and in periodicals around the world. With a score of 7.50 on bars, she lost all chances of an all-around medal.
In the words of one Wall Street Journal writer, the American public forgot about the politics of the Cold War and saw Olga as human: “She was simply a 17-year-old girl from a small town, crying in anguish at her failures and glowing over her successes” (WSJ, Sep. 6, 1972).
But that’s not all that transpired during the competition. So, let’s take a look at what happened on August 30, 1972.
Copyright: imago/Colorsport Gymnastics – 1972 Munich Olympics – Women s Individual All-Around The gold medal winner, USSR s Lyudmila Turishcheva. Sports Hall, Olympic Park, Munich, West Germany.
On Tuesday, August 29, the men’s artistic gymnasts competed in the optionals portion of the competition. (You can read about the compulsories here.) Coming into the finals, Japan had a 2.85 lead over the Soviet Union, and reigning Olympic all-around champion Sawao Kato had a 0.05 lead over Nikolai Andrianov.
Tsukahara once again thrilled the audience with his originality. At the 1970 World Championships, it was his vault that captivated the audience. At the 1972 Olympics, it was his “moon salto” off high bar — an element for the Space Age.
Let’s take a look at what happened during the final day of the team competition.
Tsukahara’s full-twisting double back. Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images.
In 1972, the Soviet Union won its sixth-straight team title, and Sovetsky Sport, the main sports newspaper of the Soviet Union, printed over 1,000 words about the competition. The article highlighted the star power of Korbut and Tourischeva, the gentle guidance of coach (and former Soviet star) Polina Grigoryevna Astakhova, and the team’s ability to rally after Antonina Koshel’s mistakes on floor and bars.
At the 1948 Olympic Games, the U.S. women took home the bronze medal. 24 years later, the U.S. women almost found themselves on the podium again. They took fourth place — 2.35 points behind the Hungarian team. Yet, many U.S. members of the gymnastics community felt that they should have been third.
Here are a few of the reactions.
Munich, Germany – 1972: Cathy Rigby competing in the Women’s gymnastics event at the 1972 Summer Olympics / Games of the XX Olympiad, Olympic Sports Hall. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
On Monday, August 28, the women’s artistic gymnasts competed in the optionals portion of the competition. (You can read about the compulsories here.) Coming into the finals, the Soviet Union had a 1.85 lead over East Germany, and reigning co-European champion Tamara Lazakovich had a 0.10 lead over Karin Janz of East Germany.
Let’s take a look at what happened during the final day of the team competition — the day that Olga Korbut enchanted the world.
Datum: 31.08.1972 Copyright: imago/Pressefoto Baumann Olympische Spiele 1972 München Turnen Frauen Olga KORBUT (UdSSR)
After the compulsory program, Sovetsky Sport, the main sports newspaper of the USSR, printed its recap of the competition. Not surprisingly, the writer was complimentary toward the entire Soviet women’s artistic gymnastics team, adding delightful lines like, “For O. Korbut, with her unique tricks on uneven bars, performing the compulsories is as easy as shelling peas.” Of course, there were some rough spots on beam, but as the writer points out, all the teams struggled with beam.
As for the Soviet men, that was a different story. The newspaper only had good things to say about Andrianov and pointed out that Alexander Maleeev and Vladimir Shchukin did not have enough experience to be strong contributors to the team score.
Below, you can find a translation of Sovetsky Sport’s coverage.
Copyright: imago/Werner Schulze Nikolai Andrianov (UdSSR) – Barren
On Sunday, August 27, the men’s artistic gymnasts gathered in the Olympic Sports Hall for what could be a long haul.
This was the first Olympic Games with a separate all-around final. As a result, the top gymnasts faced four days of competition (compulsories, optionals, all-around finals, and event finals). Previously, they had had only three days of competition (compulsories, optionals, and event finals).
From the start, it looked like the status quo would be upheld: Japan with team gold, the Soviet Union with team silver, and East Germany with team bronze. (Meanwhile, the U.S. gymnasts had a disastrous compulsory round.)
Let’s take a look at what happened…
Akonori Nakayama, Photo by POOL / AFP via Getty Images
On Sunday, August 27, 1972, the women’s artistic gymnasts started the long slog of the Olympics. This was the first Olympic Games with a separate all-around final. As a result, the top gymnasts faced four days of competition (compulsories, optionals, all-around finals, and event finals). Previously, they had had only three days of competition (compulsories, optionals, and event finals).
From the start, it looked as if the Soviet Union and East Germany had gold and silver locked. But bronze was still up for grabs, and it would cause a lot of heartache in the U.S. gymnastics community.
Copyright: imago/Karl-Heinz Stana Irene Abel (DDR) – Pferdsprung
