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In 1973, Boris Shakhlin published his autobiography titled My Gymnastics. It is a blend of genres: simultaneously an autobiography, an advice column, and a history of Soviet men’s gymnastics.
In the first two chapters of his book, he recalls his start in gymnastics, being orphaned after the death of his parents, his tiny gym with a ceiling so low that they had to bend their knees to do giants, his journey to becoming a Master of Sport, and, of course, sneaking into the gym to train vault without his coaches. (Čáslavská snuck into her gym, too!)
What follows is a translation of the first two chapters of his book…
In 1964, Larisa Petrik, who was 15 at the time, defeated Larisa Latynina at the USSR Championships. It was big news within the Soviet Union. Months later, both Larisas were set to attend the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where Latynina ended up finishing second in the all-around while Petrik was fourth. (Petrik tied for third on beam, winning her first medal at a major international competition.)
As you can imagine, the media enjoyed having two gymnasts with the same name. The Estonian newspaper Spordileht ran an interview with Larisa Petrik, calling her “Larisa the Second.”
The gymnastics world had many questions for Latynina in the lead-up to the 1965 European Championships.
What did Latynina think about taking second place to Věra Čáslavská at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics? What did she think about taking second place to Larisa Petrik at the 1964 USSR Championships? Did she think she still had a chance to win the European Championships in 1965? What did she think of the current state of gymnastics with its ever-increasing difficulty, as epitomized by Čáslavská?
These are some of the questions that Latynina addressed in an interview printed in the Estonian sports magazine Spordileht on May 14, 1965, right before the European Championships in Sofia, where Latynina finished second behind Čáslavská.
Copyright: imago/United Archives; European Gymnastics Championships, 1965, Sofia, Bulgaria. Pictured on the podium are gold medalist Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia, silver medalist Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union (left), and bronze medalist Radochla of the German Democratic Republic. 22nd May 1965.
From 1956 until 1962, Larisa Latynina seemed unstoppable. She won the all-around at every major gymnastics competition: the 1956 Olympics, the 1957 Europeans, the 1958 World Championships, the 1959 Europeans, the 1960 Olympics, the 1961 Europeans, and the 1962 World Championships. (The Soviet Union did not participate in the 1963 Europeans.)
But her luck changed in 1964 when Věra Čáslavská won the all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Latynina had to settle for silver.
After the Olympics, just a few days shy of her 30th birthday, Latynina had to settle for silver once again at the USSR Championships. This time, she lost to 15-year-old Larisa Petrik, a gymnast half her age.
This was a watershed moment in the history of women’s gymnastics — not simply because it marked the beginning of the end of Latynina’s dominance but also because it marked a shift in women’s gymnastics toward younger gymnasts.
While there had been teenagers at major international competitions after World War II — 16-year-old Čáslavská, for example, became a crowd favorite when she won team silver at the 1958 World Championships — Petrik’s victory was different. The Soviet Union was the indisputable leader in women’s gymnastics, and for over a decade, their teams had relied primarily on adult women. Then, in 1964, a teenager became the best gymnast in the country and was victorious over someone who had seemed unbeatable internationally for years.
Note: From 1956 until 1962, there were several domestic competitions that Latynina did not win, including the USSR Championships. But this was the first time that she lost to a gymnast half her age.
The news of Petrik’s win made headlines in many of the Soviet Union’s prominent newspapers. In this post, we’ll look at some of those news accounts from December 1964.
Note: For men’s gymnastics fans, don’t worry; the news articles do touch upon the men’s competition, as well.
In 1963, the Estonian newspaper Spordileht (Sports Magazine) printed a profile of Larisa Latynina. It portrayed Latynina as a well-rounded, caring individual, who fulfilled her responsibilities not just to her sport but also to her daughter, her community, and her country.
When the article was published, Latynina was the reigning World and Olympic all-around champion. On top of her training, she stayed up late answering her fans’ letters (and writing to some coaches with unsolicited advice). Beyond that, she was a “people’s deputy,” an elected position responsible for expressing and defending the public’s interests. (The position still exists in modern-day Ukraine.)
In a way, the article presented a 1960s Soviet version of the “You can have it all” narrative.
Note: Latynina was not the reigning European all-around champion when this article was published. The Soviet Union and other socialist countries refused to attend the 1963 European Championships in France because the East German gymnasts did not receive entry visas.
Just days before the 1971 European Championships, Nedelia, a weekly illustrated newspaper, ran an interview with Tamara Lazakovich and Ludmilla Tourischeva. (By the way, Lazakovich quit gymnastics, and the coach had to convince her to come back.)
In the same issue, another article looked at the state of Soviet gymnastics, comparing Lazakovich’s and Tourischeva’s distinct styles: “Wave and stone, poetry and prose, ice and fire — Tourischeva and Lazakovich.”
In addition, the article lamented that 13-year-old Nina Dronova could not participate in the European Championships due to her age, and it worried that she might tire of gymnastics before she had her chance to shine on the international stage.
Reminder: At the 1970 FIG Congress, the women’s artistic gymnastics delegates voted to lower the competitive age to 14.
What follows is a translation of the article on the state of Soviet gymnastics, as well as the interview with Lazakovich and Tourischeva (Nedelia, October 11, 1971).
From April 23, 1971, until April 26, 1971, gymnasts from around the world gathered in the capital of Latvia for the inaugural Riga International. The competition took place a couple of weeks before the men’s European Championships, so the top European teams were reluctant to send their top gymnasts. Nevertheless, Japan sent one of its top gymnasts: Nakayama Akinori.
On the women’s side, Tamara Lazakovich won the all-around, but much of the attention centered on 13-year-old Nina Dronova, who performed a rare double full on floor. A fall on an aerial front walkover on beam kept Dronova off the all-around podium, but she bounced back to win two gold medals during the event finals.
Reminder: At the 1970 Congress, the FIG lowered the competitive age to 14.
Sovetsky Sport, Apr. 27, 1971 Thanks to The Medal Count and Olga for helping me track down the articles from Sovetsky Sport.
In 1969, the United States Gymnastics Federation invited the Soviet Union to its World Cup, but the Soviet Union did not attend. In 1971, the winds changed, and the Soviet Union traveled to the U.S. for dual meets at Penn State and Temple University.
What follows are remarks on the competition at Penn State (February 5 and 6, 1971).
Left to Right: Sikharulidze, Voronina, Tourischeva Source: Madamoiselle Gymnast, March/April 1971
Note: It should be noted that this gymnastics competition was not the first sporting event between the two countries during the Cold War. In 1962, for example, there was a U.S. vs. USSR track and field dual meet. In 1961, Soviet gymnasts toured the United States, and U.S. gymnasts competed in the Soviet Union.
In 1970, four years after her last World Championships, Latynina published her autobiography titled Balance. The book is somewhat meandering, but it captures Latynina’s mentality as a gymnast and as a coach.
What follows is a translation of a book review, as well as a few quotes from the book itself.
After the USSR Championships in October of 1969, the Moscow newspaper Nedelia interviewed the head coaches of the women’s and men’s national teams: Larisa Latynina and Vladimir Smolevsky.
But instead of asking them about their respective teams, Latynina had to comment on men’s gymnastics, and Smolevsky had to comment on women’s gymnastics. It’s fascinating to see what each coach admires about the other discipline and what irks them, as well. For example, Smolevsky despises “bad ballet” on floor.
What follows is a translation of their remarks. (Thanks to Luba for her assistance.)
