Sovetsky Sport. November 18, 1981. According to experts, the Bulgarian women's gymnastics team has never been stronger than it is today. And this is not merely a matter of the fact that the team took sixth place at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Bulgarian gymnasts have mastered the entire repertoire of difficult routines - skills that, until quite recently, were within the reach only of athletes from the world's leading gymnastics nations. These positive changes are attributed to the arrival of the team's new head coach, Rumen Gabrovsky - an Olympian who competed in Mexico City and at the World Championships in Ljubljana.
Our meeting took place in the magnificent, purpose-built gymnastics hall at the Georgi Rakovsky Stadium. On the men's side, the junior team was in the midst of a training session (Bulgaria's top gymnasts - led by their star performer, Moscow Olympic champion Stoyan Delchev - were away at the time, competing in an international tournament in Spain); on the women's side, meanwhile, music filled the air, gymnasts in elegant leotards flitted across the floor, and the voices of coaches and judges rang out. In short, a competition was underway...
"Yes, from now on - right up until our departure for the World Championships in Moscow - we will be holding competitions: complete with scoring, judges, and the full program. And only then, once we have a clear picture of each gymnast's readiness, will we determine the final roster for our national team," explains Rumen Gabrovsky.
Apologizing, he leaves to offer a few remarks to a young girl working on the beam and, upon returning, resumes the conversation he had started.
"I earnestly ask," says Rumen, "that you understand my role in the formation of today's gymnastics squad in the proper light. Please do not imagine that I simply walked in, saw what needed doing, and changed everything overnight. No - the reality is that, starting in 1975, I began working with the junior national team. Right from the start, I set a specific goal for both myself and the girls: to master all the most complex and cutting-edge elements of gymnastics. And I must say, we succeeded in achieving a great deal. When, in early March 1979, I was appointed head coach of the senior women's national team, I was not starting from scratch - by that time, virtually all of the gymnasts I had trained on the junior squad had earned the right to join the senior team."
"This was a period of immense responsibility, as we faced the task of accelerating our preparations for the Moscow Olympics. What objective did we set for ourselves at that time? First and foremost, to narrow the score gap separating us from the leading teams - those of the Soviet Union, the GDR, and Romania. This was our primary objective, and one which, I believe, we successfully achieved. At the 1980 Olympics, our gymnasts' scores came remarkably close to matching the results of the world's top competitors. We finished in sixth place - an outcome we regard as a success and a stepping stone toward climbing further up the ladder of the gymnastics world. Our team demonstrated a greater consistency in its performances, and the overall quality of our work improved."
"Our objectives at this stage?" Rumen pauses briefly to reflect, then continues his account. "We want to consolidate the achievements we attained at the 1980 Olympics. Admittedly, a sixth-place finish no longer entirely satisfied us; nevertheless, we aim to secure a standing at the World Championships that is no lower than that. The priority right now, for us coaches and for our gymnasts, is to work on every apparatus in such a way that we are indistinguishable from the leaders, both in terms of program difficulty and quality of execution."
"We have set a goal for the girls: to place among the top ten to twelve competitors in the individual standings on every apparatus. Furthermore - on the balance beam, in the floor exercise, and perhaps on the uneven bars - if conditions are favorable, we can even realistically aim for a spot in the final eight. In my view, significant strides have been made in these specific events during the period following the 1980 Olympics. Our gymnasts are currently executing all the difficult elements in these disciplines - and have even devised some original moves of their own that are exceptionally difficult. However, at this stage, I cannot guarantee that we will actually showcase these specific elements at the World Championships."
"What can be said about our national team? It is very young. The oldest gymnast is just eighteen years old. However, some of my trainees have already competed in the Olympics and at the World Championships, so they possess a certain level of experience. These include Ivanka Gramatikova, Bojanka Demireva, Yuliana Markova, and Antoaneta Rakhneva. Among those on whom we pin our hopes, I would also mention Galina Marinova, Zoya Grancharova, Silvia Topalova, and Kamila Troyanova. This constitutes the core of the team. It is unfortunate that our leading gymnast, Krasimra Toneva, is not in perfect health."
"I would say that right now there is no clear leader on the team, but rather a stable squad of young and promising gymnasts of consistent skill level."
Right at the very beginning of our conversation, Rumen expressed his great delight that the World Championships would be held specifically in Moscow - the city associated with the team's first major success. Moreover, Rumen confided, Bulgarian athletes feel completely at home in Moscow. The spectators are wonderful, fair-minded, and truly knowledgeable about gymnastics. And there are so many true friends. Gabrovsky himself shares a long-standing friendship with his Soviet colleagues - Aman Shaniyazov, Lidiya Ivanova, and Lyudmila Turischeva. It's a common sight to see Bulgarian and Soviet gymnasts training side by side in the same gym. Indeed, in preparation for the World Championships, the young women from Bulgaria trained during a joint training camp alongside gymnasts from the USSR.
"We view the World Championships in Moscow as a crucial milestone in the team's development. Admittedly, we weren't entirely lucky with the draw - we ended up in a relatively weak group - but we are hopeful that we will perform successfully. It is now vital for us to solidify our position among the leading teams, achieve consistency in executing difficult elements, and win over both the spectators and the judges."
"And for the '84 Olympics, we have set ourselves the goal of climbing to second or third place. So, as they used to say in the old days: "We are coming for you!""
Rumen said this with a smile, as if in just, yet there was firmness in his voice.
I. DEKARTOVA (our special correspondent)