Lost Conversation



Nepsport, 9 August 1979 During the VII Summer Spartakiade, athletes and journalists were still busy after the competition. Here are some excerpts.

Which team will win the women's team competition at next year's Olympics?

Nellie Kim, Spartakiade winner on vault, bars and floor: Currently, there are a lot of string teams competing - Romania, the GDR, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. We shouldn't forget the improving American team, either. We [Soviet Union] have the best chance of getting the Olympic gold medal again.

How do you explain your poor performance?

Elena Mukhina: I wasn't in the best shape.

Why?

Mukhina: Actually, I didn't compete so poorly. Sometimes, things just happen in a competition.

Do you have plans to add new elements by the Olympics?

Natalia Shaposhnikova, winner of the AA and beam at the Spartakiade: Yes, my coach has plans for my training.

Mukhina: I haven't thought about it yet, but I think I will have a new element.

How do you manage to stay fit and competitive?

Kim: During the compulsory exercises I was worried about my form. This could be explained by the fact that I took part in a long tour of the United States. I took me a week to get ready for the Spartakiade. I don't have a problem with my competitions, and I don't have to fast.

Mukhina: A strong workout is the best recipe for keeping fit and in shape.

Shaposhnikova: If I exercise regularly, I don't have a problem with my competitive weight.

Why do you never smile during a competition?

Shaposhnikova: But I smile a lot once the competition is finished!

Do you want to win at the Olympics?

Shaposhnikova: Yes, just like every other girl. I would like a gold medal in both the individual and team competitions.

What about Comaneci?

Shaposhnikova: Her gymnastics is very good, and getting harder and harder.

Who is your favorite author?

Shaposhnikova: Hemingway. I really like "The Old Man and the Sea."

Who is your role model?

Shaposhnikova: Ludmila Turischeva.

You won the world, European and Olympic championships but failed to win at the Spartakiade. Can you explain why?

Ludmila Turischeva: It's very simple. I wasn't in shape at Spartakiade competitions. Also, it was always much more difficult to win at the USSR Spartakiade than at the European or world championships.

You are the Olympics' most prolific gymnast. Which gold medal is the most valuable to you?

Larisa Latynina: It's not an easy answer, as they all mean a lot to me. The gold medal I won in Melbourne, because it was the first. The gold medal from Rome 1960 was nice because I had a one-year-old daughter and they really didn't expect me to win.

You won at the first Spartakiade in 1956. What do those medals mean to you, and how do you compare them to today's tournament?

Latynina: Unfortunately, I didn't win the all-around because I fell from bars, but I got 2 gold medals, for vault and floor exercise. I still regret that fall. Gymnastics is much more complicated today, not only in the Soviet Union but in the whole world. Today's youth laugh at us when they see films of our routines. Gymnastics will continue to evolve because the possibilities are endless.