Gymn Forum: Who Marches in Step?

Who Marches in Step?

April 6, 1976 The third international competition of gymnastics "Moscow News" has ended at the Luzhniki Sports Palace. Now the athletes will go to the capital of Latvia. There they will take part in the traditional tournament of Riga-76.

Let us remind you that on Saturday the absolute champion of the country, the 9th-grader from Rostov-on-Don Svetlana Grozdova, won the all-around, beating eighth-graders Masha Filatova and Natasha Shaposhnikova. But the next day these two won most of the event titles. Who else was outstanding in the tournament?

In this Olympic season our women's gymnasts are staging a "coup." It's a new time: another "changing of the guard" with new names on the platform.

Exactly, the invasion of the young gymnasts began in Tbilisi, and in Moscow we saw practically all of them again. Besides Grozdova, Filatova and Shaposhnikova, others who participated in the Moscow News tournament were Muscovites Elena Mukhina and Elena Aleksyutina, and Lyubov Yudina from Rostov. And in her first "adult" debut was Stella Zakharova, a 6th-grader from Kishinev who, by the way, amassed the second highest score of the competition.

These gymnasts emerged as if to say they were not to be trifled with. Their programs were very interesting, with first-class elements of superior difficulty (read: ultra-C). Such is the direction of contemporary gymnastics.

The U.S. gymnasts came closest to the leaders. The laughing Robin Huebner, who resembles Karin Janz - in her figure and her hair - was sharp, slender and plastic. She, Janice Baker and the temperamental Sharon Shapiro - all of them marched nearly in step with our girls, and this makes them serious competitors at the Olympics.

In the event finals, we could see virtuous performances from different countries. Huebner on vault, Zsuzsa Koldi on uneven bars, and so on. There were even more champions in the men's competition. Pommel horse world champion Zoltan Magyar scored 9.8 and his combinations were very pleasant to watch.

Olympic champion Teruichi Okamura confounded the spectators with a crazy vault and his combinations on high bar.

And still some of ours: Marchenko, Tikhonov and Shamugiya all showed stability. G. Yakunin was also strong.

Technical results
International competition of gymnastics for the prize of the newspaper "Moscow News". Moscow, sports palace. April 3-4. Women's all-around: 1. S. Grozdova (USSR) - 38.2 (9.3, 9.7, 9.75, 9.45); 2. M. Filatova (USSR) - 37.6 (9.5, 9.4. 9.55, 9.15); 3. N. Shaposhnikova (USSR) - 37.4 (9.45, 8.85, 9.5, 9.6); 4. R. Huebner (USA) - 36.85; 5-6. S. Shapiro (USA) and Kim Chun Sen (PRK) - 36.5.

Women's event finals: Vault - 1. Filatova - 19.15 (9.65); 2. Shaposhnikova - 19.05 (9.6); 3. Huebner - 19.0
Bars - 1. Grozdova - 19.5 (9.8); 2. Filatova - 18.95 (9.55); 3. Z. Koldi (HUN) - 18.65. Beam - 1. Shaposhnikova - 19.2 (9.7); 2. Filatova - 19.15 (9.6); 3. Grozdova - 19.1 (9.35). Floor - 1. Shaposhnikova - 19.35 (9.75); 2. Filatova - 18.85 (9.7); 3. Huebner - 18.5 (9.35).

Men's event finals: Floor - 1. P. Shamugiya (USSR) - 18.9 (9.55); 2. V. Marchenko (USSR) - 18.85 (9.5); 3. J. Tabak (CSSR) - 18.8 (9.5). Pommel horse - 1. Z. Magyar (HUN) - 19.45 (9.8); 2. G. Yakunin (USSR) - 19.15 (9.55); 3. V. Marchenko - 19.1 (9.55). Rings - 1. Marchenko - 19.2 (9.65); 2-3. T. Okamura (JPN) - 18.85 (9.5) and V. Tikhonov (USSR) - 18.85 (9.35). Vault - 1. Shamugiya - 19.075 (9.525); 2. Tabak - 19.00 (9.375); 3. Marchenko - 18.825 (9.375). Parallel bars - 1. Okamura - 18.85 (9.55); 2. Shamugiya - 18.75 (9.45); 3. Li Ser Su (PRK) - 18.55 (9.25). Horizontal bar - 1-2. H. Igarashi (JPN) - 19.1 (9.55) and Marchenko - 19.1 (9.5); 3-4. Tikhonov - 18.95 (9.55) and Shamugiya - 18.95 (9.55).