Olga was disliked by her Federation and made the team as an alternate though she was the best and the most daring. The pressure got to her and after leading the all-around the first day she messed up on the uneven bars and fell out of contention. In event finals, she won the beam, floor, second in bars, and 7th in vault -- easily the best overall gymnast. Olga invented modern gymnastics and had charisma second to none. Nadia refined it. Without Olga, there would be no Nadia.
You also have to remember, her coach drugged and raped her days before the 72 Olympics, so I can see why she made the mistakes on the bars. That would mess any girl up from focusing. I agree with everything else you said. Olga was the start of it all.
@@usfanlovesjiwoo1978 I totally agree with you both. Olga came up with brand new moves never done before. Nadia simply altered some else's - the Comaneci salto is just another version of the Radochla source the love of gymnastics book ) and in my book copied from the Janz. And of course if any of us were raped plus under heavy pressure we'd mess up too. And Olga was robbed always in her career. It seems that it was always fixed that Tourisheva would win
Nobody performed/performs the Korbut flip on beam like Olga; every one else's is so flat; Olga really does "dive" backwards, getting real height on it. Beautiful.
The gymnast that changed the sport, for sure. Even though she was second to the great Ludmilla Tourischeva. Her groundbreaking moves (for the time), caught everyone's attention. After 1972, the sport changed forever, then in 1976, it got more attention with Nadia's scores. In those four years alone, the difficulty advanced quite a bit and has never stopped since. The difference is amazing.
The difference is the equipment that is used has changed and made it so that they can do harder moves. I give so much credit to the Olga's and Tourishcheva's and Nadia's because they did moves that shocked people on wooden beams and bars.
Man, no one makes a cartwheel on the beam look more artful or athletic. Somehow watching that - slow & controlled - is more enjoyable in a way than the standing Arabians that are now standard in international competition.
it's a bit boring though, don't you think? She's kind of just jumping about and doing walkovers. It's obviously elegant and impressive but I think today's routines have so much more wow factor
@@witchmorrow they do, most certainly. There’s merit to both styles, then and now. What saddens me is so many have this need to completely demean and put down the sport today while only living in the past. I enjoy all eras of the sport, but do have a personal preference for the acrobatic style of today for sure.
No, Olga put gymnastics on the map. Nadia redefined it. Olga made everyone notice the sport, because she threw amazing tricks (she was the first trickster, the first pixie), because she cared, because she cried when she threw away the AA gold, she drew in viewers. Nadia, through her perfection, redefined it.
Olga Korbut la mejor gimnasta de todos los tiempos, no necesitó calificación de 10 para demostrar su calidad y perfección, fué quien revolucionó la gimnasia olimpica y si se habla de gimnasia femenil todo es antes y después de Olga Korbut .....
Kresimir amodric Tu comentarion fue hace mucho tiempo pero solo puedo puntualidad que estas en un error en gran parte de él. Lo que si acepto es que revolucionó la gimnasia en términos de innovación, pero definitivamente Nadia Comaneshi le dio mucho mas a esa disciplina y por eso es considerada la reina de la gimnasia y una leyenda.
La mejor de todos los tiempos Nadia Comaneci. Su perfección, dificultad y elegancia están incluso por delante de Olga Korbut. Nadia con solo 10 años hacía ejercicios que estaban por delante de las gimnastas senior y es por eso que ya en 1975 con 13 años quedó campeona de Europa. Olga Korbut fue un punto y aparte sensacional pero Nadia ya un año antes de Munich demostraba que el 10 sería para ella antes que para nadie. Olga tenía 17 años en Munich 72, Nadia 14 en Montreal 76, y solo con observar los ejercicios de barra fija o asimétricas queda demostrado claramente que Nadia ha sido más revolucionaria y digna del 10 perfecto sin duda alguna.
Ningún experto en gimnasia con una visión retrospectiva puede dudar de eso: hay un Antes Korbut y un Después de Korbut. Fue la gimnasta más revolucionaria de toda la História. Cuanto a Nadia, pues, si comparamos el ejercicio de Olga de 1972 y lo de Nadia de 1976 en las paralelas asimétricas, es evidente que hay una regresión en dificultad. Los jueces eran muy conservadores y muy reacios a las acrobacias. Nadia volvió a los ejercicios fluidos con acrobacias poco relevantes. Me acuerdo que en esa época decían que Korbut hacía circo, no gimnasia. Por ese motivo nunca llegó al 10.00 cuando merecía un "11.00" porque era a la vez valiente, elegante y graciosa. Fue ella quien marcó el rumbo de la gimnasia.
Women’s Gymnastics was really born with Olgas Korbut. That back somi was absolutely shocking in 1972, the other teams were calling it a “circus move” and saying she should be disqualified. Watch Ludmilla Tourischiva from just a few years prior - her big move on beam was a forward *roll*. You know, like three-year-olds do on the carpet. A roll. Korbut was stunningly better than everyone else and charming too. She launched millions of American girls into gymnastics and just as Title 9 was coming into play opening up sports for girls in high school. Before 1972 all a big school offered for girls was half-court basketball and GAA - girls athletic association, a glorified gym class. Olga was in the right place at the right time for millions of American girls.
Because "back then" the beam was cold, dense, solid wood; can you hear it squeak when she spins on it? A fall on the beam then was falling on solid, polished wood. No sprung beams, no padding, no moleskin covering; a back somi on a solid piece of wood was actually far from easy; try it yourself, if you can find a piece of wood the right size; No springs to help you get height; imagine that;. Not so easy eh?
I know ! I was thinking ,"They had to train everyday to do that ??" But they had a lot more grace and poise back then. Their routines were beautiful to watch.
You cannot imagine what a sensation it was the first time she did that back aerial somersault. It had never been done. I was watching it in real time, & I'm telling you, it was nothing short of earth shaking. I know gymnastics has advanced greatly & what they do now is so much more difficult. But remember: She was first. The very first. And many of today's gymnasts do the same mount, & to me it looks terrible. I always suggest they watch this video to watch how that beautiful split should be done. Ragan Smith is one of the worst. Watch her, then Olga. No comparison.
People, take notice of her grace and how smooth she was on the beam. Not shaky like most of today. She turned and moved like she was part of the beam. She was a ground breaking gynmast and even though things evolved and the moves are harder now, we can't ignore where everything started.
@@deenibeeniable Beautifully said. Olga was the beginning of what gynmastics is today. She was ground breaking and I remember the move live as well. She was the first. And her move the Kurbut Flip on the bars has been banned because it is too dangerous. So what does that tell people.
Korbut flip always seemed to me to be a safety move, if you miss with the feet then your body will catch you. Can’t believe it’s held in such high regard. But Korbut is a legend don’t get me wrong, as is any gymnast willing to walk on that terrifying thing.
Muska34 Korbut flip a safety move?? You really think if you miss with your feet your body will catch you?? Oh no you can only end up in a wheelchair with a broken neck
If she failed the flip she would’ve gotten a broken neck or a smashed in nose. She grabs the beam with her hand before landing in her chest, just then the rest of the body follows
Olga was the Icon and not just because 1972 was the first year I had a car or a girl friend I watched Wideworld of Sports looking for new talent for conversation and she was worth all the excitment
how can she bend her body like that? She is my favorite gymnast of all time. But the things she does with her body seem almost monster-like, such as bending her torso and neck backwards so her face nearly reaches her heels. A beautiful and graceful as she is, it sort of reminds me of a horror movie.
umm yeah I heard of Comaneci before Korbut. Personally I think both of them created modern gymnastics. Korbut did the first ever back tuck on beam, but Comaneci did the first ever aerials on beam and these aerials were connected with back handsprings also which were INCREDIBLE back then. Also Comaneci was the first to do advanced handstands on bars. Both shaped gymnastics and although I prefer Comaneci (because her type of artistry appeals to me more) I respect both!! xD
No Comaneci was not the first to do aerials on the beam. Look at Elvira Saadi's beam routine in 1972. She was doing one. But she was not the first either to do an aerial walkover - Lyubov Burda was.
Korbut was the first to do a back tuck on the beam and first to do a back flip on the bars. Nadia was the first 10 and refined the moves that Olga did. Both were amazing but Olga in my eyes was the best and I think she should have received a 10 before Nadia came along.
I've never been a big fan of Olga, but it's clear she was different from anything around. The problem I have with her is that when they interview her nowadays she dedicates a large part of her interview to talking largely about herself which I just find annoying. She always enjoys mentioning what she did first and the tragedy of the all around and how she recovered and I'd rather hear her talk about maybe something contemporary with the sport and not about how "the moves I did then are still done today."
Zachary Walzer ...contemporary observers are the people you want to talk about contemporary routines. I don’t listen to the likes of Korbut to appreciate contemporary gymnastics, and I certainly have no problem listening to her talk about anything she likes.
Give her a break if she likes to talk about her accomplishments because her coach sure didn't. Instead he beat and raped her for years and days before the Munich Olympics and yet she was a great gymnast. I don't know how she held it together actually and how it didn't mess her up since then.
The equipment was not so developed back then and the gymnasts could get hurt more easily. Also, some of the moves weren't invented yet. Back then, it was also more about the artistry and beauty.
Back then, the balance beam was made of polished wood, which was slippery and dangerous. Now, it's padded, cushioned, and covered with a leather- or suede-like material. The evolution of gymnastics equipment over the years has allowed gymnasts to do more difficult and aggressive moves.
Read "The end of the perfect 10" by Dvorah Meyers. And you'll learn more about the sport than you could have imagined--while, of course, being sufficiently entertained. I'm listening to the audio version from audible.
It was more grace back then and they were judged on it. Times have changed and it's all about power now. I hope that never happens in the figure skating sport. IMO you got to have grace as well as tumbles and jumps. Also if the beam were still made of wood, you would not see the hard er flips that you see today and if the beam were padded back then, the moves would have harder then as well, obviously.
Agreed. 1972 was a watershed moment in women's gymnastics. If you watch footage of old gymnastics, the difference between pre-1972 and post-1972 gymnastics is like the difference between night and day. Olga was the first pixie-type gymnast, and she introduced more dangerous, acrobatic feats to the sport. Before Olga, female gymnasts were older and/or more womanly, and they were elegant, but not daredevils like Olga was. She was the first gymnast who popularized the sport on a global level.
And Olga's balletic attention to detail shown here - compared to today's twitching & flapping between big acrobatic moves - is the essence of "presentation." Not being a gymnast myself, I wonder if mastering such consistent execution of detail isn't as hard, hard, hard as mastering the big moves.
I agree. Today they look robotic instead of graceful. The big moves of today could have been done then if the beams were padded like they are today. Olga performed on polished wood.
The sport has evolved and revolutionized. Each has its positives and negatives. The gymnasts of today are more dynamic and explosive, but that’s because they are allowed to actually be really strong athletes instead of being starved and forced into a specific body mold. There are reasons todays gymnasts have much longer careers, and it isn’t just because the apparatus have improved. In terms of ballet, there’s always rhythmic gymnastics for those who only want that.
THAT WAS A PERFECT 10 !! Also on the UN-even bars she sould have gotten a 10 !! * OLGA was before Nadia !! I am almost 55 and remember them both so well and LOVED them BOTH !!
Nadia Comaneci wasnt at the 1972 olympics, its not because she didnt make it, its because she was only 10 years old. You have to think, at montreal(1976) she was fourteen, and olympics come every 4 years, so if you do the math then she would be about ten years old. :)
The people who followed gymnastics during the '70s and '80s know both Nadia and Olga. Even many older folks who didn't follow gymnastics very closely back then know who Olga is because she made such a lasting impression during the 1972 Olympics. She did tricks that had never been done before and paved for way for future gymnasts like Nadia. She and the Soviet gymnastics team visited the U.S. and even met with President Nixon back then.
And they washed down their scrambled eggs with multiple bottles of ketchup, which they didn't have in the ussr. So said Life magazine at the time, anyway.
Żadna gimnastyczka nie miała i nie ma do tej pory czaru i lekkości wykonywania tych elementów co Olga Korbut. Dla mnie jest to najlepsza gimnastyczka świata.
