Blogtober Day 29: Olga Korbut

Well, after 28 days of Blogtober, I finally figured out how to plan ahead: I knew I'd be busy until late tonight, so I wrote this post (gasp) yesterday! Woo, go me! But now the issue is that it's 10 pm, tomorrow night is going to be another late one, and I can't decide if I should write tomorrow's post now or tomorrow. #bloggerstruggles

Olga is the original queen of gymnastics. The way the sport looks nowadays basically all comes back to her... but more on that later.

She originated a backflip-to-catch release move on the uneven bars, which was the first backwards release ever done by a woman. This and other acrobatics made her a huge star at the 1972 Olympics, and her technical excellence overthrew the sport's emphasis on artistry. She won silver on the uneven bars and gold on balance beam, floor exercise and in the team competition. At the 1974 World Championships, she won two golds and four silvers. She went to her second Olympics in 1976 and won silver on balance beam and gold in the team competition.

But more important than Olga's multiple Olympic medals is the attention she drew to gymnastics. Because of her, girls flocked to join gymnastics and a sport that had previously gone unnoticed was making headlines. She met with President Richard Nixon after the 1972 Olympics, and according to Olga, "he told me that my performance in Munich did more for reducing the political tension during the Cold War between our two countries than the embassies were able to do in five years." (I, uh, don't really know how, or what the logistics of that statement were, but I'll take his word for it.)

Before Olga, gymnastics belonged to women, with artistry as the main emphasis. But along came Olga, all of 4'11 and 82 pounds, whose high-flying tricks and technique blew everyone away. Suddenly, gymnastics was all about acrobatics, and small athletes (i.e. girls) became the norm. She paved the way for Nadia Comaneci, who paved the way for basically everyone else.

I, personally, love it when tiny people do big things and shake things up. But it's definitely not overstating it to say that Olga was a pint-sized revolutionary.




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9 comments :

  1. Olga was my idol, I copied her floor sequence, gymnastics and Olga got me through a difficult childhood. She was beautiful to watch.

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    1. Oh wow, that's really wonderful. :) I love how sports can have that kind of impact. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Watching Olga in the Olympics is what inspired me to get into photographing gymnastics and I got to have that dream in shooting gymnastics for a few years for International Gymnastics Magazine. If it wasn't for watching Olga, I never would have been inspired to do that and appreciate the art like I do now.

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    1. Oh my gosh, that's amazing! The effect sports can have on people's lives is pretty incredible, and I love that you got to live your dream! That's what I'm trying to do right now. :) Thanks so much for sharing!

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  3. Very well said young lady....excellent piece.

    Best,

    Kirk Mango
    Author: "Becoming a True Champion"

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  4. You've actually only covered part of it: When Olga came onto the scene, United States and Soviet relations were still in the depths of the "cold war". Her celebrity actually thawed Soviet/American relations here in America politically. She put a human face to the Soviet people for all of us here. She visited Richard Nixon and the outreach was a great diplomatic success. The American public began to see past the conservative propaganda and understand that the Soviet people weren't different from us or our enemies after all.

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    1. President Nixon was engaging in hyperbole- that it is, he was exaggerating in order to make a point. But the point is very valid, to wit her success, charisma and celebrity were a window into another side of the Soviet Union and her people. Part of the politics of antagonism is the dehumanization of the opponent. Nixon was concerned with a more pragmatic course, and while he was still concerned about containing the spread of communist totalitarianism, he wanted to reduce the state of enmity between the US and the USSR. To that end, Olga's contribution was immeasurable. This is what people are referring to when they say she "put a human face" to the Soviet people. Aside from her mastery at gymnastics, she is a very important figure in the history of the Cold War.

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    2. Oh okay, that makes a lot of sense! I wasn't born until 1991 so I didn't experience it firsthand, and research can only tell you so much. I really appreciate the explanation!

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