1981 World Championships

[IratePanda]

WAG TF:


WAG AA:


WAG EF


I'm very curious to see how others feel about this competition. It was an inflection point in many respects. The Soviet team included three veterans, two breakout stars, and one nonentity. Romania was reeling in the aftermath of the Karolyis' defection. East Germany coasted on Maxi Gnauck's inexplicable reputation (I had a visceral hatred for her as a 10 year-old, and it still seems fully justified). China was erratically brilliant, as is their wont. The US was on the cusp of greatness. (McNamara, Talavera, and Kathy Johnson still rank among my all-time favorites.)

 

[irichluck21]

Looking forward to catching up with this!

 

[Matilda23]

Have only watched EFs so far.
Exciting for USA to be in contention for multiple medals.
Looked up Rodica Dunca’s EF floor on YouTube and was surprisingly impressed. Music and choreography was great. Compare it to her routine at 81 Euros!!
Ma Yahong boycotting the UB medal ceremony!
Filatova with the difficulty on BB.
Hope to watch the TF and AA soon.
@IratePanda what is it about Maxi Gnauck’s gymnastics you don’t like? Do you think she was overscored and a bit boring perhaps?

 

[KorbutFan]

Poor Britain’s Lisa Young had three falls on beam in the Optionals.

 

[MaryClare]

Poor Britain’s Lisa Young had three falls on beam in the Optionals.

GB beam rotation. Plus ça change

 

[IratePanda]

Have only watched EFs so far.
Exciting for USA to be in contention for multiple medals.
Looked up Rodica Dunca’s EF floor on YouTube and was surprisingly impressed. Music and choreography was great. Compare it to her routine at 81 Euros!!
Ma Yahong boycotting the UB medal ceremony!
Filatova with the difficulty on BB.
Hope to watch the TF and AA soon.
@IratePanda what is it about Maxi Gnauck’s gymnastics you don’t like? Do you think she was overscored and a bit boring perhaps?

Yes, I found her robotic and soulless.

 

[irichluck21]

Exciting for USA to be in contention for multiple medals.

Yeah, the US was one of the countries that benefitted from the rules changing in 1978. Adding 2 more competitors to event finals, from 6 to 8 and also putting in place the 2 per country rule certainly helped.
The previous Worlds, Soviet Union women basically swept the medals except bars gold and vault bronze. They went 1-4 on beam and 1-5 on floor.

 

[IratePanda]

I'm so happy to see some activity in this thread--thanks, everyone! I don't really follow NCAA, and the elite season hasn't started yet, so I've been yearning for some good discussions. Here are some additional thoughts:

1.) Bicherova and Ilienko were delightful. It's a shame Ilienko made mistakes in TO. I would have loved to see her qualify to AA finals ahead of Davidova, who I did not like at all. I just didn't enjoy her style (or lack thereof). I also wish that Alla Misnik (RIP) had been on the Soviet team, but I think she was injured.

2.) It was wonderful to see Filatova end her career on such a high note. She was always such a pleasure to watch.

3.) I honestly believe that Ma Yanhong was robbed on UB. She should have tied with Gnauck--or even won outright. I recall that some journalists, including IG's Peter Shilston, viewed her boycott of the medal ceremony as poor sportsmanship, but it was much more complex than that. China's relationship with the Soviet bloc had always been fraught (to say the least), and the period from 1978-81 was especially tense. The 1981 UB final represented a kind of proxy war between different factions of the communist-led world.

4.) I loved Wu Jiani's gymnastics back in the day, but it's hard to watch her now. I know she isn't the only athlete who morphed into an abusive coach, but the present definitely puts a new lens on the past.

5.) Rodica Dunca was quite lovely. I think she was the most un-Romanian of all the gymnasts on her team. Agache and Grigoras were the most stereotypically Romanian. Agache outgrew it. Grigoras never did. Stanulet was very meh. And poor Eberle. I never really enjoyed her gymnastics, but she looked so fragile and miserable that I just wanted to give her a hug.

6.) Zoya Grantcharova was so much fun to watch. Her FX was wild. I had such a soft spot for the Bulgarians (aside from Galina Marinova--I didn't like her as a gymnast, and I really don't like her as a coach; cf. earlier comments on Wu Jiani).

7.) I loved UB during this quad. The gymnasts really had to make creative use of both bars. I also miss Cuervos and Tsukaharas on vault. And I deeply, deeply miss compulsories.

 

[L_R]

Yes, I found her robotic and soulless.

I think she improved majorly during her career . This is one of my top fave floor excercises

 

[IratePanda]

No

 

[MaryClare]

No

Underrated post

 

[Matilda23]

I think she improved majorly during her career . This is one of my top fave floor excercises

I like the tumbling, the dance not so much. Ending pose is cool!

Agree Ma Yanhong should have won bars.