springwind46updated
Nellie Kim Gymnastics Tribute
When you ask the general public whether they know who Nadia Comaneci is, the answer is quite commonly "yes" even if they are not gymnastics fans. However, if you were to ask about Nellie Kim, only those people who followed gymnastics in the 1970s and 1980s might remember her. One of the reasons why Nellie Kim is not that well known, is Nadia Comaneci's rise to stardom precisely at the same time when Nellie started to be noticed in the gymnastics community. Nadia was always one step ahead, but Nellie was quite close behind. Though the Romanian was the first female gymnast in Olympic history to earn a perfect 10 in competition, not a lot of people remember that Kim was the first one to get a perfect 10 on vault, very shortly after Comaneci received her first 10. Kim's rivalry with Comaneci became the main news in the media covering the 1976 Games and, though Kim finished 2nd in the all-around competition, she won 3 gold medals, 1 in the team competition and 2 in the event finals: on vault and floor. Nellie will always be remembered in the gymnastics community as the first gymnast to perform a double back salto at an Olympic Games. At the 1979 World Gymnastics Championships, Nellie won the all-around title. In 1980, at the Olympic Games in Moscow, she won gold in the team competition and tied for gold with Comaneci on floor. Like many of the gymnastics greatest stars, Nellie retired at the 1980s Olympics, making those games the last time you could see Nellie perform at the elite level. She later became a gymnastics official and she judged international competitions for the following years. She was the judge who gave Daniela Silivas a 9.8 on vault (a significantly lower score that any of the other judges) on vault at the 1988 Olympics all around, which was seen as favoritism towards Soviet Elena Shushunova, who ended up winning the competition. That is the only embarrassing incident in a career otherwise marked by amazing achievements.
springwind46updated
Nellie Kim Gymnastics Tribute
When you ask the general public whether they know who Nadia Comaneci is, the answer is quite commonly "yes" even if they are not gymnastics fans. However, if you were to ask about Nellie Kim, only those people who followed gymnastics in the 1970s and 1980s might remember her. One of the reasons why Nellie Kim is not that well known, is Nadia Comaneci's rise to stardom precisely at the same time when Nellie started to be noticed in the gymnastics community. Nadia was always one step ahead, but Nellie was quite close behind. Though the Romanian was the first female gymnast in Olympic history to earn a perfect 10 in competition, not a lot of people remember that Kim was the first one to get a perfect 10 on vault, very shortly after Comaneci received her first 10. Kim's rivalry with Comaneci became the main news in the media covering the 1976 Games and, though Kim finished 2nd in the all-around competition, she won 3 gold medals, 1 in the team competition and 2 in the event finals: on vault and floor. Nellie will always be remembered in the gymnastics community as the first gymnast to perform a double back salto at an Olympic Games. At the 1979 World Gymnastics Championships, Nellie won the all-around title. In 1980, at the Olympic Games in Moscow, she won gold in the team competition and tied for gold with Comaneci on floor. Like many of the gymnastics greatest stars, Nellie retired at the 1980s Olympics, making those games the last time you could see Nellie perform at the elite level. She later became a gymnastics official and she judged international competitions for the following years. She was the judge who gave Daniela Silivas a 9.8 on vault (a significantly lower score that any of the other judges) on vault at the 1988 Olympics all around, which was seen as favoritism towards Soviet Elena Shushunova, who ended up winning the competition. That is the only embarrassing incident in a career otherwise marked by amazing achievements.
springwind46updated
Nellie Kim Gymnastics Tribute
When you ask the general public whether they know who Nadia Comaneci is, the answer is quite commonly "yes" even if they are not gymnastics fans. However, if you were to ask about Nellie Kim, only those people who followed gymnastics in the 1970s and 1980s might remember her. One of the reasons why Nellie Kim is not that well known, is Nadia Comaneci's rise to stardom precisely at the same time when Nellie started to be noticed in the gymnastics community. Nadia was always one step ahead, but Nellie was quite close behind. Though the Romanian was the first female gymnast in Olympic history to earn a perfect 10 in competition, not a lot of people remember that Kim was the first one to get a perfect 10 on vault, very shortly after Comaneci received her first 10. Kim's rivalry with Comaneci became the main news in the media covering the 1976 Games and, though Kim finished 2nd in the all-around competition, she won 3 gold medals, 1 in the team competition and 2 in the event finals: on vault and floor. Nellie will always be remembered in the gymnastics community as the first gymnast to perform a double back salto at an Olympic Games. At the 1979 World Gymnastics Championships, Nellie won the all-around title. In 1980, at the Olympic Games in Moscow, she won gold in the team competition and tied for gold with Comaneci on floor. Like many of the gymnastics greatest stars, Nellie retired at the 1980s Olympics, making those games the last time you could see Nellie perform at the elite level. She later became a gymnastics official and she judged international competitions for the following years. She was the judge who gave Daniela Silivas a 9.8 on vault (a significantly lower score that any of the other judges) on vault at the 1988 Olympics all around, which was seen as favoritism towards Soviet Elena Shushunova, who ended up winning the competition. That is the only embarrassing incident in a career otherwise marked by amazing achievements.
Vera Caslavska Gymnastics Tribute
This is an homage to Vera Caslavska, the two-time Olympic gold winner from the Czech republic who remains a much-loved figure in artistic gymnastics. Vera died on August 30th, 2016. Not many people know that she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in International competition in 1967, at the European championships, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci did it at the Montreal Olympics. You can see highlights of the floor exercise that was awarded a 10 on this video: https://youtu.be/wFWklIih20Y From 1959 to 1968, Caslavska won 22 international titles in competitions. She has 7 Olympic gold medals, 4 artistic gymnastics world championships and 11 European championships. With Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, she is one of the only 2 female gymnasts who have won the all-around gold medal at consecutive Olympic Games. Her most important gymnastics results are: 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (her first international competition): 1 silver - team final 1959 European Championships: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - balance beam 1960 Olympics - Rome: 1 silver - team final 1961 Europeans: 1 bronze - all around 1962 Worlds: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - all around 1964 Olympics - Tokyo: 3 golds - all around, vault, balance beam; 1 silver - team final 1965 Europeans: 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1966 Worlds: 3 golds - team final, all around, vault 1967 Europeans (she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci): 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1968 Olympics - Mexico: 4 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, floor; 2 silvers - team final, balance beam 2 months before the 1968 Olympic Games, due to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Vera lost her training facilities and was forced to train in precarious conditions in the forest. In spite of this setback, she manage to dominate at the 1968 Olympics. Her Mexican floor music and her marriage in Mexico City during the games made her hugely popular in Mexico. Caslavska had openly opposed the Soviet invasion of her country. When she won gold with Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, she quietly protested on the podium, while they played the Soviet anthem by turning her head down. Due to her public opposition to the Soviet invasion, she was forced to retire in 1968 and she was considered persona non grata in her own country until the fall of communism in 1989 when she was again given the honors she deserved. Video by Just Artistic Gymnastics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/JustArtisticGymnastics
Vera Caslavska Gymnastics Tribute
This is an homage to Vera Caslavska, the two-time Olympic gold winner from the Czech republic who remains a much-loved figure in artistic gymnastics. Vera died on August 30th, 2016. Not many people know that she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in International competition in 1967, at the European championships, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci did it at the Montreal Olympics. You can see highlights of the floor exercise that was awarded a 10 on this video: https://youtu.be/wFWklIih20Y From 1959 to 1968, Caslavska won 22 international titles in competitions. She has 7 Olympic gold medals, 4 artistic gymnastics world championships and 11 European championships. With Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, she is one of the only 2 female gymnasts who have won the all-around gold medal at consecutive Olympic Games. Her most important gymnastics results are: 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (her first international competition): 1 silver - team final 1959 European Championships: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - balance beam 1960 Olympics - Rome: 1 silver - team final 1961 Europeans: 1 bronze - all around 1962 Worlds: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - all around 1964 Olympics - Tokyo: 3 golds - all around, vault, balance beam; 1 silver - team final 1965 Europeans: 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1966 Worlds: 3 golds - team final, all around, vault 1967 Europeans (she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci): 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1968 Olympics - Mexico: 4 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, floor; 2 silvers - team final, balance beam 2 months before the 1968 Olympic Games, due to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Vera lost her training facilities and was forced to train in precarious conditions in the forest. In spite of this setback, she manage to dominate at the 1968 Olympics. Her Mexican floor music and her marriage in Mexico City during the games made her hugely popular in Mexico. Caslavska had openly opposed the Soviet invasion of her country. When she won gold with Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, she quietly protested on the podium, while they played the Soviet anthem by turning her head down. Due to her public opposition to the Soviet invasion, she was forced to retire in 1968 and she was considered persona non grata in her own country until the fall of communism in 1989 when she was again given the honors she deserved. Video by Just Artistic Gymnastics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/JustArtisticGymnastics
Vera Caslavska Gymnastics Tribute
This is an homage to Vera Caslavska, the two-time Olympic gold winner from the Czech republic who remains a much-loved figure in artistic gymnastics. Vera died on August 30th, 2016. Not many people know that she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in International competition in 1967, at the European championships, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci did it at the Montreal Olympics. You can see highlights of the floor exercise that was awarded a 10 on this video: https://youtu.be/wFWklIih20Y From 1959 to 1968, Caslavska won 22 international titles in competitions. She has 7 Olympic gold medals, 4 artistic gymnastics world championships and 11 European championships. With Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, she is one of the only 2 female gymnasts who have won the all-around gold medal at consecutive Olympic Games. Her most important gymnastics results are: 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (her first international competition): 1 silver - team final 1959 European Championships: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - balance beam 1960 Olympics - Rome: 1 silver - team final 1961 Europeans: 1 bronze - all around 1962 Worlds: 1 gold - vault; 1 silver - all around 1964 Olympics - Tokyo: 3 golds - all around, vault, balance beam; 1 silver - team final 1965 Europeans: 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1966 Worlds: 3 golds - team final, all around, vault 1967 Europeans (she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10, 9 years before Nadia Comaneci): 5 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor 1968 Olympics - Mexico: 4 golds - all around, vault, uneven bars, floor; 2 silvers - team final, balance beam 2 months before the 1968 Olympic Games, due to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Vera lost her training facilities and was forced to train in precarious conditions in the forest. In spite of this setback, she manage to dominate at the 1968 Olympics. Her Mexican floor music and her marriage in Mexico City during the games made her hugely popular in Mexico. Caslavska had openly opposed the Soviet invasion of her country. When she won gold with Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, she quietly protested on the podium, while they played the Soviet anthem by turning her head down. Due to her public opposition to the Soviet invasion, she was forced to retire in 1968 and she was considered persona non grata in her own country until the fall of communism in 1989 when she was again given the honors she deserved. Video by Just Artistic Gymnastics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/JustArtisticGymnastics