Nellie Kim - 1980 Olympics EF - Floor Exercise

[gymnasticsloverxoxo]

Although Nadia had cleaner landings I think Kim's choreography made up for the step forward on the last pass. Her choreography, like all soviet choreography was beautiful and artistic. I don't know what Bela was thinking, to me Nadia's choreography looked silly and un-artistic.

[akimbohr]

9.95 in spite of the mistake ????? Meaning that two judges gave her 9.90 and two judges gave her a perfect 10 !!

I would give 9.90 to all the four finalists.

[beeaa96]

For my opinion Nadia Comăneci is better than her. =)

[gymnastfreak921]

while nellie was doing her floor routine, nadia comaneci was on bars!!!!!!!

[matthewxcountry]

can anyone tell if this floor is springed or not? It looks more bouncy than the 70s but not by too much

[faeryquene]

@matthewxcountry There were no springs underneath at the 1980 Games. Otherwise, power gymnasts like Nelli Kim would have really SOARED in their tumbling! :)

[funascanb]

Nelly Furtado's MOM! She's so amazing.

[bertera1614]

SO MUCH POWER ON THAT DOUBLE PIKED !

[kingoftheswampful]

Kinda missed the double back salto on the last tumbling routine, but that's okay. Overall, she did better on the floor exercise than Nadia did in the Moscow Olympics.

[TwisterFlipp95]

No way she should have shared her gold with Nadia. This routine was so crappy --- she was so overrated on this event.

[cronopio131]

omg a double pike back without springs o.o

[bbhouk1]

@cronopio131 nadia also did a double pike at these olympics and she landed it cleaner than nellie did

[Barbara62381]

Comaneci was really better and cleaner in floor exercise at those Olympics.

[mufffin777]

@Barbara62381 I know...and Nellie Kim won gold at this olympic game (on floor).Very Strange

[nbonacci1982]

Ew.. this was the most undeserved gold ever. She was awful, what a nice present for her.

[orlyswa76]

Whats the name of this music shes performing to?

[sideshowdee]

santa esmerelda - house of the rising sun

[mariselallanera727]

Aunque Nelly es muy buena, aqui tuvo una falla al llegar del doble mortal en posicion c, yo pienso que debio ganar nadia

[sochisochi]

she's so perfect and was always cleaner than her contemporaries

[Querzeo]

@sochisochi Perfect? Cleaner? With steps after each landing and the twist? :-) And I'm not even talking about the last tumbling...

Watch the video better.

[MrJST94]

@sochisochi

clean?!?!?!? her first pass was almost stradeld! and het last pass was very low! if her mark (9.950) was right then Nadi should've had a 10.500!

[akimbohr]

@MrJST94

9.95 and tie for gold with Nadia was a farewell gift to Nelli by judges before retiring...

[selezkova]

Her tech is superior to her contemporaries'

[estelle93]

I love her!

She s perfect!

[logicalfallacy78]

i know

she's so perfect!!

[nondescriptnyc]

We should all remember that the sport was completely different back then, with different judging priorities, difficilty levels, and poor quipment!

The tricks and landings in FX are judged totally differently today than they are 30 years ago with no spring... Nellie Kim was the first gymnast who could actually dance with fuild movements.

[audie83]

*Nelli Kim was the first gymnast who could actually dance with fluid movements*. I beg to the differ-as far back as the 1960's gymnasts like Kuchinskaya danced with fluid movement. Tourischeva and Korbut too didn't exactly look like driftwood out there either. The East German Silvia Hindorff also had beautiful dance and especially Kathy Johnson of the USA who often had the wrong leotard on.

[audie83]

Come to think of it-what Nelli could do Zinaida Druginina had already done when Nelli was still in elementary school-she Druginina was probably the first of the innovators on FX with unique choreo and superb dance. Nelli's teammate at Montreal Maria Filatov imo was a superb dancer-and imo superior interpretive expression. Nelli's routines were lovely-and all looked the same. Filatova really took it to another level as far as artistic expression and unique choreagraphic movements.

[mistybabe5489]

with the new life rules shaposhnikova would gotten a bronze medal in the aa

[tomsk14]

The music is great...

But the footwork, into the corners, the landings of all 3 tumbles and the fact all 3 were standard tumbles at the time..

The USSR was very corrupt though, and with a boycotted games I wouldve been suprised if any non-soviets would be given golds....

[mistybabe5489]

damn she did pretty good for back then. those floor mat have no bounce, thats all her.

[tomsk14]

I agree, but her bounce is not the problem here....Its still a very enjoyable routine..

[mistybabe5489]

there is no prob. here except the landing on that last pass. if she hadnt underrotated it i believe the judges wouldve given her another 10

[tomsk14]

No! Look at all three of her landings, certainly not nailed landings, and she falls out of a simple double pirouette!

[mistybabe5489]

well i dont really kno how the old code worked but didnt bonus points made up for mistakes?

[tomsk14]

Yes but errors were still errors non the less and this is marking cause she was soviet in a soviet comp lol....

[mistybabe5489]

yea i kno, its horrible. if u were a gymnast back then, it wasnt fair. there was so much cheating going on w/ the judges b/c of stupid politics. even in the u.s., especially in '92 w/ the second trials.

[tomsk14]

Yes and these poor girls dedicate their entire lives to a system that didnt care abut them at all, and boiled down to politics and spite....e.g marinescu, atler, omelianchik etc etc...all the countries have done it....

[RLATC2000]

I know this may sound like a dumb question, but what is she wearing on her feet? Are they bandages?

[tomsk14]

yes for ankle support i would imagine...

[WarrenBeattySplendor]

Nelli Kim was very popular with the home crowd. It seems that more so than the other Soviet gymnasts. Naturally, she was the veteran and a champion from 1976.

I like this routine a lot. Nelli knew how to rouse and create a spectacle with simple but dramatic dance that only she could pull off because of her presence and expression.

I do think it was generously scored (9.95!) and even the crowd seems to give it away with a big gasp of disappointment.

[SWALE1984]

I respect your opinion. However, Shapo's Saber Dance was a far more difficult, far more vibrant and far sexier than this routine was. Shapo should have won the Gold in the All around, not Kim.

[KarenLovesGymnastics]

WTF, Davydova won the AA

[SWALE1984]

Kim tied with Nadia

[KarenLovesGymnastics]

Oh, I didn't know that. Sorry

However, I also think Shaposhnikova should have won

[xochipepe]

um, I think people are getting confused. Nadia and Kim tied in EF, Davydova won in the AA.

[tomsk14]

I think this routine no way should have got the gold....Shapo or Gnauck were far better....

What do you mean by saber?

[KarenLovesGymnastics]

No, I just checked, and Yelena Davydova won the gold.

[mistybabe5489]

yea but nellie's routine had more difficulty, 2 dbl backs. to think that back then the hardest tumbling pass was a dbl pike. now thats what everybody uses as their last pass.

[tomsk14]

absolutely not...

look at shapo or gnauck....far more difficulty...

[mistybabe5489]

maybe under the new code, but natalia underrotated her fiist 2 pases and maxi overrotated her first 2 passes. nellie only underrotated her last pass. even w/ new life the standings wouldve been exactly the same

[tomsk14]

I dont agree... Shapo and Gnauck were both much harder tumbling...and ALL 3 of these tumbles are under or over rotated....Dont get me wrong, its a great routine, full of character, but definitely not olympic gold...

[mistybabe5489]

its cool ur opinion. i also think shaposh shouldve gotten the bronze in the aa and maxi shouldve have medaled. in vt melina and steffi should switch places. in ub obviously 5 ppl didnt all deserve 9.9s but all of them shouldve shared 1st place. on bb yelena 1st, nadia, nataliya, maxi and radka 2nd.

[audie83]

*i also think shaposh shouldve gotten the bronze in the aa and maxi shouldve have medaled.* Maxi tied for the silver medal in the AA-with Nadia.

[tomsk14]

Audie please look at  0:44 and tell me that isnt one of the nicest jumps you've ever seen... I love it...

[audie83]

GORGEOUS switch leap! That is how it should be done. She has such power but she controls it with the most exquisite grace and danceability (is that a word??). Nelli also does one of the best cat leaps on beam-a 'simple' leap that I for one never properly mastered but Kim gets such height on it!

[tomsk14]

If danceability isnt a word, it should be.

We'll coin the phrase... Note to everyone

*Tomsk14 + Audie83 have a patent pending on the word 'Danceability'*

[audie83]

I need to hurry with that patent-before someone else 'coins' it! :D

[garyj79]

@tomsk14 - did Nelli have danceability then in your honest opinion tomsk14?? IMO she did and she didnt-cert not as classically trained as some of the others, that bit in between the 2nd & 3rd tumbles here is just cringe worthy, the bit before her botched double spin!! like shes added it in cos she forgot her choreo lol-whilst im on a roll, i add Nadia to that list, most of her routines were not up to par with the Russians and kudos here to Kim for at least throwing a DB @ the end! NC never did..

[garyj79]

@tomsk14 - I meant BTW Nadia's routines werent up to par with the soviets based on dance NOT necessarily tumbling....tbh Nadia was being slightly overshadowed sometimes by Mukhina and Zakharova in that dept, I dont think Nadia EVER did a Full in double back on floor?? Nadia was gifted some of her score in 1978 when she well below her game, think of her floor routines? choreo was like she was on acid!!!

[ahrensgay]

@garyj79 Nadia on acid? I like that. It was, the little posessed kind of hopping around little number she did to work her way over to the corner (she should've stayed there) was so clumsy looking, and preposterous it has you actually laughing to look at it. Did the choreo for this floor (from hell might I add) routine actually take pride in that mess? Poor Nadia looked as though she were epileptic for a second there.

[garyj79]

@ahrensgay - yep you got it right - well either they (the gymnasts) were on acid or epi meds or the choreographer was (cant think of her name but she defected aswell) if you watch some of the romanians dance routines from this time period - friggin HORENDOUS!! lol

[audie83]

Shapo was 4th in the AA and Kim 5th. I think you meant Shapo should have won the Gold on FX not Kim. And I agree.

[tomsk14]

Another point I've noticed and i'd like your opinion.... Her running technique, to me, looks very poor...

She runs flat footed, without any impulsion (e.g fatigue?) so builds no power and then places her round off about 2 paces too early....

I think thats why her lands are inevitably so soft and slightly sloppy tbh...

Compare this to Shapo's running or Davydova.....

[tomsk14]

This more applies to the final tumble...possibly the first as well....

[audie83]

I wonder if it is because of an ankle injury? They are so heavily wrapped and I don't think they were so at the 1976 Games. On the other hand-I ran track in primary and secondary school. She should really push off from her toes-or at least that is how I was taught for running and the field events like the long jump.

[tomsk14]

Oh shut up you idiots who have thumbed down my comment.... leave the gymnastics to people who know what they are saying....CONSTRUCTIVE criticism...its what its all about....Argghh you idiots make me so mad....

[nondescriptnyc]

I know what you are saying, but I think people are responding negatively to the way you are saying it... This happens a lot on Youtube, so don't take it personally--don't get mad! I don't think anyone is questioning the CONTENT of what you are saying.

[bluemaxof]

@tomsk14 I wouldn't have noticed the run if you didn't mention it, but it makes sense. Was this before or after they switched floors to springs? Is that why she has those awful looking sock support things on? Otherwise, she's so elegant.