1977 Euros UB Mukhina

[woofiegrrl]

Agreed, I just don't like the full twisting Korbut. bbhouk1 said it perfectly, just too sloppy.

[bbhouk1]

i always hated her full twisting Korbut.

i would have liked it much better if she had just done a regular Korbut flip. her form was so sloppy on that move (not that i blame her, its really hard) and she always caught with one arm before the other which screwed up her flow.

[Ruffian144]

She had such a smooth, fluid swing; really beautiful. 

[babigirl911]

unbelievable control! Wow, she was good.

[dancestudioballet]

she's perfect !!!

[audie83]

I think the bars hecht back dismount was first done by Stephanie Willem of the US.

[cherylannemason]

@audie83 Interestingly, Stephanie Willem's story as a competitor also came to a premature end--she was diagonosed in 1978 with a rare congenital condition which left her missing a vertebrae and which would've led eventually to paralysis had she continued in the sport. She retired at all of 13 years old and seemingly with a great career ahead--she however, is at least still living.

[faeryquene]

@cherylannemason I remember Stephanie Willem! And I remember how said I was to hear she had to quit the sport. I too remember she did the same dismount as Mukhina and had some really unique skills. I wish footage of her gymnastics was available on youtube.

[sinjinthule]

Can anyone else here think of a more imaginative UB artist then Mukhina? I mean like, ever? That flip from the top bar is probably the wildest stunt I've ever seen on this event. MLR's high-low flip is up there, but Mukhina's stunt is out of this world. Such smooth transitions, too.

[pegasnegru]

That element is called a Korbut flip, performed in 1972. Please check it out, SHE was one of the most imaginative UB performers ever!

[audie83]

Actually I think it's called a Mukhina because she (Yelena) added a twist. Korbut did hers as a sort of back handspring from feet to hands catching the bar-but no twist. She (Olga) most definitely was the innovator though-and Yelena had a few cool moves she did first or amongst the first as well-such as the double back off BB, and the full twist double back on FX.

[pegasnegru]

Yes, just as the Korbut flip with a twist on BB is called a Rufolva :) But sinjinthule called it "that flip from the bar", so I just wanted to give credit to the first gymnast to perform any form of that flip.

[audie83]

Olga certainly was the first to perform that form of flip in competition! On bars, beam, and I believe she had some moves on FX, and vault too named for her-she truly was an all arounder but unfortunately never hit in the major competitions like Worlds, and Olympics.

[TuesdayPillow]

Look at Filatova, Gnauk, and Ma Yanhong.

[boytoyville]

She was so amazing.