warm-up
Edited by Dwight Normile
20 Years Ago in IG!
What’s Next?
YELENA Shushunova of the former Soviet Union earned the
cover of the January 1989 issue,
which included profiles on the 1988
Seoul Olympic all-
around champions
(Shushunova;
Vladimir Artemov;
Marina Lobach,
RSG). Olga
Korbut also made
the cover after
becoming the
first inductee into
the International
Gymnastics Hall of Fame in October
1988. (She was part of the official
inaugural class in 1997, as well.)
The issue also included “Inside
the USSR,” which took readers
behind the scenes at the Olympisky
Sportscomplex in Moscow. Later in
the magazine, Yoshi Hayasaki (now
in his final year as Illinois men’s
coach) compared the coaching systems of the Soviet Union and the
U.S. Ironically, the Soviet Union dissolved later that year.
Though he was big man on FX at the DTB Cup, Fabian Hambüchen felt shrimpy
next to runner-up Kristian Thomas (left) and 3rd-place Alexander Shatilov.
THOMAS SCHREYER
FEBRUARY
5-7 Winter Cup Challenge
Las Vegas, Nevada
21 American Cup
Chicago, Illinois
APRIL
2-5 European Championships (Ind.)
Milan, Italy
AUGUST
12-15 Visa (U.S.) Championships
Dallas, Texas
SEPTEMBER
9-13 29th Rhythmic Worlds
Mie, Japan
OCTOBER
12-18 41st World Championships
London, England
28 Arthur Gander Memorial
Morges, Switzerland
On Number 48 Percentage of skills AA women will be judged on compared with men under the 2009 Code (see “The “
Bottom Line” below)
“
GymnasToon
“It’s another text from my mom: ‘DONT 4GET 2 POINT UR TOZ! ;-)’”
IG’s Picks of the Month!
LINDA METHENY
1971 U.S. Championships (uneven bars)
This innovative routine was a combination of old and new elements as
the apparatus continued its evolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X43AA63nW5I
OKSANA OMELIANCHIK
1985 World Championships (floor exercise)
She exuded sheer joy while performing, and her back-to-back middle
pass may have been the best ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dSr34SjUJM
IOANNIS MELISSANIDIS
1996 Olympics (floor exercise)
This gold-medal routine led to stardom for this Greek gymnast, who
didn’t even make the floor final at the worlds a few months earlier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf7FeZGX6XU
SOVIET GYMNASTICS
Montage of women from the 1950s to the early ’80s
These clips reveal the beauty, originality and difficulty of a lost era of
gymnastics. Check out the other Soviet montages, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJDWFIAphk
THE
BOTTOM
LINE
The 2009 Code of Points will count a woman’s top 8 skills per routine but still 10 for men. With
vault being only one element, women will be judged on a total of 24 skills across three apparatus,
and the men will be evaluated on 50 across five events. The men should drop to 8 skills too.
