Women's Gymnastics a History: Volume 1 1966 To 1974 - Hardcover

Simons, Minot

4

6 ratings by Goodreads

9780964606203: Women's Gymnastics a History: Volume 1 1966 To 1974

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0964606208 ISBN 13: 9780964606203

Publisher: Welwyn Pub Co, 1995

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

This beautifully illustrated book is a celebration of the rich heritage of women's gymnastics during the period 1966 to 1974, when the older gymnasts of former times gave way to a younger generation which brought with them a more dynamic approach to the sport.

First in a series of four volumes which will describe the history of women's gymnastics through 1996 (the present time), Volume I contains 82 color and 95 black and white photographs for a total of 177 pictures. Volume I covers the Mexico and Munich Olympics and the World and European Championships of the period. There is also a brief mention of other lesser competitions.

Of equal importance are the biographies of the leading gymnasts. These will enable gymnasts of today and tomorrow to know what went on in the minds of their famous forbears.

In addition, 82 routines are described as part of the narrative. These are illustrated by 84 diagrams taken from the official "Code of Points." For gymnasts, coaches, judges and anyone who answers "women's gymnastics" when asked, "what is your favorite sport?" this is your book!

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

The book opens with the following two paragraphs:

In 1977, Olga Korbut retired from gymnastics. Yet the sport she so suddenly and explosively popularized in 1972 remains one of the best-loved Olympic sports, not only in the United States, but all over the world.

This durability of women's gymnastics as a vastly popular sport has been gratifying to me, personally, because I had long thought of the days of Olga Korbut and Ludmilla Turischeva as a golden age. These two famous gymnasts caught the fancy of the public at Munich and maintained it for over four years, until the last series of exhibitions they performed following the Montreal Olympics. What will happen, I wondered, when they retire?

Review:

Before the "Miller" was common on beam, and even before the uncommon Shannon Miller herself was on earth, generations of gymnasts sustained the sport beautifully through its evolution and controversies. Paying perfect homage to the legacies of past idols such as Vera Caslavska , Natalia Kuchinskaya and Olga Korbut is Minot Simons' Women's Gymnastics a History, (Volume I, 1966 to 1974). The 432 page hard cover chronicle "replete with 177 color and black and white photos, plus 84 diagrams, 82 routine descriptions, 22 updated biographies, and miscellaneous features and results" is perhaps the most staggeringly impressive account ever of arguably the sport's most glamorous era. Young readers can enjoy the dramatic photos (most splendid of which include the color shots of Kuchinskaya on p. 73 and p. 75) and concise yet insightful profiles. They can also marvel and even chuckle at the skills performed on "primitive" equipment - non-padded beams, plain floor exercise mats and bars that were set for hip beats.

Today's fans can also discover the accomplished pasts of women who continue to influence the sport. Current Canadian coach (and former Soviet Olympian) Elvira Saadi is featured on the front cover. Prominent international judges and former Olympians Lyubov Burda Andrianova (back cover), Joan Moore Gnat and Linda Metheny Mulvihill are also profiled between the covers.

Sentimentalists can savor the personal memoirs which preserve and provide fresh hindsight to the careers of Larissa Latynina, Ludmilla Turischeva and 20 others. The harrowing personal plights of Caslavska (who only recently returned to favor after years as a "non-person" for her support of liberal Czech reforms) and Zinaida Druzhinina Voronina offer depth to women whose athletic performances reflected joy but often hid inner turmoil.

The most minute details of complete routines provide technical enthusiasts with the ultimate visualization exercises, along with play-by-play accounts of major international competitions including the Olympics, World's and European's.

Historically significant and timelessly intriguing, Women's Gymnastics a history offers a rich, educational and essential register. If Simons' planned future volumes are as stunningly comprehensive as Volume I, they are bound to inform and inspire. -- John Crumlish, International Gymnast magazine

This book should be considered a model for any historian hoping to document sports history. The depth of detailed information about the competitions is impressive. We especially liked the biographies and interviews with some of the sports legends. Finally, we have a definitive history of women's gymnastics . . . thanks to Minot Simons. -- Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.