(4 of 11)
Meanwhile, the East Germans began to pile up points, in and out of the water, in their determined and carefully planned bid for Olympic pre-eminence (TIME, June 5, 1972). So meticulous were their preparations. they sent an inspection team to study the tortuous kayak and canoeing course built near Munich, then had it reproduced for training in Saxony on the Pleisse River. They were rewarded with two gold medals. One more gold medal went to World Champion Backstroker Roland Matthes in the 100-meter event, a repeat of his performance in Mexico City. By week's end the East Germans had collected an impressive total of eight gold, six silver and nine bronze medals.
The D.D.R. athletes also tried hard to crack the Russian and Japanese monopoly on the gymnastic bars and swings. They initially garnered a silver medal, won by a lithe, pretty medical student named Karin Janz in the women's all-round individual competition. She subsequently won a pair of golds in the individual long-horse and uneven-bar competitions. The men's gymnastics events were a replay of the traditional Japanese-Russian conflict. Exquisitely musculatured for the sport, the Japanese men performed breathtaking airborne arabesques that showed considerably more imagination and verve than the strong but methodical Russians. Although the Japanese flew off with all three medals in the all-round individual, two Soviet athletes picked up gold medals in the floor exercises and the long-horse event.
The Russians also won the gold and bronze medals in the women's all-round individual. That came as no surprise; the Soviets had dominated women's gymnastic events since they began Olympic competition. Winner of the individual was Ludmilla Tourischeva, 19, a solemn, dark-haired beauty who enjoys virtual prima-ballerina status in the Soviet Union. Executing such complicated maneuvers as 360° swings and somersaults underneath the uneven bars, Tourischeva outpointed the D.D.R.'s Janz and Teammate Tamara Lazakovich.
Disbelief. The crowd favorites, however, were two tiny porcelain dolls, the U.S.S.R's Olga Korbut and the U.S.'s Cathy Rigby. Olga, 17, put on a dazzling first-round performance on the uneven bars in the team event that had observers rubbing their eyes in disbelief. In the all-round event, however, Olga brushed her toe on the ground during her mount, lost both her poise and rhythm and returned to her seat barely blinking back the tears after recording a disastrous score of 7.50 (out of a possible 10). Undaunted, she overcame her jitters and returned the next day to win two gold medals—in the balance-beam and floor exercises—and the roaring acclaim of the audience.