‘Perfect 10′ is something that everyone aims for in any field. In gymnastics, it is more than a number. It is a statistic which defines perfection, a statistic which defines flawlessness, a statistic which defines excellence. Nadia Comaneci was the first to get a Perfect 10 in the 1976 Olympic Games although it had been done before in the 1967 European Championships by Vera Caslasvska. Nadia’s performances made her the darling of the 1976 Montreal Games. Her performance in the uneven bars was sublime and deserved a ’10’. There was a surprise in store. The scoreboard displayed ‘1.00’ since it could accommodate 3 digits only. Many documentaries have been made to highlight the performance and deservedly so. However, there was another performance in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games which in my opinion was equally impressive and it could have been the first ‘Perfect 10′ in the Olympic Games – Olga Korbut on the uneven bars. It was that good of a performance that ironically it got a silver!
The Olympics provide a global platform to showcase one’s talent. Olga Korbut was considered the second best talent on the USSR 1972 gymnastics team behind Ludmilla Tourischeva. Olga’s performances in the team events made her the favorite for the all-around title but mistakes resulted in Tourischeva winning the gold. Olga more than redeemed herself with golds in the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise events. As good as she was in these events, I think her Uneven Bars performance where she finished second should have been a ’10’ for the unique combination of skill, daring and artistry.
I have watched Korbut’s Uneven Bars performance hundreds of times on YouTube and am still amazed. The smooth mount segued into the legendary moves for which she will always be famous. For someone her size, the strength to pull off the ‘Korbut Flip’ (named after her) just shows what a phenomenal athlete she was. Olga would stand on the high bar (the higher of the two bars in the uneven bars event) and then flip and grasp the bar. Then Olga would use the momentum to perform a back flip from the lower bar and re-grasp the high bar. The degree of difficulty is insane. In fact the move was later considered too dangerous and was made illegal. This was followed by a few more incredibly difficult acrobatic moves. The entire routine left everyone who watched it in awe and the perfect backward dismount from the high bar put multiple exclamation points for the performance. Indeed the ‘Sparrow from Minsk’ had enthralled one and all. It is a Perfect 10 in my book!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Korbut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korbut_flip
Disclaimer – I don’t own the copyright of any of the following videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9aFvxz_jso (Uneven Bars – Individual)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2NGqI6FqeQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=461zBWmJHNc ( Uneven Bars from the Team competition – With commentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrDtXx87C38