Let's Talk About Tamara Lazakovich

Tamara Lazakovich was a beautiful Soviet gymnast of the early 70's who was overshadowed by her more successful and crowd-pleasing teammates Ludmilla Tourischeva and Olga Korbut. She made four individual finals in Munich and won bronze in the all around and on floor and silver on the beam. Her compulsory score was 38.25 and the highest of any individual compulsory all around score. At the 1971 European Championships, she won gold in the all around and on bars and beam and silver on vault and floor. Unfortunately, Tamara struggled with alcoholism later in life and died in 1992 at the age of 38.

This is a beautiful montage of Tamara. It's the only footage of her bars I've been able to find.

These were her Olympic vaults. A perfect Yamashita is beautiful!

Tamara qualified first into the balance beam final. After Karin Janz won the bars final, the crowd was at the judges' throats and there was very high pressure for Olga to win. Olga received the 9.90 score she needed to beat Tamara for the gold with her own spectacular routine. Tamara's routine is exemplary of all that was wonderful in early 70's beam. She has perfect control, beautiful balance on her hands, and beautiful artistic presentation.

Tamara's floor is my favorite routine of hers. She was in third going into the final but was the only gymnast of the top three not to have a noticeable error. She received the bronze behind Olga Korbut and Ludmilla Tourischeva and fell into tears. Her floor is classical and elegant yet avante-garde. It has wonderful tension and intensity. She combines staccato and legato movements expertly and creates a building energy all the way to her final movement.

Euro Games Wrap-Up

The Good

• Diverse competition and medalists
• Giulia winning two golds
• Oleg Vernaiev winning things and clapping before his national anthem ended
• Seda's TF beam
• Lieke Wevers performed beautifully on beam and floor and was rewarded for it
• The Netherlands won a team medal!
• Fabian Hambuchen shouting when he stuck a dismount
• Releases other than Jagers
• Giulia's vaults

The Bad

• Team GB imploding
• Tea Ugrin somehow finishing last in the bars finals leaving a medalist who fell
• The one-per-country rule left a lot of strong competition out of finals
• Only six in EFs

The Ugly

• Kelley Simm getting a 0 on her second vault in EF
• Bars and beam finals
• The uproar after floor

Team: This was a great competition. I especially really enjoyed watching all the gymnasts from smaller nations, they're always interesting. It's always nice when you come upon a format where you can watch all the top high-level gymnasts and so many gymnasts from developing programs as well. I was surprised Hungary placed so high. Romania needs to get into shape. They really do need their comeback "kids" (and Iordache, of course). Very pleased with how the Netherlands did.

All Around: I wish more of the top gymnasts hadn't fallen. Really, the results are quite jarring. Jurca in ninth, Simm not even in the top 10. Glad that none of the top three had a fall. I really didn't feel like Giulia was all that invested in the performance of her floor in either the team or the all around. Her vaulting was fabulous, though. Absolutely no question about the medalists, certainly. Mustafina seemed more well carried and steadier in the all around than the team final.

Vault: Giulia was amazing, of course. She gets so much height on her Rudi! Her form has also greatly improved. she only has flexed feet now. I think Seda's DTY has improved from last year. I really loved Janik's vaults. I like a tuck front full. I preferred her Tsuk layout, but it was still a bit piked. Kelley Simm's vault was very scary. She got no height, and it was quite splatty. Very good she wasn't hurt.

Bars: Oh, this was a splat-fest. I still don't understand how Tea Ugrin only finished last when she was one of three who didn't fall. It was messy, but I still don't understand it. I'm pretty sure Makra also caught her feet on her dismount. Scheder and Mustafina were both incredible. I'm obsessed with Sophie Scheder's casts! Nothing makes quite the impression on bars for me a casts with legs together. They just look so much cleaner and even gravity-defying. Her dismount was perfect! Her entire routine was just so beautiful. Aliya's was also lovely, of course. I don't know, I feel like there's not too much to say with her because it's the same basic watered-down routine she's had since 2012 and she's performed it beautifully many times.

Beam: Sophie and Giulia both almost didn't put their hands down. So close to having a podium with no major errors! Still, I might go so far as to say this was a better beam final than Nanning. And Georgina had a completely steady routine other than her fall! All we can do is tear our hair out. Andreea Iridon finally didn't fall apart. She has made it through a final! I missed the first part, I have to say, but it was without error. Lieke Wevers won!! Ugh, so beautiful. Her turns are glorious. I loved the aerial+aerial as well.

Floor: I was surprised by Zarzu's score. I thought it was better executed than the score it earned. Lisa Verschueren's floor is everything I never know I needed! It's so ridiculously bizarre and she is so totally un-self-conscious about it. Lieke's floor is a dream, though that spin needs to go. It ruins the whole aesthetic and suddenly breaks up how easy she makes it all look. Aliya's turns were interesting in this one. I'm not feeling the attitude+Memmel connection. I think she just needs to switch feet because she always fell out of that. Apparently Semenova confirmed her Gomez was downgraded. That doesn't really make sense seeing as it looked completely clear, but her turns in general were a bit confusing and imperfect. Too much twisting in this routine for my liking, she needs to play to her strengths more. Giulia was lowballed on execution, I think. Either that or Aliya was scored high. She had one large bound back, but her execution overall was much cleaner and her artistry was much better. The amplitude Giulia was able to get on her DLO was breathtaking! She definitely put her heart into this one, and I thought it was by far her best performance of the competition. I'm definitely siding with Giulia on who should have won. She was superior in difficulty, execution, and artistry. On heelgate- we had a live stream that was of good quality but was by no means crystal clear and a screenshot that was a bit fuzzy. One person who took a screenshot said she had to slow it down to .25 speed to get her screenshot. AND IT STILL WASN'T CLEAR IF HER HEEL WAS OUT. The line judge was a few feet away and had a perfectly clear view. Is it possible her heel was out and the line judge couldn't see it? Yes. But if it was that close, I am going to trust the line judge's judgement.

Team Russia: Seda was the gymnast who impressed me the most of Russia's team. She seemed the most prepared and, in the team competition, in the best competitive mindset. I'm worried, of course, by the fall in the beam final because her value from the team final appeared to be as a team player. If she can't prove her value there, I don't think I see her in Glasgow. Viktoria is just so frustrating. She's been working a comeback in dribs and drabs for over a year now and- when is it all going to come together? She could at least compete all four events at a competitive level this year, which she couldn't in December. I don't know, I wasn't one of her converts of 2010 and 2011 and so I guess I just don't have the same investment in her as most of the gymternet. She does seem to see that she has a way to go and a desire to get there, so we'll see. I'll try not to be too cynical. She was able to stay on beam despite the wobbles, so I do at least have some hope she can bring that to more future competition. Her beam could be a strong deciding factor in the fall, methinks, so if she can prove she can be depended on to stay on, if nothing else, that should be a plus by her name. Especially with the Russian inconsistency on beam (see Seda in the EF). She hit her feet on the low bar again- that seems to be an even bigger vice of hers in her comeback, so I hope she can get that under control. Okay, so she and Aliya both debuted DLOs on floor. Of course, Aliya has been teasing us with this for a long time, but I, at least, was taken completely off guard by Vika's. I'm not particularly taken by either of their routines, I must say. Very Rod-era we-don't-condition-our-athletes choreography. Aliya's choreography is taken up almost entirely by setting for turns. They're both routines where I finish watching and think to myself "Wait, there was choreography in that routine?" Again, I blame the majority of the blame for this at Round Lake and the lack of proper conditioning. I personally think Vika may be a highly artistic performer, perhaps one of the most artistic of her age, but her coaching staff has given her routines that do not fit her style and it hasn't been given the opportunity to let it really show. Really, I don't think it would be a bad idea for Aliya and Vika to switch music- it would seem a much better fit to me. And for the Russian athletes to be conditioned. Really, I'm not a huge fan of any of Aliya's new compositions. On her bars, I have absolutely no idea what's bothering me seeing as it is in every significant way the same basic routine she's had for years, but something's not doing it for me. Her twisting form did catch my eye, though. In the team competition, I though it looked worse if anything, but in the individual finals I saw a definite improvement. I still want her to bring her double arabian back instead of one of her twisting passes (especially if she has a whip-whip), but I must give credit where credit is due. I feel like that was really negative. I'm just too depressed about Russian gymnastics under the Rods to look on the bright side.

Team Germany: Scheder and Seitz can be double-hitters for Germany, and Scheder really could be a very big asset this season. Both gymnasts have huge bars sets which could bump up their score very well. Seitz could be in their vault lineup as well. Scheder definitely has the best all around potential. Her beam is capable of a good score when she hits and her floor is decent. We only really got to see any of Scheder since the German girls weren't shown much in the team final. The biggest thing for her is her mind, as always. Her beam especially is hit-or-miss, which isn't really what one wants to see. Her bars could be Worlds final-worthy though.

Team Netherlands: The Netherlands are on a roll this year. Sanne won a bars medal at Euros and made the beam final, and now her sister cleaned up at the European Games. Lieke's performance was huge. I loved what we saw from her (okay, who didn't?) Her performance in the beam final stood out to me especially because of how she kept her cool. It was a splat-fest of a final and all she needed was a solid routine to be assured of a medal, and she delivered easily. That ability to remain clam, cool, and collected will be of huge value if she maintains it. She also has really made the most of her gorgeous floor. It's getting good solid scores in the mid-13s, so it's usable, to say the least. The biggest thing Lieke displayed in Baku was a very valuable competition mindset. She kept it all going in the all around as well, and I see her really proving herself as a team player. Celine van Gerner- I don't know what to think about her. They didn't show her floor, which made me really mad. But it got a 13.00, which is better than she got at Worlds! She was able to make bars finals, and her bars are pretty good as a Dutch gymnast. Her scores counted on all events, so she also displayed team player ability. But then in her bars final routine, she caught a release to her chest. Lisa Top was really valuable for her vault and floor. Vault, she delivered; floor, not so much. I hope it was just a fluke. Her power is good for the Dutch team. Overall, the Dutch girls were really impressive.



I thought the European Games was a good competition and I enjoyed watching it. I'm always interested in new formats, and this one definitely delivered. I think this might have given us a bit of an indicator of what things will be a bit like in Tokyo. And- well, it should be interesting, at least. I can't decide how I liked having the men and women run simultaneously. I do definitely blame that for missing some routines I was looking forward to. I just wish more teams would have sent stronger representatives. And why didn't Tyesha Matthis go? She needs the experience! Was there and injury? I've looked and seen nothing Well, now you'll leave me to question the British strategies on my own.

40 Reasons to Love the Queen on Her 40th

It's Oksana Chusovitina's fortieth birthday! Yes, I realize her birthday is already pretty much over in Uzbekistan, but it's just getting started here, and I'm not going to post it a day early. Here's a birthday tribute to a living legend and our queen.

1. She doesn't compete Yurckenko vaults

2. Front pike beam mount

3. For the longest time she only wore sleeveless leos and was the only one who wouldn't get called out for it by the gymternet

source: zimbio.com

4. She has since started wearing sparkly meshy leotards meant for teenagers and been ROCKING THEM (she and Vasiliki need to start a club for that)

source: indianexpress.com

5. Queen Chuso and Svetlana Boginskaya are always a riot

6. Her floor music has included the theme from The Godfather and Pirates of the Caribbean

7. Split-leg double layout-punch front

8. As of today, she is officially twice the age of Vika, Jordyn, Gabby, and co.
9. She has 2016 in her IG username, just like a junior
10. Four eponymous skills
11. Including two on bars

12. She competed on the Soviet team with Valeri and competed against Nastia
13. And is still competing while Nastia has long since retired
14. Ninth in the all around in Beijing
15. She won a complete gold, silver, and bronze set of World/Olympic/Euros/Asian Games vault medals competing for both Germany and Uzebekistan
16. Even her competitors break out in cheers when her name is announced

source: masters-gymnastics.com

17. She gave birth in 1999. And competed at the Sydney Olympics.
18. Her son is as old as this year's new WAG seniors
19. She was the 2007 German national all around champion
20. Her husband is a fellow Olympian- and a wrestler, no less
21. Her two Olympic medals are over fifteen years apart
22. She competes at a bunch of smaller meets, including World Cups and a bunch of open meets

23. She has competed for longer under the 10 system than under the D+E system
24. And competed on a vault horse for ten years before the table
25. She was on the Uzbekistan coaching staff at the 2010 Asian Games while still competing for Germany

source: Getty images

26. Competing gymnastics literally saved her son's life
27. She doesn't use grips
28. And she spits in her hands instead of using a spray bottle
29. The number of times she's stated she'll retire only to come back
30. German giants

31. The NBC trio totally fangirl over her
32. Her international competitive career has spanned more than half her life
33. Her two World Championship titles were twelve years apart
34. She's been known to wear leg warmers

source: flickr

35. She's won three World and Olympic medals on vault in the second half of her career
36. She's the last gymnast still competing from the Soviet team
37. And she's the total opposite of the stereotypical Soviet gymnast
38. She's competed for three nations plus multiple variations of the Unified Team in 1992
39. Have you watched her compulsories? They're pretty awesome.

40. She was the last Soviet gymnast to win a World Championship title on floor. With the William Tell Overture. And a back-to-back tumbling pass.

An Ode to Svetlana Grozdova

Svetlana Grozdova is one of my favorite Soviets and would probably be my favorite if more footage of her existed. She was renowned for her flexibility and balance and a commentator discussing how she was left off the 1980 Olympic team referred to her as a "true beam artist." Her work was absolutely captivating. After competing in artistic gymnastics, Svetlana became and acrobatic gymnast for many years. So here's a post to appreciate an incredibly under appreciated gymnast!

This is an absolutely awesome bar routine from Svetlana which enjoyed a ton of popularity on Tumblr for a while. Sadly, only 14 seconds exist, but it's mind-blowing!

The best ending ever. Everyone else can go home. I also really love how she incorporated so many elements into her choreography. Proof you can use a ton of gymnastics skills and still be artistic.

These are both exhibition routines, the first from 1979 and the second from 1987. This is the essence of Svetlana's glory. So incredibly beautiful, smooth, fluid, leisurely, playful, just wonderful!

Here she is strutting her stuff as an acro gymnast.