Olga Korbut: The Gymnast, Her Coach, Her Rival and the President

Posted by Tom Fasano on August 20, 2008 – 7:48 pm

Like everyone who watched the 1972 Munich Olympics, I was quite taken with Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut — the 4-foot-11, 85-pound sprite who performed a back flip off the uneven bars, danced on the four-inch-wide balance beam, and seduced a worldwide audience with her floor exercise routine “like a little kid playing in the sun,” in the words of ABC commentator Jim McKay. During the intervening years she has taken a tumble from the world’s stage, but her fans still love her.

NOTE: The above documentary film first aired on the BBC in August of 2001.


Tags: , ,
Posted in Humanity, Videos | 2 Comments »