May 16: Olga Korbut's birthday – the gymnast who changed the sport
Olga Korbut was born on May 16, 1955, in Grodno. A four-time Olympic champion from the USSR, she was the first to perform the element later named after her, sparking a massive craze for gymnastics in the West during the height of the Cold War.
Childhood and the beginning of the journey
The family was modest: the parents and four children lived in a one-room apartment. Korbut began gymnastics in elementary school. At age 10, she joined the group of renowned coach Renald Knysh. During training, she performed maneuvers that were unbelievable for the 1960s—seemingly hovering and floating in the air.
At 15, she became the national champion in vault and joined the USSR national team.
Korbut Loop
At 17, Korbut caused a sensation at the Munich Olympics with her famous loop, later named after her: standing on the top bar of the parallel bars, she performed a backflip and landed with her hands on the top bar. She spent five years perfecting this maneuver, first performing it at the 1969 USSR Championships, when she was 14.
The gymnast herself recalled:
I've always been afraid of the "loop." Even after mastering it to the point of automaticity, to the point of almost 100% consistency, I always, right up until my very last day in professional sports, approached the parallel bars and my heart sank into an abyss of fear. Jelly legs, dizziness, a nauseating weakness.
Munich 1972: “Korbutomania”
The Munich Olympics were remembered for the confrontation between the "new" and "old" schools—Olga Korbut and Lyudmila Turishcheva. Although Turishcheva won the all-around title, Korbut won two gold medals in individual events and, together with her team, won the team competition. Fans admired her innovation: her risky elements and athleticism.
In the USSR, a film based on her life story, "Miracle with Pigtails," was released. Korbutomania began in the West: she was called "Olympic darling" and "child prodigy." In the United States, after her tour of the country—at the height of the Cold War—a craze for artistic gymnastics began. At a White House reception, President Richard Nixon, looking at Korbut, couldn't hide his surprise: "You're so small!"
Montreal and the end of his career
At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Korbut won gold with the USSR team and silver on the balance beam. Afterward, at the age of 21, she ended her athletic career. In her memoirs, she wrote that by that time she had suffered 23 fractures and four concussions. Her gymnast's career to date includes four Olympic gold medals, two gold medals, and four silver medals at World Championships.
The ability to overcome oneself is, without a doubt, the most valuable quality of sport.
Emigration and the fight for a medal
In 1991, at 36, Korbut emigrated to the United States and became a citizen. In 1999, she disclosed sexual abuse by a former coach. Following her allegations, several other gymnasts came forward with similar incidents.
I hid all of this because it was very shameful.
In 2018, Korbut announced that she had found her 1972 Olympic gold medal, which had been stolen from her at the time, in a Moscow sports museum.
The museum refused to return it to me, claiming it was the property of the Russian Federation. They confirmed it was my medal because my name was written on the back. I'll get it back someday; my fight isn't over.
Today, Korbut lives in Arizona with her third husband, American businessman Jay Shenfilt.
