Gymnastics – 1979 – USA & USSR Exhibition – Mens Pommel Horse – USSR Alexandr Dityatin

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Alexandr Dityatin, Gordon Maddux, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Team USSR, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Aleksandr Dityatin is a retired Soviet/Russian gymnast….who was a three-time Olympic champion….and Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR…..after winning eight medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games….where he set the record for achieving the most medals of any type at a single Olympic Games….the American swimmer Michael Phelps has now twice equaled this record, at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Dityatin’s first Olympic success was at…

Gymnastics – 1979 – USA & USSR Exhibition – Mens Floor Exercise – USA Kurt Thomas – With Jim McKay

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Gordon Maddux, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Kurt Thomas, Team USA, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Kurt Thomas is an American Olympic gymnast…..who became a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics…..then at the 1978 World Championships, Thomas became the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal in floor exercise….and in 1979, he became the first gymnast to receive the James E. Sullivan Award for the best amateur athlete in the US. …

Gymnastics – 1979 – USA & USSR Exhibition – Womens Balance Beam – USSR Stella Zakharova

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Cathy Rigby, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Stella Zakharova, Team USSR, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Stella Zakharova is a retired gymnast who competed internationally for the former Soviet Union between 1977 and 1982. She was an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist in team competitions….and won individual all-around titles at other events…..as she won her first all-around championship at the 1976 All-Union School Spartakiade in Russia…..and that same year she placed second overall in the Junior USSR Championships.…

Gymnastics – 1979 – USA & USSR Exhibition – Womens Uneven Bars – USSR Elena Mukhina – With Jim McKay

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Cathy Rigby, Elena Muhkina, Elena Mukhina, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Team USSR, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Elena Mukhina (June 1, 1960 – December 22, 2006) was a Soviet gymnast….who won the all-around title at the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg, France…..after which her career was on the rise….and she was being widely touted as the next great Russian gymnastics star until 1979….when a broken leg left her out of several competitions….and the recovery from that injury…

Gymnastics – 1979 – USA & USSR Exhibition – Mens Horizontal Bar – USSR Nicolai Andrianov

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Gordon Maddux, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Nicolai Andrianov, Team USSR, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Nikolai Andrianov (October 14, 1952 – March 21, 2011) was a Soviet/Russian gymnast…..who held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15….with 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 3 bronze medals….until USA swimmer Michael Phelps surpassed him at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Andrianov is the third athlete (male or female) in total Olympic medals after Phelps’s 28…

Gymnastics – 1980 – Exhibition In NYC – Womens Balance Beam – ROM Nadia Comaneci – With Jim McKay

1980 Gymnastics Exhibition, 1980s, ABC, Cathy Rigby, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Nadia Comaneci, Team ROM, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

In a Sports Illustrated article written about the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games women’s gymnastics competitor from Romania, Nadia Comaneci was the following description….“At Montreal, Nadia Comăneci received four of her seven 10’s on the uneven bars….which is an apparatus that demands such a spectacular burst of energy in such a short time….only 23 seconds….that it…

Gymnastics – 1980 – Exhibition In NYC – Mens Parallel Bars – USA Kurt Thomas – With Jim McKay

1980 Gymnastics Exhibition, 1980s, ABC, Gordon Maddux, Gymnastics, Highlights, Jim McKay, Kurt Thomas, Team USA, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Two gymnastic moves were named for Kurt Thomas….the Thomas Flair….which is a pommel horse move ….and the Thomas salto….which is his signature skill on floor exercise….encompassing a tucked 1.5 backward salto with 1.5 twist into a roll out….which is a difficult and dangerous skill even by today’s standards. The Thomas Flair on pommel horse….which he also performed on floor….was developed over years…

Gymnastics – 1980 – Exhibition In NYC – Jim McKay Interviews 19 Yr Old ROM Nadia Comaneci On Future

1980 Gymnastics Exhibition, 1980s, ABC, Gymnastics, Interviews, Jim McKay, Nadia Comaneci, Team ROM, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

Jim McKay was an American television sports journalist…..who is best known for hosting ABC’s Wide World of Sports from 1961 to 1998…..where his introduction for that program has passed into American pop culture….in which viewers were reminded of the show’s mission of “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports”….along with what lay ahead in “the thrill of victory and the…

Gymnastics – 1979 – USSR & USA Exhibition With Elena Mukhina + Alexander Detiatin + Marcia Frederick

1970s, 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition, ABC, Cathy Rigby, Elena Muhkina, Gymnastics, Highlights, Marcia Frederick, Videos, Wide World of SportsLeave a comment

In this ABC’s Wide World of Sports episode seen herewith…..legendary sportscaster Jim McKay and Cathy Rigby, the 1st American female to ever win a medal is World Championship competition…..provide highlights from the 1979 USA & USSR Gymnastics Exhibition…..which features performances by USSR’s Elena Mukhina on the uneven bars…..Nicolai Andrianov on the high bar…..Stella Zakharova on the balance…