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 beam……Alexander Detiatin on the pommel horse……Galina Udodova + Tatiana Isaienko + Galina Karchevala in team dance and acrobatics…..whereas on the American side of performances is a really nice uneven bar routine by Marcia Frederick.
1979 was a time when the Soviet Union dominated gymnastics…..and the American were just beginning to become a force in international competition…..which made for a great deal of excitement surrounding these USA vs USSR exhibitions….for it provided a great stage for the young Americans to measure themselves against the best in the world.
