Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

The greatest rivalries of the 1980s! This week, we have a commissioned episode from Club Gym Nerd member Kimo, who asked for an episode all about the 1980s rivalries between the Romanians and the Soviets, both team and individually. We are oh so happy to oblige! Setting the scene A history of Soviet dominance Romania’s 1976 emergence The 1977 Europeans Romanian WALKOUT! The first great Romanian/Soviet rivalry—Nadia vs. Nellie and how it may or may not have influenced the future of gymnastics Romania wins in 1979, the “Nadia Infected Wrist” worlds The true story of Nadia’s fake injury and government control The Rivalry The 1980 Olympics of crazy judging Nadia vs. Davydova and the case of the 30-minute delay Nadia vs. Nellie and the case of the “computer malfunction” Mukhina’s paralysis and the race for innovative difficulty 1981 Worlds The silliest scores of 1981 (oh, it’s 9.800 for this) The case of the Szabo/Agache impersonation of 1981 Romania ends up 4th. That’s right 4th. 1983 Worlds Innovati