Stories of the Olympic Games: Gymnastics

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0:00:20 > 0:00:23The Olympic Games of 1976.

0:00:23 > 0:00:2714-year-old Nadia Comaneci steps up to the uneven bars

0:00:27 > 0:00:30and into history.

0:00:30 > 0:00:32You're hoping that not everybody's watching you.

0:00:34 > 0:00:37But then when I was on the bars, I realised that they are watching me.

0:00:40 > 0:00:45She has just 20 seconds to achieve something never, ever done before.

0:00:48 > 0:00:50You're hoping you're not going to make a mistake.

0:00:52 > 0:00:55Comaneci performs with beauty and artistry,

0:00:55 > 0:00:58but also with a technical perfection.

0:00:58 > 0:01:01'Faultless. Absolutely faultless.'

0:01:04 > 0:01:05For this, she is awarded

0:01:05 > 0:01:08the first ever ten out of ten in Olympic competition.

0:01:08 > 0:01:13'A ten has gone on the board. That's perfection.'

0:01:13 > 0:01:18I felt great because I knew that's the highest score that you can give.

0:01:18 > 0:01:21Even though I didn't feel that was a perfect routine for me.

0:01:21 > 0:01:24In my mind, I thought I'd done better in the gym.

0:01:27 > 0:01:32The hunger for medals creates in gymnasts an appetite for perfection.

0:01:33 > 0:01:37This brings the pleasure of winning...

0:01:37 > 0:01:39but also the pain of defeat.

0:01:39 > 0:01:42I had the biggest mistake of my life.

0:01:42 > 0:01:47'And she's lost it. There, the gold medal, I'm certain, has gone.'

0:01:47 > 0:01:50I didn't feel anything because I was shocked.

0:01:50 > 0:01:53'She has had a disaster.'

0:01:56 > 0:01:59It leads gymnasts to embrace ever-increasing danger,

0:01:59 > 0:02:04adding new twists, turns and somersaults

0:02:04 > 0:02:07to already daring routines.

0:02:07 > 0:02:09'A back somersault and a twist and a perfect ending.'

0:02:11 > 0:02:14It fires their ambition, makes gymnasts push their bodies

0:02:14 > 0:02:16to unbelievable extremes.

0:02:18 > 0:02:22My knee then completely dislocated with a loud crack.

0:02:26 > 0:02:30And their desire for glory has made gymnastics at the Olympics

0:02:30 > 0:02:34a restless search for greater and greater perfection.

0:02:34 > 0:02:37This is the story of that quest.

0:02:37 > 0:02:40'A ten. She's got another ten.'

0:02:40 > 0:02:45What exactly is the end of perfection? Where do you grab it?

0:02:45 > 0:02:46There is no end.

0:02:46 > 0:02:49'It is quite incredible.'

0:02:49 > 0:02:50'That's perfection.'

0:02:55 > 0:02:58'November 22nd, 1956.

0:02:58 > 0:03:01'105,000 people take their allotted places

0:03:01 > 0:03:03'in the stands.

0:03:03 > 0:03:05'Temperature already near the 80s

0:03:05 > 0:03:09'at this, the commencement of the greatest show on earth.'

0:03:09 > 0:03:11CHEERING

0:03:13 > 0:03:15MARCHING BAND PLAYS

0:03:19 > 0:03:21The Melbourne Games of 1956.

0:03:23 > 0:03:26Until the 1950s, gymnastics at the Olympics

0:03:26 > 0:03:29had been pretty much a man's sport.

0:03:31 > 0:03:34For the women, it had all been a bit girly.

0:03:37 > 0:03:40For the ladies, there were team events of little physical challenge.

0:03:40 > 0:03:44'Each team, consisting of six highly trained athletes,

0:03:44 > 0:03:46'gave a breathtaking display

0:03:46 > 0:03:50'which completely fired the enthusiasm of Melbourne audiences.'

0:03:52 > 0:03:54Now, that would change.

0:03:56 > 0:03:58'Women's gymnastics pre-exercise.'

0:04:02 > 0:04:04Melbourne was only the second games

0:04:04 > 0:04:08where women had been allowed to compete for individual medals.

0:04:08 > 0:04:12But here was a new beginning, a chance for women gymnasts

0:04:12 > 0:04:16to develop a sport they could own and define.

0:04:16 > 0:04:18'But now, all eyes are on Russian Larissa Latynina.

0:04:18 > 0:04:21'Her previous two medals were silver...'

0:04:21 > 0:04:24One of the pioneers of this new gymnastics,

0:04:24 > 0:04:27and its first star, was 22,

0:04:27 > 0:04:29and at her first Olympics in Melbourne.

0:04:31 > 0:04:34Larissa Latynina of the Soviet Union.

0:04:38 > 0:04:42INTERPRETER: The Olympics in Melbourne were my first games.

0:04:45 > 0:04:50Naturally, nobody had set any objectives for me to achieve.

0:04:50 > 0:04:52'Larissa Latynina of Russia.

0:04:52 > 0:04:55'Here is one of the world's great women gymnasts in action.

0:04:55 > 0:04:58'Never a falter, every movement timed and precise.'

0:04:58 > 0:05:02On the floor, the lessons of ballet and choreography were the key

0:05:02 > 0:05:07to Latynina transforming what had been for the men an athletic act

0:05:07 > 0:05:09into 90 seconds of feminine artistry.

0:05:13 > 0:05:18I think the event I enjoyed the most was the floor exercise.

0:05:21 > 0:05:25I always felt that the floor allowed women gymnasts

0:05:25 > 0:05:30to rotate and jump and present themselves artistically,

0:05:30 > 0:05:32like a ballet dancer.

0:05:35 > 0:05:40Sometimes, I even felt as if I was a bird doing my leaps.

0:05:41 > 0:05:43It was incredible.

0:05:48 > 0:05:52In the all-round competition, Larissa mastered two disciplines

0:05:52 > 0:05:54created specially for women competitors.

0:05:56 > 0:06:00First, the uneven bars, adjusted to an asymmetrical design

0:06:00 > 0:06:02from the parallel bars of the men.

0:06:02 > 0:06:06'Never a falter. Every movement timed and precise.'

0:06:06 > 0:06:08Then the beam...

0:06:10 > 0:06:13..where there is only four inches of wood to balance on.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16This was introduced by the sport's governing body

0:06:16 > 0:06:19to give new physicality to the women's competition.

0:06:20 > 0:06:23Introducing the beam, there was nothing like it

0:06:23 > 0:06:25that had ever been seen before.

0:06:25 > 0:06:27That's what set women's gymnastics apart.

0:06:29 > 0:06:33It was graceful, it needed poise, balance, elegance,

0:06:33 > 0:06:38and the fact it was all done on a four-inch-wide beam was fascinating.

0:06:39 > 0:06:41Hard to imagine a man on the beam.

0:06:46 > 0:06:48To perform well on the beam,

0:06:48 > 0:06:52you need to have a very strong sense of balance.

0:06:54 > 0:06:56And the experience of choreography.

0:06:57 > 0:07:02In Melbourne, Larissa won the prestigious all-round competition,

0:07:02 > 0:07:06plus three other gold medals.

0:07:06 > 0:07:12She just carried that message that this is a sport for women.

0:07:14 > 0:07:16And that was her great gift.

0:07:19 > 0:07:23And a lot of people regarded her then as the first superstar in the sport.

0:07:30 > 0:07:35Then, at the 1960 Games in Rome, with Soviet gymnasts dominating,

0:07:35 > 0:07:38Larissa repeated her success.

0:07:41 > 0:07:46Her pioneering gymnastics won what is still a historic number of medals

0:07:46 > 0:07:49for a female competitor at the Olympics.

0:07:49 > 0:07:51There was no question she could claim to be

0:07:51 > 0:07:53the first queen of gymnastics.

0:08:02 > 0:08:06Larissa's swansong came at the 1964 Games in Tokyo.

0:08:08 > 0:08:11Here, she competed against a Czech gymnast

0:08:11 > 0:08:16who, from the very beginning, had an ambition to depose the Red Queen.

0:08:20 > 0:08:22INTERPRETER: I had a photo of Larissa Latynina

0:08:22 > 0:08:23in my training notebook.

0:08:24 > 0:08:26I can never forget that.

0:08:29 > 0:08:32And I used to say to myself, "I will get you one day."

0:08:48 > 0:08:50Caslavska fascinated spectators

0:08:50 > 0:08:54by the contrast she made with the all-powerful Soviets.

0:08:54 > 0:08:58We were used to seeing the unstoppable,

0:08:58 > 0:09:01unshakeable Soviet females.

0:09:01 > 0:09:04And they had this aura about them. They weren't quite human.

0:09:06 > 0:09:12What Vera brought was a freshness to the way the sport was carried out.

0:09:15 > 0:09:18But what Vera was bringing to the competition

0:09:18 > 0:09:21was more than brilliant technique and virtuosity.

0:09:25 > 0:09:29She introduced new feeling and emotion to gymnastics.

0:09:34 > 0:09:37And for the first time, Vera brought an alluring,

0:09:37 > 0:09:41even sexy presence to the women's competition.

0:09:43 > 0:09:47Visually, you'd be like someone you took to your high school prom.

0:09:47 > 0:09:52She had her hair up in a big bouffant and a very womanly body.

0:09:52 > 0:09:57But she was an amazing competitor and she was very smart.

0:10:03 > 0:10:06When it came to competition on the floor, a black and white age

0:10:06 > 0:10:09gave way to something much more colourful.

0:10:12 > 0:10:14By this time, she was already doing

0:10:14 > 0:10:16much more modern and complex routines.

0:10:20 > 0:10:24This is typical of all younger people.

0:10:24 > 0:10:29They are always a few steps ahead of those defending their title.

0:10:38 > 0:10:44Charisma plus talent allowed Vera to win gold in the all-round event,

0:10:44 > 0:10:45on the beam,

0:10:45 > 0:10:47and the vault.

0:10:47 > 0:10:50By the end of the Tokyo Games,

0:10:50 > 0:10:53Caslavska had been crowned the new queen.

0:11:04 > 0:11:09After Tokyo, and in the build-up to the Mexico City Games of 1968,

0:11:09 > 0:11:12Caslavska was clear favourite to retain her crown.

0:11:15 > 0:11:18But that turbulent year changed Caslavska's motives

0:11:18 > 0:11:21for competing against the Soviet Union.

0:11:21 > 0:11:24Something had happened to give her gymnastics

0:11:24 > 0:11:26a different kind of eloquence.

0:11:26 > 0:11:30Dubcek! Svoboda! Dubcek! Svoboda!

0:11:30 > 0:11:33Vera Caslavska had always been a supporter of Alexander Dubcek,

0:11:33 > 0:11:35and his attempt to bring

0:11:35 > 0:11:37greater freedoms and democracy to Czechoslovakia.

0:11:40 > 0:11:42She was then a witness

0:11:42 > 0:11:45to the invasion of her country by Soviet Bloc tanks.

0:11:54 > 0:11:56Then the tanks arrived.

0:11:58 > 0:11:59It was a shock.

0:11:59 > 0:12:02Nobody could believe it.

0:12:06 > 0:12:09As a signatory to a celebrated manifesto calling for change,

0:12:09 > 0:12:11Caslavska was forced into hiding.

0:12:12 > 0:12:16The forests of Moravia became her improvised training camp.

0:12:20 > 0:12:23A tree that had fallen became my beam.

0:12:26 > 0:12:31I practised the run-up to the vault on a forest bath.

0:12:31 > 0:12:33I turned the forest into a gym

0:12:33 > 0:12:36and was preparing myself without any apparatus.

0:12:50 > 0:12:53It was only weeks before the 1968 Games that Vera was allowed

0:12:53 > 0:12:56to travel to Mexico City.

0:12:56 > 0:12:59There, she found that because of the invasion,

0:12:59 > 0:13:02the Czech team had the support of the Mexicans.

0:13:05 > 0:13:08When the team entered the Champions Gate,

0:13:08 > 0:13:11with a placard saying "Czechoslovakia",

0:13:11 > 0:13:15the whole stadium was on its feet and started singing.

0:13:15 > 0:13:17Czecho, Czecho, ra-ra-ra!

0:13:17 > 0:13:19Czecho, Czecho, Czecho!

0:13:27 > 0:13:31This gave us such a boost.

0:13:31 > 0:13:35The whole world would now live through this with us.

0:13:38 > 0:13:41'Here is Vera Caslavska,

0:13:41 > 0:13:43'on the beam.

0:13:43 > 0:13:48'Exercise in which she is absolutely superb.'

0:13:48 > 0:13:53In Mexico City, Caslavska completely dominated the women's competition.

0:13:54 > 0:13:58'A back somersault and a twist and a perfect ending.

0:13:58 > 0:14:01'And now, on the vault.

0:14:01 > 0:14:05'On, over and a perfect stance.

0:14:05 > 0:14:06'Oh, it's absolutely superb

0:14:06 > 0:14:09'the way she went from the top bar to the bottom.

0:14:09 > 0:14:11'Everyone in the audience gasped.

0:14:13 > 0:14:16'And she's away. A tremendous roar.

0:14:16 > 0:14:19'Well, I cannot see Vera Caslavska being beaten.'

0:14:21 > 0:14:24By her last event, Vera had already accumulated

0:14:24 > 0:14:27three golds and two silver medals.

0:14:27 > 0:14:30Everyone surrounding the great champion.

0:14:30 > 0:14:35She was to end her competition with a final floor exercise.

0:14:36 > 0:14:39MUSIC: "Jarabe Tapatio" by Jesus Gonzales Rubio

0:14:42 > 0:14:45To the delight of the Auditorio Municipal,

0:14:45 > 0:14:49the performance she now gave was pure crowd pleaser.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55'Oh, that must be the Mexican Hat Dance and the crowd are roaring.

0:14:58 > 0:15:00'What a superb gymnast this girl is.'

0:15:05 > 0:15:10I had watched the Mexican dancers and their moves.

0:15:10 > 0:15:13I realised I had to shake my shoulders

0:15:13 > 0:15:16and flirt with the crowd the same way.

0:15:26 > 0:15:30Vera took the floor exercise and she took it to the audience.

0:15:32 > 0:15:37She lived every gesture, every note of music was choreographed.

0:15:37 > 0:15:39She took it to a new level.

0:15:58 > 0:16:01'That was Caslavska at her best.'

0:16:02 > 0:16:05I enjoyed that so much.

0:16:06 > 0:16:10It was fun and passionate, just like the Mexican temperament.

0:16:12 > 0:16:15'She's not going to give this Olympic gold medal up without a fight.'

0:16:17 > 0:16:21But the prospect of yet more Czech gold was allegedly too much

0:16:21 > 0:16:25for a judging panel where the Soviet Union could throw its weight around.

0:16:26 > 0:16:29There's no doubt that a lot of chicanery went on.

0:16:29 > 0:16:32The Eastern Bloc nations, when they got together,

0:16:32 > 0:16:36under the influence of the Soviets, could bend the judging rules.

0:16:39 > 0:16:42Despite the Czech belief that Vera had won outright,

0:16:42 > 0:16:46it was decided that Caslavska should share the gold medal.

0:16:49 > 0:16:54So she stood side-by-side with the Soviet Larissa Petrik.

0:16:55 > 0:16:58I think Vera was quite right to feel aggrieved

0:16:58 > 0:17:02that she didn't win that gold in her own right.

0:17:03 > 0:17:07Following the Czech anthem, the Soviets' was played.

0:17:07 > 0:17:10At this point, something happened.

0:17:20 > 0:17:25TRANSLATION: When the Soviet anthem started playing,

0:17:25 > 0:17:28I turned my back on the flag and lowered my head.

0:17:39 > 0:17:46She picked a very elegant, but very distinct way, to express herself.

0:17:46 > 0:17:52She made her point, but in a very intellectual, and a very subtle,

0:17:52 > 0:17:55but yet a very strong way.

0:18:02 > 0:18:07This was not planned. It came from within, from my soul,

0:18:07 > 0:18:09from my heart.

0:18:21 > 0:18:25Vera returned home a heroine to the Czech people

0:18:25 > 0:18:26but an enemy of the state.

0:18:29 > 0:18:34As soon as the public acclaim died down, she was punished.

0:18:37 > 0:18:40I had been on the winner's podium

0:18:40 > 0:18:44and issued my protest against the invasion.

0:18:46 > 0:18:48They didn't like that at all.

0:18:48 > 0:18:50I was a thorn in their side.

0:18:54 > 0:18:57So they punished me. I couldn't find a job.

0:18:57 > 0:19:00I was out of work for five years.

0:19:00 > 0:19:04They stopped me from travelling abroad.

0:19:04 > 0:19:07Their aim was for me to be forgotten.

0:19:11 > 0:19:14The courageous Czech had won seven gold

0:19:14 > 0:19:17and four silver medals for her country.

0:19:27 > 0:19:29Vera left behind many admirers.

0:19:32 > 0:19:35In Mexico City, one was a fellow competitor,

0:19:35 > 0:19:38a young Japanese gymnast.

0:19:38 > 0:19:42Sawao Kato was 22 at his first Games in 1968,

0:19:42 > 0:19:45and destined to become a champion in his own right.

0:19:49 > 0:19:52TRANSLATION: Her performance was fantastic,

0:19:52 > 0:19:54elegant, rhythmical and mature.

0:19:58 > 0:20:00I watched her avidly.

0:20:03 > 0:20:05I took photographs of her.

0:20:11 > 0:20:16Even though I know her well, she has no idea who I am.

0:20:26 > 0:20:30Kato was part of a Japanese team bringing to the men's competition

0:20:30 > 0:20:33the artistry that women like Latynina and Caslavska

0:20:33 > 0:20:36has charmed earlier Games with.

0:20:40 > 0:20:44They were the most artistic gymnasts I had ever seen.

0:20:44 > 0:20:45For the Japanese gymnasts,

0:20:45 > 0:20:48it wasn't just about the skills and the acrobatic.

0:20:48 > 0:20:53It was about creating a beautiful performance.

0:20:53 > 0:20:55And I really admired them for that

0:20:55 > 0:20:59and that was really the type of athlete I wanted to try to be.

0:21:04 > 0:21:10For the Japanese, each gymnastic move has its own line of beauty.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15They wanted to show the world their artistic interpretation of

0:21:15 > 0:21:17what everybody else was doing.

0:21:20 > 0:21:22Everybody else was doing the minimum

0:21:22 > 0:21:25and they're showing this incredibly artistic performance.

0:21:27 > 0:21:33There was another Japanese quality to go with their performance art - fierce commitment.

0:21:34 > 0:21:40This created strength of mind to compete in the most difficult circumstances.

0:21:41 > 0:21:46Coming into the 1968 Games, Sawao Kato had been ill.

0:21:48 > 0:21:52In Japan, I had been on a training camp that summer.

0:21:52 > 0:21:55It was hot like today and I became ill.

0:21:55 > 0:21:59I couldn't keep water down and I lost a lot of weight.

0:21:59 > 0:22:03COMMENTATOR: And the green light signifies the entry onto the floor

0:22:03 > 0:22:05of Sawao Kato of Japan.

0:22:09 > 0:22:14But adversity simply became the spur to competition.

0:22:14 > 0:22:19In the all-round event, Kato conquered all six men's disciplines.

0:22:32 > 0:22:36This included the rings, the ultimate test of strength

0:22:36 > 0:22:37for a male gymnast.

0:22:37 > 0:22:40A fine handstand on those rings.

0:22:40 > 0:22:43Here, Kato San wanted to emulate

0:22:43 > 0:22:46the achievements of the Soviet great, Albert Azaryan.

0:22:49 > 0:22:52There used to be a gymnast called Azaryan.

0:22:52 > 0:22:57He would rise up slowly like this, then go up into the crucifix.

0:22:57 > 0:22:59Forward circle into the crucifix.

0:23:01 > 0:23:05The crucifix is the hardest of a hard challenge.

0:23:07 > 0:23:10It takes a lot of strength, enormous amount of strength.

0:23:10 > 0:23:12It's a lot of leverage on your shoulders,

0:23:12 > 0:23:14a lot of pressure on your shoulders.

0:23:14 > 0:23:16In fact, you can see here that

0:23:16 > 0:23:18I've torn that bicep completely off, doing it.

0:23:18 > 0:23:21And I tore that bicep off doing it, too.

0:23:21 > 0:23:25So people ask me, "Is it hard?" and I'm like, "Yep."

0:23:26 > 0:23:30Despite his illness, Kato won the all-round title

0:23:30 > 0:23:33in Mexico City and two other gold medals.

0:23:36 > 0:23:39Here, and in Games that followed,

0:23:39 > 0:23:42Kato was confirmed as a great Olympic champion.

0:23:42 > 0:23:47Sawao Kato - a very, very popular champion indeed.

0:23:48 > 0:23:53But there was something more to the Japanese than the satisfaction of the medal haul.

0:23:55 > 0:23:59They had a gymnastics culture, with the spirit and technique

0:23:59 > 0:24:01to push the boundaries of their sport.

0:24:04 > 0:24:08The Japanese invented moves of ever-greater difficulty.

0:24:13 > 0:24:15Such as on the vault.

0:24:18 > 0:24:22Here, there is 25 metres of sprinting.

0:24:22 > 0:24:25You hit the board hard, then launch yourself.

0:24:27 > 0:24:30It's the most explosive event in gymnastics.

0:24:33 > 0:24:38Japanese gymnast Mitsuo Tsukahara introduced a whole new dimension

0:24:38 > 0:24:43to gymnastics when he brought new daring to this discipline.

0:24:46 > 0:24:50Prior to the Tsukahara vault, every vault in gymnastics involved

0:24:50 > 0:24:53one single somersaulting rotation.

0:24:53 > 0:24:55It was a handspring over the vault,

0:24:55 > 0:24:58or the great Japanese gymnast prior to that

0:24:58 > 0:25:01was a gentleman named Yamashita, who would handspring

0:25:01 > 0:25:03and kind of pike up in the air and land.

0:25:03 > 0:25:06It was really just one single revolution.

0:25:16 > 0:25:20When Tsukahara came along, he did what is called a half turn onto the horse

0:25:20 > 0:25:22and he pushed off and did an additional backflip.

0:25:22 > 0:25:25And it was risky. Now there's two somersaults involved.

0:25:32 > 0:25:35That revolutionised vaulting because it was the first

0:25:35 > 0:25:38multiple-flipping vault that any gymnast had ever done.

0:25:44 > 0:25:45For over a decade,

0:25:45 > 0:25:49the Japanese had been showing the way ahead for Olympic gymnastics.

0:25:49 > 0:25:52Their greater daring earned them more points

0:25:52 > 0:25:55and higher scores guaranteed medals.

0:25:58 > 0:26:01In this, the once-dominant Soviet Union

0:26:01 > 0:26:03was falling behind by the early '70s.

0:26:06 > 0:26:10But it did respond to the challenge of greater technical difficulty.

0:26:15 > 0:26:18In one gym, in Grodno, Belarus,

0:26:18 > 0:26:21revolution was allowed to be plotted.

0:26:25 > 0:26:29Here, a very different kind of gymnast was hard at work.

0:26:29 > 0:26:31Young, only 17,

0:26:31 > 0:26:34small at 4'11",

0:26:34 > 0:26:36and weighing barely six stone.

0:26:38 > 0:26:40Her name was Olga Korbut.

0:26:44 > 0:26:51Gymnastics, I think, is a very, very hard sport

0:26:51 > 0:26:54because you not just have to practice,

0:26:54 > 0:26:57you have to do diet and give up everything,

0:26:57 > 0:26:59just for gymnastics,

0:26:59 > 0:27:03to be a Olympic champion.

0:27:09 > 0:27:15Korbut and coach Renald Knysh were inventing moves with a danger that,

0:27:15 > 0:27:18until now, had only been contemplated by men.

0:27:18 > 0:27:20They worked endlessly on

0:27:20 > 0:27:23the first-ever backward somersault on the beam.

0:27:23 > 0:27:27Back vault - I was the first,

0:27:27 > 0:27:32and you have to just practice every day.

0:27:35 > 0:27:38I just started doing the floor, then on the bench,

0:27:38 > 0:27:42and then little beam, and higher, higher, higher.

0:27:46 > 0:27:50You have to prepare it very good. Slowly, step-by-step, very patient.

0:28:09 > 0:28:12When the 1972 Games began in Munich,

0:28:12 > 0:28:16there was excitement about the potential of this Soviet teenager.

0:28:18 > 0:28:21Millions were watching on prime-time TV,

0:28:21 > 0:28:23for the first time in colour,

0:28:23 > 0:28:28as Korbut made her debut during the all-around competition.

0:28:31 > 0:28:33By the uneven bars, she was in third place

0:28:33 > 0:28:37after completing the vault and the floor exercise.

0:28:38 > 0:28:43Then there was an extraordinary moment, a very public nightmare,

0:28:43 > 0:28:45that would make Korbut a household name.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48And this is the girl who, so far,

0:28:48 > 0:28:52has captured this audience and enchanted us all.

0:28:52 > 0:28:55I had the biggest mistake in my life.

0:28:55 > 0:28:58This the apparatus she totally excels at.

0:29:01 > 0:29:04Except for that disastrous start.

0:29:04 > 0:29:08I didn't feel anything because I was shocked.

0:29:08 > 0:29:10Cos this is element.

0:29:10 > 0:29:12You can do it. Everybody can do it.

0:29:16 > 0:29:18I didn't remember anything.

0:29:22 > 0:29:25And it was crushing to everybody because everybody had told

0:29:25 > 0:29:28all of their friends who hadn't seen it, "Watch now,"

0:29:28 > 0:29:31and then you see this disaster, you know.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35There is an absolute buzz...

0:29:35 > 0:29:37And another disaster.

0:29:39 > 0:29:41And she's lost it!

0:29:41 > 0:29:43There, the gold medal,

0:29:43 > 0:29:45I'm certain, has gone.

0:29:45 > 0:29:48This girl who had everybody talking about her,

0:29:50 > 0:29:5417 years of age, she brought a new dimension to this event.

0:29:56 > 0:30:00'When I finished, I just thought this was a dream.'

0:30:02 > 0:30:04She has had a disaster.

0:30:06 > 0:30:12Her reaction to defeat was not what was expected from a Soviet gymnast.

0:30:14 > 0:30:15What can one say?

0:30:16 > 0:30:22It gave us a chance to see a Russian who could break down and cry,

0:30:22 > 0:30:27and not have that strong, Soviet front up all the time.

0:30:27 > 0:30:28It's like, "She's human!

0:30:28 > 0:30:32My God, she made a mistake and she cried. Isn't that wonderful?!"

0:30:42 > 0:30:46But Korbut had the mental strength to recover and concentrate on

0:30:46 > 0:30:50competing for medals in the individual categories.

0:30:50 > 0:30:57This...is a most vital one minute 20 seconds for Olga Korbut.

0:31:10 > 0:31:13On the beam, you're nervous all the time,

0:31:13 > 0:31:16because it's so thin and you concentrate.

0:31:29 > 0:31:34Because this is most dangerous event.

0:31:43 > 0:31:45On the beam, Korbut revealed

0:31:45 > 0:31:48the stunning move she had been perfecting in training.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52You have to love, believe...

0:31:54 > 0:31:55..and you will do it.

0:31:58 > 0:32:01Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!

0:32:06 > 0:32:09It was here that the world understood that what they

0:32:09 > 0:32:13were watching was the beginning of a new era for gymnastics.

0:32:13 > 0:32:15There is no doubt that this girl

0:32:15 > 0:32:20is one of the greatest things to hit gymnastics in this modern era.

0:32:20 > 0:32:22Her stuff was daring.

0:32:22 > 0:32:25It was like hanging it out there, like no-one would do.

0:32:25 > 0:32:27Caslavska did beautiful gymnastics

0:32:27 > 0:32:30but you never felt she could hurt herself,

0:32:30 > 0:32:33or she would do anything that would, you know, everybody would go...

0:32:33 > 0:32:35HE GASPS

0:32:35 > 0:32:38Worst thing she could do, she might fall off the beam, but so what?

0:32:38 > 0:32:40That's a mistake but it's not a catastrophe.

0:32:40 > 0:32:43Olga did stuff that you worried about her health.

0:32:43 > 0:32:46You thought, "Oh my God! How could she do that?

0:32:46 > 0:32:47"How could she risk that?"

0:32:47 > 0:32:52Korbut finished her competition with the floor exercise.

0:32:52 > 0:32:55If she gets 9.9 for this exercise,

0:32:55 > 0:32:57she will win the floor exercises.

0:32:57 > 0:32:59And she is so vivacious,

0:32:59 > 0:33:01has got so much confidence,

0:33:01 > 0:33:03that she might just do that.

0:33:07 > 0:33:11Here, she put on a show of impish charm and childlike delight

0:33:11 > 0:33:14in her gestures, jumps and somersaults.

0:33:22 > 0:33:27I just felt like I was seven years old

0:33:27 > 0:33:31and I dancing just on the grass outside.

0:33:33 > 0:33:34This is what I felt.

0:33:44 > 0:33:46Ha-ha! Oh, that was terrific!

0:33:49 > 0:33:51How can you take it away from this girl?

0:33:52 > 0:33:54Isn't she marvellous?

0:33:56 > 0:34:02Olga Korbut has caused so many sensations here this evening.

0:34:02 > 0:34:04And she's done it! She's done it.

0:34:04 > 0:34:099.9 - Olga Korbut wins the gold medal in the floor exercises.

0:34:09 > 0:34:13What a remarkable performance!

0:34:13 > 0:34:17Somebody have to do revolution to change gymnastics.

0:34:18 > 0:34:20I broke the system.

0:34:26 > 0:34:31Munich had made Korbut gymnastics' first-ever celebrity,

0:34:31 > 0:34:35and in the four long years till the next Games,

0:34:35 > 0:34:39the Soviet authorities exploited this ruthlessly.

0:34:39 > 0:34:44I was very hot and popular in the world. Everybody want a piece of me.

0:34:47 > 0:34:51For four years, I didn't have even a week to be in my home town.

0:34:55 > 0:34:58Month before the Olympic Games,

0:34:58 > 0:35:02I did something special for the government.

0:35:02 > 0:35:05I flew to Germany, I think,

0:35:05 > 0:35:09for some kind of very rich party.

0:35:19 > 0:35:22You couldn't do it before Olympic Games like that.

0:35:22 > 0:35:25This is why I was very tired.

0:35:25 > 0:35:27From everything.

0:35:27 > 0:35:30From gymnastics, even.

0:35:33 > 0:35:37So, by the time she arrived at the 1976 Games in Montreal,

0:35:37 > 0:35:40Olga Korbut was washed up.

0:35:46 > 0:35:51The Soviet women's team in Montreal did include other great gymnasts.

0:35:51 > 0:35:52Nellie Kim.

0:35:57 > 0:36:00And there was Ludmila Tourischeva who, in Munich,

0:36:00 > 0:36:03had won the all-round title in 1972.

0:36:05 > 0:36:09So Tourischeva could claim to be the queen of gymnastics.

0:36:09 > 0:36:11Yet, with her style and size,

0:36:11 > 0:36:15she represented the past, rather than the future.

0:36:15 > 0:36:17In Montreal,

0:36:17 > 0:36:21the future came in the shape of a team of teenagers from Romania.

0:36:21 > 0:36:24And they rattled the Soviets.

0:36:24 > 0:36:27I remember they showed us

0:36:27 > 0:36:32a lot of explosion from Romanian gymnastics.

0:36:34 > 0:36:39And I didn't understand why they did it. They scared us.

0:36:41 > 0:36:45This is no way to do it before a competition.

0:36:45 > 0:36:49The coach of the Romanian team knew that he had one gymnast

0:36:49 > 0:36:53with the ability and temperament to defeat the Soviets.

0:36:53 > 0:36:55Nadia was a fearless kind.

0:36:57 > 0:37:00Fearless because she was so very prepared that,

0:37:00 > 0:37:04whenever she went in, she always went in with 100% confidence.

0:37:04 > 0:37:07I never seen anything that would indicate to me that

0:37:07 > 0:37:12she has any concern about performing one of those difficult skills.

0:37:18 > 0:37:20COMANECI: I was 14 and a half.

0:37:22 > 0:37:27We knew from the TV coverage and the press that we are competing

0:37:27 > 0:37:29against the USSR,

0:37:29 > 0:37:31the Russian imperium.

0:37:31 > 0:37:35We knew that we were always the underdog.

0:37:35 > 0:37:39Adrenaline is going because you can't wait to get in and start to compete.

0:37:39 > 0:37:44The waiting...is the hardest period of time.

0:37:47 > 0:37:51During the team competition, Nadia Comaneci stepped up

0:37:51 > 0:37:53to perform on the uneven bars.

0:37:55 > 0:37:59There was a lot of movement.

0:37:59 > 0:38:03But when she walked up and took the nod from the judges,

0:38:03 > 0:38:06there was, like, an absolute silence.

0:38:22 > 0:38:24And as she got further into the exercise,

0:38:24 > 0:38:26you felt this rush in your body, like, "Oh!"

0:38:26 > 0:38:28Cos she did everything right to the limit.

0:38:28 > 0:38:31You think, "Oh, she could go over... No, she won't!"

0:38:34 > 0:38:36And I can hear when they were...

0:38:36 > 0:38:38SHE INHALES

0:38:38 > 0:38:39Yeah, I could hear that!

0:38:39 > 0:38:42Because it was quiet in the arena.

0:38:43 > 0:38:46Some people thought that this is not possible to be done.

0:38:46 > 0:38:48I was doing it with such ease.

0:38:50 > 0:38:55They couldn't believe that somebody who was 14 years old could do it.

0:39:15 > 0:39:18Faultless. Absolutely faultless.

0:39:19 > 0:39:20Nadia Comaneci.

0:39:20 > 0:39:23Now, what are the judges going to say about that?

0:39:24 > 0:39:28She comes down, the crowd is cheering, the crowd is up

0:39:28 > 0:39:33and I am looking over there because I heard the crowd go, "Oooh!"

0:39:33 > 0:39:37And I'm looking up at the scoreboard and it comes out 1.0!

0:39:37 > 0:39:39I said, "Gosh, that's a killer!

0:39:39 > 0:39:41"That's a killer."

0:39:42 > 0:39:45And I turn my head and I saw the scoreboard coming around,

0:39:45 > 0:39:47and it was a 1.00.

0:39:49 > 0:39:52I said, "Just wait, just wait. I am finding out."

0:39:52 > 0:39:55I could see on her eye, asking, "What is this?"

0:39:55 > 0:39:57I said, "Just a second, I'll find out."

0:39:57 > 0:40:02So I'm going toward the judges and I'm pushing the people through.

0:40:02 > 0:40:06I wanted to get there and I said, "What in world is going on?"

0:40:06 > 0:40:11I never got to the jury stand because halfway between me and the jury stand,

0:40:11 > 0:40:13the announcer comes in and says,

0:40:13 > 0:40:19"Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever in the history of the sport, a perfect ten!"

0:40:19 > 0:40:21Wow!

0:40:23 > 0:40:26A ten has gone on the board.

0:40:26 > 0:40:29That's perfection and that is

0:40:29 > 0:40:32Olympic history for Nadia Comaneci.

0:40:32 > 0:40:34Ten dead.

0:40:36 > 0:40:40I felt great because I knew that's the highest score that you can give,

0:40:40 > 0:40:44even though I didn't feel that was the perfect routine for me.

0:40:44 > 0:40:47In my mind, I thought I'd done better in the gym.

0:40:49 > 0:40:51That's her comeback.

0:40:51 > 0:40:54In the days after this first perfect ten,

0:40:54 > 0:40:57Nadia Comaneci realised perfection

0:40:57 > 0:41:00on an astonishing six other occasions,

0:41:00 > 0:41:03leading to three gold medals.

0:41:03 > 0:41:04Ten, she's got!

0:41:05 > 0:41:08She takes it again for the fourth time.

0:41:08 > 0:41:11There were three more tens on the uneven bars,

0:41:11 > 0:41:13then another three on the beam.

0:41:16 > 0:41:20On the beam, Comaneci's performances were of such nerveless technique

0:41:20 > 0:41:23that they gave an impression of faultless control.

0:41:25 > 0:41:28Sometimes it goes so slow for you,

0:41:28 > 0:41:31even though the routine is pretty fast.

0:41:31 > 0:41:34You just go piece by piece, second by second.

0:41:34 > 0:41:36This skill, the next skill.

0:41:40 > 0:41:43The key to Nadia's genius was that she could make

0:41:43 > 0:41:47the quick mental calculations and physical corrections needed

0:41:47 > 0:41:49to achieve perfection.

0:41:50 > 0:41:54When I take off, I already know what the end result is.

0:41:57 > 0:42:02Sometimes I felt that I'm off because I took off a little to the side,

0:42:02 > 0:42:06so I have to make very quick correction in the air,

0:42:06 > 0:42:09which is like either shoulder or my head turns the other way,

0:42:09 > 0:42:12but you can't see that.

0:42:14 > 0:42:16So it's tricky!

0:42:32 > 0:42:34What she brought through the door,

0:42:34 > 0:42:38the athletic and acrobatic skills and the death-defying stuff,

0:42:38 > 0:42:40but she was technically perfect.

0:42:40 > 0:42:43I mean, really, if you look at her gymnastics,

0:42:43 > 0:42:45the body position, everything...

0:42:45 > 0:42:48Someone who's a specialist in body movement, they'd go,

0:42:48 > 0:42:53"That's exactly how that move should be done. That's exactly how that move..."

0:42:53 > 0:42:58and so what she did is she took from Olga the torch and said,

0:42:58 > 0:43:02"Do whatever you want," and then she did it perfectly.

0:43:10 > 0:43:14Have you ever seen anyone more confident on a four-inch beam?

0:43:16 > 0:43:18She's got it again!

0:43:18 > 0:43:20Twice in succession on the beam,

0:43:20 > 0:43:25the most difficult piece of apparatus that the girls work.

0:43:33 > 0:43:37In Montreal, there was the pleasure of watching Comaneci,

0:43:37 > 0:43:41but you could also witness the pain a gymnast would endure to win gold.

0:43:41 > 0:43:45To this day, my palms get sweaty just thinking about it.

0:43:46 > 0:43:51In 1976, Japan was looking for its fifth successive team gold

0:43:51 > 0:43:55against their greatest rivals, the Soviets.

0:43:57 > 0:43:59Andrianov gets a high score.

0:43:59 > 0:44:03Now the turn of Sawao Kato of Japan on parallel bars.

0:44:03 > 0:44:05During the competition,

0:44:05 > 0:44:09the Japanese fell behind and were looking at defeat.

0:44:09 > 0:44:14TRANSLATION: Before the competition, we lost our star.

0:44:14 > 0:44:17A late substitute came in.

0:44:17 > 0:44:22All of us knew the team was in trouble but you just can't say,

0:44:22 > 0:44:23"I wonder if we will lose."

0:44:26 > 0:44:29Now their formidable group ethic came into play.

0:44:32 > 0:44:35It fell to late replacement Shun Fujimoto

0:44:35 > 0:44:38to help his team-mates rescue the situation.

0:44:40 > 0:44:42First, on the floor.

0:44:46 > 0:44:52TRANSLATION: On the final landing on the floor, I injured my knee.

0:44:58 > 0:45:02We heard a snapping sound down below.

0:45:04 > 0:45:06I was shocked.

0:45:09 > 0:45:11Although he had broken his knee,

0:45:11 > 0:45:14Fujimoto continued on the pommel horse.

0:45:14 > 0:45:20With the pommel horse, I just wanted to run away.

0:45:20 > 0:45:24I wanted to run away. I was shaking.

0:45:27 > 0:45:32Once you have jumped up, you don't need your legs for support,

0:45:32 > 0:45:33so he managed it.

0:45:38 > 0:45:40I got a 9.5.

0:45:41 > 0:45:47So I somehow managed to come out on top on the pommel horse.

0:45:49 > 0:45:52Next were the rings, and the inevitable landing

0:45:52 > 0:45:54on Fujimoto's shattered knee.

0:45:56 > 0:45:58We had no idea that Fujimoto was injured

0:45:58 > 0:46:00when he approached the rings.

0:46:00 > 0:46:04Every swing was precise, beautiful combinations.

0:46:07 > 0:46:13I forgot that I needed to be sensible in that final moon salto.

0:46:16 > 0:46:20There was no impression at all that anything was amiss,

0:46:20 > 0:46:22until he hit the deck.

0:46:25 > 0:46:30My knee then completely dislocated with a loud crack.

0:46:32 > 0:46:34You just saw a grimace on his face

0:46:34 > 0:46:36and then finally he gave in to the pain.

0:46:38 > 0:46:44And to produce the highest score ever in his career, 9.7 on rings,

0:46:44 > 0:46:45I mean, the mental focus...

0:46:45 > 0:46:48How he could divorce mentally

0:46:48 > 0:46:52from the physical pain he must have been suffering...

0:46:52 > 0:46:54Well, it's almost samurai in nature.

0:46:57 > 0:47:03Fujimoto's bravery and self-sacrifice tipped the balance of the competition.

0:47:03 > 0:47:05Japan narrowly won gold.

0:47:14 > 0:47:18Nowadays, I only have the lateral ligament.

0:47:18 > 0:47:23I don't have the medial, anterior or the posterior cruciate ligament.

0:47:23 > 0:47:25None of those three.

0:47:25 > 0:47:29Often in lessons, when I get up from kneeling, my knee pops out,

0:47:29 > 0:47:31even now.

0:47:42 > 0:47:47After the glories of Montreal, the next Games in Moscow

0:47:47 > 0:47:49would be very different.

0:47:51 > 0:47:56In 1980, Nadia Comaneci was four years older, a mature gymnast.

0:48:00 > 0:48:05There were a couple of pressures on me because I understood

0:48:05 > 0:48:09what people expect from me because I was the Olympic champion.

0:48:09 > 0:48:13And I was in a country where our biggest competitors were.

0:48:15 > 0:48:19But in these Games, Nadia would prove to be fallible.

0:48:23 > 0:48:26Her greatest rival in Moscow would be a Soviet,

0:48:26 > 0:48:28the unfancied Yelena Davydova.

0:48:31 > 0:48:33Comaneci still to come.

0:48:33 > 0:48:36During the competition,

0:48:36 > 0:48:40Comaneci made an early mistake on the uneven bars,

0:48:40 > 0:48:42like Korbut eight years earlier.

0:48:45 > 0:48:49This would surely end her medal prospects.

0:48:50 > 0:48:52"Oh! OK. So now she fell.

0:48:52 > 0:48:57"Now we all have chances to grab that medal."

0:49:02 > 0:49:07But she then performed so brilliantly that, by the last event,

0:49:07 > 0:49:10she was in second place, just behind Davydova.

0:49:14 > 0:49:16The tension here is unbearable.

0:49:18 > 0:49:20The last challenge was the beam,

0:49:20 > 0:49:23the discipline she considered the most difficult,

0:49:23 > 0:49:27but the one on which she scored three perfect tens in Montreal.

0:49:32 > 0:49:34Somebody whistled when she took off.

0:49:36 > 0:49:41Comaneci now needed a big score to win the gold medal.

0:49:41 > 0:49:45It was my last event and everybody,

0:49:45 > 0:49:48they kind of knew how much I needed to get,

0:49:48 > 0:49:52if I was going to win this or I am going to be second.

0:49:52 > 0:49:569.9, remember - only good enough for silver.

0:49:57 > 0:50:00Well, it was a fine performance.

0:50:00 > 0:50:03Whatever the score, it may not be enough,

0:50:03 > 0:50:05but it's a delight to see her back.

0:50:05 > 0:50:07That was a 9.95 routine.

0:50:07 > 0:50:14She hits the ground, one score comes up nine and this person comes 9.85.

0:50:14 > 0:50:18I said, "Wait a second. What's going on here? What's going on?"

0:50:19 > 0:50:21Karolyi waits. Nadia waits.

0:50:23 > 0:50:27And then starts the discussion inside the judging conference.

0:50:30 > 0:50:33So I'm moving closer, even though I shouldn't do that,

0:50:33 > 0:50:36but I moved closer because I wanted to hear what was going on.

0:50:38 > 0:50:41Karolyi at the back there and a little bit of gamesmanship there.

0:50:41 > 0:50:44They've put Davydova on the podium.

0:50:46 > 0:50:51So, 28 minutes the competition stopped, to figure out my score.

0:50:51 > 0:50:52CROWD WHISTLES

0:50:52 > 0:50:55And whistles all around.

0:50:56 > 0:50:59- CROWD CHEERS - 9.85.

0:50:59 > 0:51:04With that, the gold goes to Yelena Davydova.

0:51:06 > 0:51:089.85. Devastating.

0:51:08 > 0:51:10Bela Karolyi is not convinced.

0:51:10 > 0:51:16Her coach still believes that an alleged conspiracy took place to deny Comaneci gold.

0:51:17 > 0:51:20That was, that was the time when I said,

0:51:20 > 0:51:24"That is a open highway robbery. That's highway robbery."

0:51:25 > 0:51:28And the bronze to Nadia Comaneci.

0:51:28 > 0:51:34Was this another compromise, as with Vera Caslavska in Mexico City?

0:51:34 > 0:51:36I will never say there was a conspiracy.

0:51:36 > 0:51:39The only thing I will say is that I opened the door

0:51:39 > 0:51:41because I made a mistake.

0:51:41 > 0:51:45Because if I wouldn't make a mistake, there was no way they could touch me.

0:52:00 > 0:52:02In the early '90s, the world changed

0:52:02 > 0:52:06and Eastern Bloc domination of gymnastics ended.

0:52:06 > 0:52:10Gyms behind the former Iron Curtain closed

0:52:10 > 0:52:13as the money dried up and coaches went to work abroad.

0:52:16 > 0:52:20However, by the Barcelona Games, another country was competing who,

0:52:20 > 0:52:24until the mid-80s, had never won a single gold medal at the Olympics.

0:52:28 > 0:52:32Here, in 1992, the Chinese confirmed their arrival

0:52:32 > 0:52:36with an extraordinary display of daring and invention.

0:52:38 > 0:52:41During his floor exercise, Li Xiaoshuang attempted

0:52:41 > 0:52:45the first ever backwards triple somersault at an Olympics.

0:52:45 > 0:52:49Is he going to do a triple somersault?

0:52:51 > 0:52:55TRANSLATION: It was the most difficult move in the whole exercise.

0:52:55 > 0:52:59It's called the triple back tuck somersault.

0:52:59 > 0:53:03The chance of failure is very high. You might get hurt.

0:53:08 > 0:53:10Yes, is the answer.

0:53:12 > 0:53:17The fact that he did a triple, in competition, was amazing.

0:53:17 > 0:53:19That is an iconic moment.

0:53:19 > 0:53:24It hasn't been done since in an Olympic floor final.

0:53:26 > 0:53:30With his perfect execution, Li won gold

0:53:30 > 0:53:33and a gymnast like Li proved that,

0:53:33 > 0:53:37in so many ways, China was the coming power.

0:53:37 > 0:53:41If they watch me, they will think...

0:53:41 > 0:53:44IN ENGLISH: "My God! Chinese! Chinese!"

0:53:53 > 0:53:55When the Games came to Beijing in 2008,

0:53:55 > 0:54:00the Chinese men faced the pressures of competing at home.

0:54:02 > 0:54:06Full twisting double to finish. That was fantastic.

0:54:08 > 0:54:10The big, big dismount.

0:54:10 > 0:54:14Ho-ho ho! Surely the gold is in the bag for China.

0:54:14 > 0:54:17Triple twist. Thank you very much.

0:54:20 > 0:54:24But they performed with bravery and skill to prove that they, too,

0:54:24 > 0:54:26welcomed the challenge

0:54:26 > 0:54:30of greater and greater difficulty on the apparatus.

0:54:30 > 0:54:32If he nails this...

0:54:32 > 0:54:34Brilliant routine! Brilliant!

0:54:36 > 0:54:39TRANSLATION: Because I do so many different moves,

0:54:39 > 0:54:43my competitors feel threatened, so they can't beat me.

0:54:43 > 0:54:44A phenomenal routine!

0:54:47 > 0:54:49I am pursuing domination.

0:54:49 > 0:54:53I was born to be number one.

0:55:03 > 0:55:07And so onto the next Games and the next generation.

0:55:07 > 0:55:11They, too, must satisfy the most demanding of standards

0:55:11 > 0:55:14to pursue perfection and win gold in London.

0:55:17 > 0:55:19It has to do with their heart,

0:55:19 > 0:55:23their energy, their desire to be perfect

0:55:23 > 0:55:27and, more importantly, to be more perfect, and more difficult,

0:55:27 > 0:55:29than the person standing next to them.

0:55:29 > 0:55:34And the striving for that, that's what makes our sport exciting to me.

0:55:35 > 0:55:38Big wind-up. Go on! Yesss!

0:55:38 > 0:55:40That was fantastic!

0:55:40 > 0:55:44The current world champion is Kohei Uchimura.

0:55:44 > 0:55:48He looks to the Japanese masters of the past for inspiration

0:55:48 > 0:55:53and they, in turn, recognise his greatness.

0:55:53 > 0:55:56He does things we couldn't imitate.

0:55:56 > 0:55:58They didn't even exist in my day.

0:55:58 > 0:56:01And he does them so well.

0:56:07 > 0:56:08In a Tokyo gym,

0:56:08 > 0:56:12the latest technology aids Kohei in his search for glory.

0:56:13 > 0:56:16But Uchimura knows that to win gold,

0:56:16 > 0:56:19he must look inside for something more timeless,

0:56:19 > 0:56:23and this will take him further in his quest.

0:56:25 > 0:56:29TRANSLATION: I do wonder how I can do it even better.

0:56:29 > 0:56:32I am never satisfied with my performance.

0:56:34 > 0:56:37I always have an eye on the road ahead of me.

0:56:45 > 0:56:48In their training camp, a revived Russian women's team

0:56:48 > 0:56:52works long hours for cherished medals.

0:56:52 > 0:56:56Who here will be the next queen of Olympic gymnastics

0:56:56 > 0:56:59to follow the majesty of greats like of Latynina...

0:57:00 > 0:57:02Caslavska...

0:57:05 > 0:57:06or Comaneci?

0:57:12 > 0:57:16They believe they have amongst them a gymnast who might become

0:57:16 > 0:57:18the once and future queen.

0:57:20 > 0:57:23There comes a gymnast from Russia,

0:57:23 > 0:57:25name of Mustafina,

0:57:25 > 0:57:30which is so complete and so good at all four events,

0:57:30 > 0:57:32and being so much different.

0:57:39 > 0:57:44If Mustafina or any other gymnast desires to match the achievements

0:57:44 > 0:57:48of the Olympic greats, they must aim as high as possible.

0:57:52 > 0:57:56But history dictates they go much further, to a higher place,

0:57:56 > 0:58:00beyond the perfection of those who have gone before.

0:58:08 > 0:58:11And ten has gone on the board.

0:58:11 > 0:58:14That's perfection.

0:58:14 > 0:58:17Going to that, let's say, scale of perfection,

0:58:17 > 0:58:21once you get there, then somebody else comes next to you.

0:58:21 > 0:58:23Then you have to go higher.

0:58:23 > 0:58:26So what exactly is the end of perfection?

0:58:26 > 0:58:28Where do you grab it? There is no end.

0:58:47 > 0:58:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd