OLYMPIC REPORT
1976
MONTREAL
The gymnastics was held in the Montreal Forum from 18 – 23 July. 176 gymnasts took part, 90 men and 86 women coming from 20 and 18 nations, respectively.
This was the Olympics where another superstar, Nadia Comaneci, competed in her first Games. She, like Olga before her, illuminated the world of gymnastics. Nadia is remembered for her technical skill, confidence, youth, and her flawless scores of 10.
Photo Nadia performing on Beam – credit – Alan Burrows/international Gymnast
Jeff Davis recalls
as this Olympics followed the dreadful events of 1972, the security was ridiculous. It was also at the time in Canadian history when Quebec was trying to break free from the rest of Canada so any speaking of English outside the village was not well accepted. Having said that Jeff recalls that the village was great and so were the competitions.
It wasn’t all about Nadia. Nikolai Andrianov dominated the men’s events. Not content with his gold, silver, and bronze from Munich, he went on to win seven medals, four gold, two silver, and one bronze.
And then, of course, there was more of Olga, but it seems that not much progress had been made by her. However, Nellie Kim made her mark with two perfect scores and Tourischeva was not yet ready to give in, this was her 3rd Olympics.
Although the Games were a great success, Montreal was left paying for the event for decades to come.
Olympic Stadium, seen next to the Montreal Botanical Garden – Antoine Mghayar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
British Qualification
In 1972, 16 nations took part in each team event, with 113 male gymnasts from 26 nations, and 118 women from 23 countries. These numbers were a problem and no doubt the IOC decided that numbers had to be restricted.
The plan devised by the FIG was nations or gymnasts would be selected by each nation, submitting 2 competition scores following a match against another country.
Jeff Davis recalls the men’s qualification events
The British male gymnasts had one event against France in Worthing and then a later match in Bulgaria. Jeff scored over the required 105 to qualify for the Olympics during the Worthing event, the only British gymnast to do so. The Bulgarian match (in Bulgaria), he remembers well.
The event was behind closed doors. During lunch the judges, British and Bulgarian were wined and dined to such an extent that none of the judges were fully able to concentrate; the result was that an exercise worth only a 7 was getting a middle 8.
The womens’ events were similarly suspect; their first match was held in February against Romania in Bucharest. The Gymnast magazine reports that a jubilant team returned to the UK with 6 team members reaching the magic 72 score, an average of 9 over eight performances per gymnast. The second match was against the GDR, a B team, in Crawley, where marks for the British were again generous.
The British team at their match with France – photo Alan Burrows
GBR V GDR at Crawley – photo Alan Burrows
FIG rethink
The FIG realised that their plan A was flawed with way too many gymnasts and nations qualifying, so they had to go to a plan B. Two Olympic qualifiers were rapidly arranged in Germany, in Hamburg for the women and Wiesbaden for the men. As a result, the UK qualified three male and three female gymnasts to make up the 90 male and 86 female gymnasts who finally competed at the Games.
The women’s Olympic qualifier in Hamburg – photo Jim Prestidge
FIG INNOVATIONS
Yuri Titov is convincingly voted in as President of the FIG, replacing Arthur Gander. With his command of the English language, he proved to be a great friend of British Gymnastics. Ellen Berger, former coach to the GDR team, becomes President of the Women’s Technical Committee, replacing Mrs Valerie Nagy.
Limiting numbers
In the future, finals events should restrict the number of gymnasts from a country. In the all-around event, Competition 2, as it was now known, a maximum of three gymnasts from any one country could compete. In Competition 3, the individual apparatus only two could represent their nation. There was now a limit of twelve teams for the Games with the addition of three groups of individual gymnasts.
A new safer Balance Beam
There was a welcome change for the women. The beam was now padded. A soft surface was put on top of the wooden beam, and then the whole of the beam was covered with a type of suede material; such a relief for the comfort and the safety of the female gymnasts.
Ellen Berger, Yuri Titov, and Eva Orrensjo nee Ryddell (Swedish gymnast and now judge) – photo Alan Burrows/international Gymnast
Tommy Wilson dismounting High Bar in Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
Barbara Slater dismounting Uneven Bars in Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
British representation
Team Manager – George Whitely
Women’s coach – Pauline Prestidge
Men’s coach – Nik Stuart
Judges – Ursel Baer and Bill Williams
GBR Men’s team
Jeff Davis – Carnegie College Gym Club – coaches, George Whitely & Dick Gradley
Ian Neale – Coventry Gymnastics Club – coach, John Atkinson
Tommy Wilson – Hendon Gym Club – coach, Billy Wills
Ian Neale competing on Rings in Montreal with Nik Stuart looking on – photo Jim Prestidge
Jeff Davis dismounting High Bar in Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
GBR Women’s team
Susan Cheesebrough – Tameside Gymnastic Club – coaches Norman Gough and Bill McLoughlin
Avril Lennox – Charles Keene College and St Mary’s Twickenham – coaches Harold Davies and Bill McLoughlin
Barbara Slater – Birmingham Athletic Institute – Coach Bill Slater (father)
Avril and Barbara both received their FIG pins in recognition of their obtaining an average of 9 in the qualifying competition. If the boys had matched their compulsory score with their optional, they could have scored the 9 average but it wasn’t to be.
Avril Lennox competing her Yamashita Vault in Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
Susan Cheesebrough competing on Uneven Bars in Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
The GB team march in to the arena at the 1976 Montreal Olympics – Photo Jim Prestidge
THE RESULTS
MEN’S TEAM
| RANK | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPN | 576.85 | |
| 2 | URS | 576.45 | |
| 3 | GDR | 564.65 | |
| 4 | HUN | 564.45 | |
| 5 | GFR | 557.40 | |
| 6 | ROM | 557.30 | |
| 7 | USA | 556.10 | |
| 8 | SUI | 550.60 |
Nail biting
The team event between Japan and the Soviet Union must have been nail-biting with Japan finally taking 1st position by 0.4. This was their 5th Olympic team victory in a row.
The competition for the team placings came down to the last piece of apparatus. Tsukahara last up had to score above 9.5 for the Japanese to win, make a mistake and the gold would go to the Soviet Union. Tsukahara worked superbly to score 9.9 giving the Japanese their 5th Olympic Team medal.
1976 Men’s Gymnastics Olympic Team Winners – German Democratic Republic 3rd, Japan 1st and Soviet Union 2nd – Photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
Japanese Gymnast Shou Fujimoto before breaking his leg – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
Shou Fujimoto also helped ensure the Japanese victory. At the end of his floor exercise, he broke his leg at the knee. He kept the knowledge of the injury to himself competing on pommels and scoring 9.5. However, his next piece was rings, so teeth gritted he went through the routine, only to dislocate his knee on landing but still earning 9.7.
MEN’S ALL AROUND
Japanese Gymnast Mitsuo Tsuckahara competing on High Bar – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 116.650 |
| 2 | Sawao Kato | JPN | 115.650 |
| 3 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | JPN | 115.575 |
| 4 | Aleksandr Dityatin | URS | 115.525 |
| 5 | Hiroshi Kajiyama | PN | 115.425 |
| 6 | Andrzej Szajna | POL | 114.625 |
| 7 | Michael Nikolay | GDR | 113.600 |
| 8 | Imre Molnar | HUN | 113.575 |
| 73 | Ian Neale | GBR | 105.400 |
| 82 | Tommy Wilson | GBR | 103.450 |
| 85 | Jeff Davis | GBR | 102.500 |
Sawao Kato missed out on a third successive individual all-around gold by 1 mark, losing out to his Soviet rival Nikolai Andrianov. He had won in 1968 and then 1972, but 2nd in 1976, not a bad result. The only gymnast who would equal this all around record is Kohei Uchimura, 2nd 2008, 1st 2012 and 1st 2016. The only female gymnast to achieve this is Larisa Latynina, gold in 1956, gold in 1960 and silver in 1964.
ANDRIANOV
Nikolai Andrianov, the gymnast from Vladimir in Russia started his gymnastics quite late at the age of eleven. With his impressive medal haul at these games of 4 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze, a total of 7 Olympic medals in one Games, he equalled Boris Schaklin’s 1960 haul, a record at that time.
Dityatin, would in 1980, be the first to surpass both Schaklin and Andrianov for a single games haul, 8 medals, thus holding the record.
Andrianov’s final total of Olympic medals, counting his previous medals from Munich 1972, was 15, 7 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze.
Kormann celebrates his bronze medal at 1976 Montreal Olympics – photo Jim Prestidge
MEN’S FLOOR FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 19.450 |
| 2 | Vladimir Marchenko | URS | 19.425 |
| 3 | Peter Kormann | USA | 19.300 |
| 4 | Roland Bruckner | GDR | 19.275 |
| 5 | Sawao Kato | JPN | 19.250 |
| 6. | Eizo Kenmotsu | JPN | 19.100 |
Floor exercise at this time was done on a carpet-covered wooden floor resting on many springs. It didn’t give the gymnasts a lot of help, so their tumbling skills were not so fantastic. Andrianov opened with a double back somersault with full twist, then moved immediately into a backward roll covering up his low finishing position. Even with his poor range of movement, he showed a great variety of skills working all the time with confidence.
Kormann’s personal coach, Abie Grossfeld, who was no doubt delighted with his gymnast’s performance, was now attending his 6th Games, as a performer twice, three times coaching positions with the USA team, and now a personal coach.
Pete Kormann recalls
“My medal was a total surprise to everyone. Especially me. No US gymnast had reached the event finals in 44 years. In 2025, Kormann is the only American male to win any Olympic medal on Floor.”
MEN’S POMMEL HORSE
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoltan Magyar | HUN | 19.700 |
| 2 | Eizo Kenmotsu | JPN | 19.575 |
| 3 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 19.525 |
| 3 | Michael Nikolay | GDR | 19.525 |
| 5 | Sawao Kato | JPN | 19.400 |
| 6 | Alexsandr Dityatin | URS | 19.350 |
Zoltan Magyar was a gymnast to be immortalised through two innovative skills, the Magyar spindle and the Magyar traverse, both popular with gymnasts today.
Zoltan Magyar taking pommel gold at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games – photo Jim Prestidge
MEN’S RINGS FINAL
Alexander Dityatin on Rings at the 1976 Games – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 19.65 |
| 2 | Alexsandr Dityatin | URS | 19.55 |
| 3 | Danut Grecu | ROM | 19.50 |
| 4 | Ferenc Donath | HUN | 19.20 |
| 5 | Eizo Kenmotsu | JPN | 19.175 |
| 6 | Sawao Kato | JPN | 19.125 |
Another gold for Andrianov. Grecu, who was considered a ring specialist, was no match for the two Soviet gymnasts.
MEN’S VAULT FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 19.45 |
| 2 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | JPN | 19.375 |
| 3 | Hiroshi Kajiyama | JPN | 19.275 |
| 4 | Danut Grecu | ROM | 19.20 |
| 5 | Zoltan Magyar | HUN | 19.15 |
| 5 | Imre Molnar | HUN | 19.15 |
MEN’S PARALLEL BARS FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sawao Kato | JPN | 19.675 |
| 2 | Nikolai Andrianov | URS | 19.500 |
| 3 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | JPN | 19.475 |
| 4 | Bernd Jager | GDR | 19.200 |
| 5 | Miloslav Netusil | CZE | 19.125 |
| 6 | Andrzej Szajna | POL | 18.950 |
Kato successfully defended his 1972 parallel bars title, taking his overall tally of Olympic golds to 8, more than any other male gymnast in history. Andrianov finished on a total of 7 gold medals
MEN’S HIGH BAR FINAL
German Gymnast – Eberhard Gienger dismounts High Bar at the 1976 Olympics Games – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | JPN | 19.675 |
| 2 | Eizo Kenmotsu | JPN | 19.500 |
| 3 | Henry Boerio | France | 19.475 |
| 3 | Eberhard Gienger | GFR | 19.475 |
| 5 | Gennady Kryssin | URS | 19.250 |
| 6 | Ferenc Donath | HUN | 19.200 |
Gienger, equal 3rd on High Bar. His was another name etched into the past and present of gymnastics through his Gienger somersault release and catch on the high bar.
Ian Neale performing on Floor at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games – photo Jim Prestidge
WOMEN’S TEAM FINAL
Even with their two stars Nadia and Teodora, Romania could not compete with the strength and depth of the Soviet Union. Other gymnasts within the Soviet team should be remembered for their amazing skills. Elvira Saadi captivated many with her supreme artistry, Svetlana Grozdova was a unique gymnast, able to balance on her hands with such ease and the diminutive Maria ‘Masha’ Filatova who could barely look over the horse would prove to be a great supporting gymnast for the team in future years.
These three gymnasts proved to be a great inspiration to many budding gymnasts and coaches in the UK. Saadi always seemed to be the gymnast in charge of the famous Soviet warm-ups as shown at the USSR displays in London.
Saadi would move to Canada later, where she is still coaching gymnasts to the highest level. Grozdova had a second career as the top of a mixed pair in the 1980s and Filatova was for a time coaching in Northern Ireland with her husband at the Salto Gym Club in Belfast before moving to the States.
| RANK | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | URS | 466.00 |
| 2 | ROM | 462.35 |
| 3 | GDR | 459.30 |
| 4 | HUN | 454.45 |
| 5 | CZE | 451.75 |
| 6 | USA | 448.20 |
| 7 | GFR | 445.55 |
| 8 | JPN | 444.05 |
The 1976 Montreal Olympic Games – Women’s Team Medal Ceremony – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
The Teams shakes hands at the ceremony women – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
The Soviet Women’s Team Set floor warm up 1976 Montreal – photo Jim Prestidge
Set Exercises, floor – In the qualifying round which was also the team competition, men and women performed set routines on the first day and voluntary exercises on the next.
Women’s teams would warm up their set floor exercise all working together in the 3 minutes allowed. This would often be a magical occasion, especially in the case of the Soviet team, captured above.
WOMEN’S ALL-AROUND FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadia Comaneci | ROM | 79.275 |
| 2 | Nelli Kim | URS | 78.675 |
| 3 | Ludmilla Turischeva | URS | 78.625 |
| 4 | Teodora Ungureanu | ROM | 78.375 |
| 5 | Olga Korbut | URS | 78.025 |
| 6 | Gitta Escher | GDR | 77.750 |
| 7 | Marta Egervari | HUN | 77.325 |
| 8 | Marion Kische | GDR | 76.950 |
| 35 | Avril Lennox | GBR | 73.875 |
| 68 | Barbara Slater | GBR | 72.600 |
| 79 | Susan Cheesebrough | GBR | 71.450 |
Nadia Comaneci competing on Beam at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 – PHoto Jim Prestidge
Nadia Comaneci on Floor Exercise at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
Comaneci was clearly at her best scoring two perfect tens on bars and near perfect on beam. Her build-up to these games was planned with the desired effect. First, an unknown Romanian appeared at the British Champions All event in 1975 and amazed all with her innovation and perfection. She then went on shortly afterwards to the European Championships in Skien and took the competition by storm, dethroning the two-time European Champion Ludmilla Turischeva and taking the gold on every apparatus except floor where she came in 2nd.
Aged just 14 years at Montreal, her raw skill shown previously had now matured and as with Korbut four years previously, she captured the media’s attention and the public all across the world. However, she didn’t have it all her own way as the individual apparatus results show, but there was no going back, the world was gripped by Nadia hysteria.
WOMEN’S VAULT FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelli Kim | URS | 19.800 |
| 2 | Carola Dombeck | GDR | 19.650 |
| 2 | Ludmilla Turischeva | URS | 19.650 |
| 4 | Nadia Comaneci | ROM | 19.625 |
| 5 | Gitta Escher | GDR | 19.550 |
| 6 | Marta Egervari | HUN | 19.450 |
Nelli Kim performed a tucked full twisting Tsukahara and a handspring with one and half twists, whilst Dombeck amazed everyone with her tucked and then a piked handspring front somersaults, which at the time, looked perfect.
Barbara Slater’s memories
I can honestly say that one of the proudest moments of my life was receiving a phone call to say I had been selected to represent Great Britain in the Olympics alongside my teammates Avril Lennox and Susan Cheesebrough. I have so many special memories of that Olympic experience. It was the first time I had been part of a team with athletes from other sports and that was incredibly special. It was fantastic to be kitted out with all the Team GB uniforms. I still have the red dress and jacket we wore in the Opening Ceremony in the wardrobe somewhere. I can’t bear to throw it away even if it doesn’t fit anymore!
I remember staying in the Olympic Village with the extraordinary food halls with delicacies from all the different countries – you could take just what you wanted. At that time my father was my coach but he wasn’t officially accredited so couldn’t get into the Olympic Village. I remember sneaking him food parcels of the best variety of foods from around the world. He was very well-fed!
One of my most abiding memories is of that Opening Ceremony. We gathered outside as a team. To reach the arena we had to walk through a dark tunnel to then emerge in the full blaze of the stadium spotlights. There is an expression that ‘takes your breath away’ and in that moment that is exactly how it felt. Suddenly there was a wall of noise, cheering and waving crowds as far as your eyes could see. Gymnasts are often the smallest members of the team so it was a great privilege to experience this from the front row of the marching team.
The Montréal Olympics will always be one of my most cherished memories. It was fantastic to be able to compete against the best in the world. In those days the opportunities for training in the UK did not compare with many of the countries we competed against and we watched in awe at some of the extraordinary performances and breath-taking routines. As a competitor in that era, it makes the achievement of our current British Gymnastics team even more remarkable. They now compete equally with the very best in the world.
WOMEN’S UNEVEN BARS FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadia Comaneci | ROM | 20.000 |
| 2 | Teodora Ungureanu | ROM | 19.800 |
| 3 | Marta Egervari | HUN | 19.775 |
| 4 | Marion Kische | GDR | 19.750 |
| 5 | Olga Korbut | URS | 19.300 |
| 6 | Nelli Kim | URS | 19.225 |
Nadia’s performance of the compulsory exercise took simple elements to a new level, while Nelli Kim had a costly fall dropping her to sixth place.
Barbara Slater recalls the moment of a perfect 10
Another incredible memory came while I was competing in the compulsory set exercises on day 1 of the competition. The routines we had to perform were set by the FIG (similar to the figures in Ice Skating) and had to be followed precisely. We were competing in the same competition as the Romanian team – they were on bars. Nadia Comaneci was their star performer. She finished her set routine and up on the scoreboard came the mark of 1.00. Had she made a mistake that we hadn’t spotted? Had she put the moves in the right order? Had she messed up? It didn’t take long to realise that in fact, her routine was perfect. The scoreboard could not cope with a mark of 10 and had only ever been built for a maximum of 9.99 – they had no choice but to show her score as 1.00. The arena erupted and it was the first time a perfect score had been awarded in gymnastics. How lucky was I to be there to witness that moment in history first hand?
Nadia Comaneci scoring her perfect 10 on Bars at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 – photo Alan Burrows / International Gymnast
Jeff Davis remembers the moment well
I was standing by the bars when Nadia got her first 10. To me, this was the significant end of the Tourischeva/Korbut era.
WOMEN’S BEAM FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadia Comaneci | ROM | 19.95 |
| 2 | Olga Korbut | URS | 19.725 |
| 3 | Teodora Ungureanu | ROM | 19.70 |
| 4 | Ludmilla Turischeva | URS | 19.475 |
| 5 | Angelika Hellman | GDR | 19.45 |
| 6 | Gitta Escher | GDR | 19.275 |
WOMEN’S FLOOR FINAL
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | TOTAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelli Kim | URS | 19.85 |
| 2 | Ludmilla Turischeva | URS | 19.825 |
| 3 | Nadia Comaneci | ROM | 19.75 |
| 4 | Anna Pohludkova | CZE | 19.575 |
| 5 | Marion Kische | GDR | 19.475 |
| 6 | Gitta Escher | GDR | 19.45 |
Nelli Kim opened with round-off, flip, double back tucked. For the time it was amazing. We had seen other women perform this skill but not in this manner. Her knees were closed together, not the cowboy action of so many others.
Korbut who only made the team final still performed her amazing yet dangerous Korbut flip to chest roll. It disappeared from the Code of Points following these games.
Silver medalist Olga Korbut with her signatures skill on beam – PHoto Jim Prestidge
Floor Gold medalist Nelli Kim with her new style of double back – PHoto Jim Prestidge
Reflections
on Montreal
Avril Lennox remembers
I felt far more prepared for the 1976 Olympics, due mainly to my move to London to increase training time and access to national coaching, (Avril also competed in the 1972 Olympics), and I was delighted to be nominated captain of the British gymnastics team in Montreal. It was here that I became the first British gymnast to qualify for the ‘All Around’ finals. (Avril, who benefited from the new FIG ruling regarding the limiting of gymnasts from any one nation, scored highly in the qualification competition by incorporating far more difficult gymnastic elements into her routines.)
In celebration of my achievements, I received a personal invitation to join the Queen and Prince Philip for cocktails on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was docked in Montreal for the duration of the Olympics. However, competing at this level did have its downside too; I was drug-tested twice! These games witnessed the new darling of gymnastics; a 14-year-old Romanian called Nadia Comaneci, who not only won the ‘All Around’ Olympic gold but became the first gymnast in history to score a perfect 10.
I feel extremely privileged to have competed in an era alongside stars such as Ludmilla Tourischeva, Nelli Kim, Nadia Comaneci, and Olga Korbut, who were credited with popularising the sport around the world.
Opposite – Ludmilla Turisheva, portrait by Alan Burrows
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