multibeautiful

From the pure power of Cheng Fei we go to flawless grace. Nellie Kim was a half-Sakhalin Korean, half-Tatar Soviet gymnast. She won five gold medals in 1976 and 1980 and was considered one of the most elegant and expressive performers on the floor. She was the first woman to perform the full twisting Tsukahara vault in Olympic competition in the 1976 Olympics, and she received perfect 10s for some of her performances. She had clean form nearly all of the time. The only reason I believe she isn’t so well known now is that her achievements were somewhat overshadowed by, er, Nadia Comaneci. To me, she's the ideal choice for wrapping up Gymnast Week.



( Nellie Kim is aristocratic even in knee socks )

Nellie Kim flows across the floor in the 1980 Olympics (YouTube, 01:23. She shared the gold with Nadia.)
Nellie Kim vaults in the 1976 Olympics (YouTube, 00:50)

Next week’s theme will be Classical Musicians. By the way, I hope no one thinks I’m co-opting the community by using themes. They’re just to keep me on track with posting at least five days a week.