Be aware: This text has a Half II which will be discovered right here.
One of many nice traditions in non-Olympic sports activities is the idea of sports activities groups retiring the numbers of athletes who had iconic careers. It’s a gesture of respect indicating that the athlete who wore that quantity left such an enduring affect, their legacy can by no means get replaced. Thus, the quantity they wore belongs to her or him eternally. The omission of that quantity in future competitors serves as reminder to an athlete of previous greatness that may by no means be forgotten.
Gymnastics doesn’t have this idea as a result of jersey numbers aren’t a factor in gymnastics. Though I’d argue gymnastics has one thing even higher, the idea of an eponymous talent the place gymnasts can have their title entered into the Code of Factors. This system even permits gymnasts who by no means made it to the Olympics to have their title repeated by commentators in the midst of an Olympic Video games even a long time after they retired.
Particular person gymnasts are not often related to only a single quantity, largely as a result of it’s uncommon for a gymnast to be assigned the identical bib quantity twice. However there are a few events the place a gymnast achieved a efficiency that was so iconic, the bib quantity she wore together with it grew to become eternally linked along with her title.
Elena Mukhina: 165
Though she handed away in 2006 and by no means grew to become an Olympian, there continues to be a large on-line group devoted completely to remembering the profession of Elena Mukhina. As a result of her lifestory is so highly effective, Mukhina has that affect on folks. The Mukhina fandom continues to carry “165” in excessive regard particularly as a result of that quantity is intertwined along with her athletic success.
Elena Mukhina is the one athlete in ladies’s inventive gymnastics (WAG) historical past to win an All-Round title in a non-boycotted competitors on the World Championships and/or Olympic stage (Group-1 Degree), and solely have one profession look at stated stage. Whereas each different WAG icon has worn a number of bib numbers all through her profession, within the case of Mukhina the bib she wore on the 1978 World Championships is the uncommon instance of single bib quantity defining the whole profession of an All-Round Champion as a result of she wore no different quantity in main competitors.
Mukhina’s efficiency on the 1978 World Championships is by many metrics one of many all-time best performances in WAG historical past. Mukhina’s 1978 outcome ranks 2nd greatest all-time in Information Crunch #3.1 in addition to being one of many highest scoring ends in Information Crunch #4.1. The #165 Mukhina wore on the 1978 World Championships is each synonymous along with her id and is a trademark of one of the crucial spectacular athletic performances in WAG historical past.
Whereas it could be unorthodox, if not logistically unfeasible to “retire” a bib quantity to honor a specific gymnast, if FIG ever have been to undertake this custom #165 can be the only most justifiable quantity to retire. The idea of retiring jersey numbers within the context of tragedy is without doubt one of the frequent causes sports activities groups elect to retire a specific quantity. Given Mukhina’s excessive standing inside gymnastics historical past, and the horrific circumstances by which her profession ended, to order #165 as a option to proceed her legacy is moderately apparent.
Nadia Comaneci: 73
This choice wants little rationalization. The quantity 73 is what Nadia Comaneci wore on the 1976 Olympics when she grew to become the primary gymnast to attain a Good 10. It might go down because the second the place gymnastics reached the top of its reputation within the pre-Simone Biles period. The 1976 Olympics made Nadia probably the most iconic profession WAG had ever skilled and it wasn’t till the arrival of Simone Biles that anybody was capable of problem Nadia for that title.
However Nadia was greater than only a famous person gymnast who wore a bib with a 73 on it. Comaneci’s Good-10 on the 1976 Olympics actually broke the scoreboard which didn’t have the power to provide a “10.00.” So, it showcased “1.00” as a substitute. The truth that a gymnast scoring a Good 10 was thought of so unbelievable that occasion organizers hadn’t accounted for this situation when designing the scoreboard added to the fascination with what the younger Nadia had achieved.
Photos of the scoreboard have been plastered in all places with the long-lasting “1.00” being the signature takeaway from the 1976 Olympics. However amongst all the long-lasting photos of Nadia’s 1.00, there may be seen the quantity proper on high of it, Nadia’s #73 bib quantity.
If Mukhina is exclusive in that her total profession comes right down to only one bib quantity, the identical is true for Nadia however for a special purpose. Nadia’s 1976 Olympic bib quantity took heart stage in her historical past making second. The affiliation between Nadia’s bib quantity and the primary Good 10 in gymnastics historical past is so widespread, that gymnastics followers have been identified to put on T-Shirts with 073 and 1.00 printed on it.
There’s even a Nadia themed watch which options photographs of the long-lasting gymnast, together with the with 073 and 1.00 numbers related to the Good 10 scoreboard.
As for the bib itself, it has been preserved on the Olympic museum in Switzerland. The truth that this specific bib is in a museum is all that must be stated on the subject of whether or not or not this bib needs to be handled as a historic piece of sports activities historical past.
On quite a few events Nadia has talked about how the quantity “73” has a particular which means when the it’s additional damaged down. It’s a specific matter that Nadia has a fascination with and continuously feedback on this matter in her interviews.
7 = The variety of Good 10s she acquired in 1976
3 = The variety of gold medals she received in 1976
7 + 3 = 10
Between Elena Mukhina #165 and Nadia Comaneci #73, they’re by far the 2 most noteworthy examples the place gymnastics followers can recite a bib quantity from reminiscence.
Olga Korbut: 253
Earlier than there was Nadia Comaneci in 1976, there was Olga Korbut in 1972. If Nadia is probably the most iconic WAG heroine of the pre-Biles period, Olga Korbut is with out query the second most iconic athlete from this period. Collectively, Korbut and Nadia modified WAG and ushered it into the trendy period we all know and love at this time.
Whereas Nadia was the gymnast who achieved the best ranges of fame within the twentieth century, Olga Korbut was the one who did probably the most to revolutionize the game. Korbut’s legacy is so impactful that gymnastics historical past will be divided into two eras. The pre-Korbut and post-Korbut eras.
Korbut’s contributions to this revolution didn’t occur slowly and with time, it occurred right away, and that immediate got here on the 1972 Olympics. The 1972 Olympics was Korbut’s debut in any high-profile competitors. Earlier than then Korbut had not appeared as a competitor on the European Championships, World Championships, or World Cup. The 1972 Olympics was Korbut’s nice introduction to the worldwide sporting group and she or he overtook the game like a tsunami.
Korbut’s 1972 Olympic performances have been WAG’s nice breakthrough in not one, however two completely different realms. The primary realm pertained to the Code of Factors, the place Korbut’s distinctive type ushered in a brand new emphasis on acrobatic stunts, high-level problem, and jaw-dropping routines. Within the aftermath of Olga Korbut, the problem stage of the game grew on the quickest tempo it had ever skilled.
The second realm pertained to the perceived reputation of gymnastics which grew considerably throughout Korbut’s profession. Olga Korbut was the gymnast who did probably the most to carry WAG from a sport that wasn’t handled as one of many premiere Olympic sports activities, into being precisely that. Audiences immediately fell in love along with her and Korbut’s reputation has carried over into each era of gymnastics within the a long time since.
Olga Korbut’s 1972 Olympic look is without doubt one of the most important moments in WAG historical past, if not the very flashpoint that made the trendy period of gymnastics attainable. Which is why treating the bib quantity she wore throughout these Olympic Video games as a historic bib quantity worthy of retirement an apparent selection.
Vera Caslavska: 49
Within the case of Larissa Latynina and Simone Biles, each gymnasts are worthy of getting considered one of their bib numbers retired, however deciding on which bib to retire is troublesome. Take Simone for instance. It was in 2016 that she had her most profitable Olympic video games, but it surely was 2019 the place she received probably the most gold medals in a single competitors. You can additionally make the case for 2018 which was the one event by which Simone swept a contest by successful a medal on all six occasions. How do you select which of Simone’s competitions is probably the most historic?
The identical difficulty arises with Larissa Latynina. She received probably the most Olympic gold medals in a single Video games in 1956, however received extra medals within the particular person occasions on the 1960 Olympics. Then there’s the 1958 World Championships which was probably the most dominant results of her profession with 5 gold medals and a silver. How do you select between these three?
Vera Caslavska is completely different as a result of there’s unequivocally, one outcome that stands above the remaining. Regardless of what number of instances Caslavska dominated a special competitors, none of it comes near the legacy of what she achieved in 1968. In Mexico Metropolis Caslavska recorded the best stat line of her profession, and she or he did it on the Olympic stage.
Her 1968 medal haul the place Caslavska received 4 gold medals and a silver within the 5 particular person occasions stays probably the most profitable medal haul any gymnast has ever achieved on the Olympic stage. Vera’s margin of victory within the All-Round was so massive, it could be the file underneath the scoring system that existed from 1952 to 2005. It additionally got here underneath the highly effective context of the Soviet invasion of Caslavska’s nation shortly earlier than the beginning of the 1968 Olympic Video games.
Caslavska received the 1968 Olympics regardless of the invasion forcing her to coach in a forest with no entry to gymnastics tools. Vera risked her total profession together with her eligibility to compete on the upcoming 1968 Olympics by publicly denouncing the Soviets and the Soviet-installed authorities which now dominated her nation. Caslavska then risked her total profession yet another time by publicly protesting the USSR throughout the medal ceremony of the 1968 Olympics.
For Caslavska, her best competitors, best Olympic second, and best act of non-public integrity all got here in a single competitors. And the bib she wore at this competitors was “49.” If Mukhina has probably the most tragic bib quantity, whereas Nadia and Korbut have bibs from probably the most traditionally important moments in ladies’s gymnastics historical past, Caslavska’s bib represents one of many best acts of non-public integrity and athletic prowess in gymnastics historical past.
Natalia Yurchenko: 29
Natalia Yurchenko by no means grew to become an Olympian, however she established a powerful legacy for herself with the vaulting method she pioneered. The introduction of Yurchenko-style vaults was one of the crucial pivotal moments within the technical improvement of girls’s gymnastics. If Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci are two of probably the most well-known names amongst the informal followers, Natalia Yurchenko is without doubt one of the most well-known names amongst the gymnastics die-hard followers.
With Yurchenko there is similar downside that arises with Latynina and Biles, how do you outline which competitors of her profession is probably the most worthy of being enshrined by way of her bib quantity? If Yurchenko is remembered for her iconic vault, the competitors she debuted it got here on the 1982 Moscow Information the place she wore bib #29. However this was a moderately obscure competitors in comparison with the Olympics and World Cup. Maybe probably the most important bib variety of Yurchenko’s profession was the #545 that she wore on the 1983 World Championships the place she received the All-Round?
One attention-grabbing parallel between Elena Mukhina and Natalia Yurchenko is that each are All-Round Champions, each have just one All-Round medal of their careers on the Group-1 stage, and they’re the one two figures in WAG historical past who’re members of the Corridor of Fame with out ever being an Olympian. Whereas Nadia, Mukhina, and Caslavska are in a league of their very own on the subject of historic bib numbers, most of the arguments that may be made on behalf of Elena Mukhina’s profession additionally apply to Yurchenko.
The Mukhina comparisons coupled with the extenuating circumstances of Yurchenko being one of the crucial broadly identified figures inside the gymnastics group, I really feel this makes her case worthy of inclusion.
These 4 gymnasts and the 5 bib numbers related to them are my private alternatives for probably the most historic bib numbers in WAG historical past. However may these bib numbers ever be handled like historic jersey numbers in baseball, hockey, soccer, basketball, and soccer the place they’re retired? The place does such a proposition rank on the size of being “possible” to “outright silly?”
That’s a subject for Half II of this collection the place I speak concerning the evolution of gymnastics bib numbers.
