In the US, Olga and her noose are still famous.

At the Olympics in Rio, Belarusian women's gymnastics failed. Naturalized American Kylie Dixon did not even get close to the finals either in the all-around or in certain types of the program. Not a trace remains of the former glory of our gymnastics.

We recall the most famous Belarusian athlete from this sport - Olga Korbut. A native of Grodno at the 1972 Olympics in Munich shocked the entire sports world. She performed the most difficult element, which later received the name "Korbut Loop". The gymnast stood on the high part of uneven bars and made a flask, clinging to the top bar of the bars with her hands. What are you talking about - you need to see it. The spirit is captivating!

Later, the unique element was banned at official competitions, since it is forbidden by the rules (gymnasts cannot stand on upper part bars).

Olga Korbut is met in Grodno

In 1972, Olga became a three-time Olympic champion. After the overwhelming success, the Belarusian went on tour in the United States. There, the young champion made a splash. There is an opinion that it was those Korbut performances that gave a powerful impetus to the development of gymnastics in the USA. After all, it was at that time that schools began to open everywhere, children went into sports.

At the same time, the athlete met the Pesnyary musician Leonid Bortkevich, got married, and later gave birth to a son.

The Belarusian remained in the USSR, but as soon as the country fell apart, she and her husband were forced to emigrate overseas. As often happens with talented people, fate was ambiguous. Korbut and Bortkevich divorced, son Richard returned to Belarus, and Olga was left all alone in the USA. Some media told stories that Korbut did not have enough money for food in the store, and from time to time she even suffers from alcoholism.

Now it seems that all this, in many respects, is an invention of journalists. At least from the photographs, one gets the feeling that Olga leads a rich and vibrant life. She is still light, lively and young.

Here is a quote from Korbut's official website: “Now Olga lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and loves to walk, play sports and cook in the kitchen. She still works in gymnastics every day."

Korbut herself in an interview said that she works as a coach in one of the most expensive and well-equipped sports studios in the United States. The Belarusian works with talented children, who later become part of the American gymnastics team.

In addition, Korbut regularly appears in various TV shows. She gladly demonstrates her medals and talks about gymnastics. In addition, Olga actively

Olga Korbut is a famous athlete who won the hearts of millions. Honored gymnast, master of sports, Olympic world champion. She is a sports star, an attractive woman and an amazing personality.

Olga Korbut has moved away from her sports career, but remains a person whose biography, personal life, family, are under the scrutiny of reporters who are trying to get new photos of the star lady.

Childhood

She was born on May 16, 1955 in the city of Grodno. Mother worked as a cook. My father devoted himself to the profession of an engineer. Olya is not the only child in the family. She was raised with three older sisters. Living in a large family in Soviet times is not easy. The size of the living space was 20 m². Parents did not indulge in gifts for children due to lack of money.

Olga admitted that the situation in the family made her steal. The girl was caught stealing at a sports school. The offense got away with Korbut thanks to the coach, who saved the future sports star from expulsion.

People who have known Olga since childhood note that from an early age she was different:

• unshakable willpower;
• stubbornness.

This was facilitated by yard battles, among which Korbut grew up. The fighting character allowed the talented girl to pave the way to the future.

School years

Olga was not interested in school. She showed good abilities and a desire to study until the fourth grade, and after that she preferred new hobbies. The teachers were excited by this fact, the question of transfer to another school was considered.

By this time, Korbut understood in which direction she wanted to develop, so her studies did not bother her. The school fizruk saw in Olga the makings of a talented athlete and invited her to the gymnastics section. It was not possible to enter the Youth Sports School immediately. For the first time, the selection committee did not accept. The reason for the refusal is excess weight.

At the age of 10, the girl tried her luck. This was the beginning of her path to success. Entering a sports school, she met Elena Volchetskaya, an Olympic champion, who believed in the baby and took care of her.

Volchetskaya's efforts were not in vain. A year later, Korbut received a personal trainer Renald Knysh, who appreciated:

• strong-willed character of Olga;
• e ability to quickly hone new elements;
• desire for more.

Knysh's collaboration with Korbut led to the emergence of new elements in gymnastics. The coach came up with complex gymnastic tricks, and Olga performed them with ease. The young gymnast, despite the illusion of an idyllic relationship with Knysh, describes the partnership as difficult. It was this that gave impetus to fame.

Success in sports career

The first serious competition was the youth competition "Olympic Hope", in which Olga impressed the judges with a complex gymnastic element - somersault on a balance beam. The future star made everyone talk about her. But the first success did not turn his head.

Under the guidance of a trainer, she developed and learned new unique tricks that were done at an unusual pace. This feature distinguished the athlete among the gymnasts.

For a long time, Korbut's main rival was Lyudmila Turishcheva, who adhered to the academic school of gymnastics in her performances.

Olga preferred:

• innovation;
• risky style.

The talent of both was amazing, but there is only one gold medalist in the competition. Turishcheva turned out to be in the framework of the Munich Olympics. The reason for the defeat of Korbut was a serious mistake, which the judges could not turn a blind eye to. The failure made the gymnast work harder.

This has borne fruit:

1. The title of the favorite of all competitions.
2. Three gold medals.
3. An incredible amount of audience sympathy.

She had great success. On the tour of the USSR national gymnastics team in the United States, Olga realized that her popularity was limitless. Korbut was treated like a Russian prima. She was considered an attractive athlete because of her petite physique, undeniable charm, childish spontaneity and incredible thirst for victory.

Cooperation with Knysh was coming to an end, the gymnast moved to a new coach. Olga Alekseeva had a different approach to pupils. Korbut found in the coach a friend and the reliable support she needed.

In the 1976 Olympics, Korbut received one gold medal in the team event. This did not affect the popularity. At the age of 23, she decided to end her career. There were rumors that Olga was moving into equestrian sports, but the star did not confirm the information. After a while, she returned to gymnastics as a coach.

Personal life

Olga devoted most of her time, but there was a place for love in her busy schedule. Olga Korbut, speaking about her biography, rarely talks about her personal life, family, rarely shares photos, but you can’t hide some facts from the media.

Many people spoke about the novel between Korbut and Leonid Bortkevich. The gymnast met the lead singer of the Pesnyary group on a plane bound for the United States. Olga flew to the competition, and the musicians were on tour. During the 8 hours of the flight, Olga and Leonid chatted about everything.

Fate brought them together again a year later, when Bortkevich decided to leave his wife after learning about her betrayal. He called Korbut, and the next day the gymnast was at his house.

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Leonid firmly decided to win the heart of the beauty and marry her. Before the wedding, the couple lived in a civil marriage. Olga in marriage seemed happy. She played sports higher education, became a mother. After retiring, Olga was looking for a way to make decent money. Retirement life for athletes in the USSR was difficult. former star gymnastics received offers from the USA to work as a coach with young talents.

At home, there were rumors that Olga lives chic, receives money, cars and apartments for past successes. Gifts were appropriated by officials and they did not reach Korbut.

Getting to America was not easy. But in 1989 it succeeded. Settling in a new place, Olga devoted herself to teaching. In the early 2000s, Olga and Leonid separated. The marriage lasted 22 years. The man decided to return to Belarus. Later it turned out that the wife had cheated on Leonid. The star decided to have an affair with a young lover (age difference of 25 years).

Alexey Voynich took Korbut away from the family and became the second husband of the gymnast. The marriage did not last long, Olga prefers not to talk about the reasons for the separation.

The third spouse is an American named David. Little is known about the last choice. The media learned that the man is the heir to a famous philanthropist and supports his wife. The couple resides in Scotts Dale. Olga Valentinovna suffers from pressure drops.

In America, Korbut quickly settled down before the appearance of an influential husband. She made new acquaintances, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Children

Married to the lead singer of the Pesnyary group, Olga gave birth to a son in 1979. The boy was named Richard. Korbut dreamed of experiencing the happiness of motherhood again, but playing sports affected the woman's health. The second pregnancy ended badly. A dead baby was born, whom the couple wanted to name Ivan.

Richard, after the divorce of his parents, lived with his mother in America, was fond of computer technology. In an interview, the guy admitted that studying at school was easy, but with higher educational institutions it was hard. Richard, thanks to his mother's connections, opened a business.

The guy did not apply for citizenship, but used the rights to reside on the Green Card, which played an important role in life. Richard was deported to Belarus to his father after counterfeit banknotes were found in his house.

Fans of Olga Korbut, who are interested in her biography, personal life, family, the latest photos of the star, know that the woman communicates with her first husband and flies to Belarus to celebrate the holidays with her son.

“The miracle with pigtails” - this is how the young Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut was called in the sports world in the mid-70s. Her phenomenal talent, young age and completely unchildish desire to always and in everything be the first amazed everyone who knew her. At the age of 15, Korbut became the champion of the USSR in the vault, at 17 she went to the first Olympics, where she literally captivated the audience: with her sincerity, when she sobbed after an unsuccessful performance in the all-around, and desperation, when she did back somersaults on uneven bars.

short biography and personal life

Olga Korbut was born in Belarus in the city of Grodno on May 16, 1955. And she became the fourth daughter of her parents - Valentin Alexandrovich and Valentina Ivanovna. When she was in the second grade, her sports skills were noticed by the school physical instructor Ya.I. The king decided to take the lively girl to the gymnastics section. And at the age of 10, Olga met the Olympic champion Elena Volchetskaya, who decided to work with the baby. A year later, Korbut got into the group of the Honored Trainer of the USSR Renald Knysh (1965). This person immediately saw talent in the young athlete, a grasp for new elements, a strong-willed disposition. Olga was a very brave girl. And this is exactly what Knysh needed to realize all his ideas. He was bribed by the diligence of the student.

Returning from training in the evening, Olga was already dreaming about how she would run to the gym again in the morning.

In their one-room apartment, mom, dad and three sisters “stuck” to the walls when Olga demonstrated new elements. Coach Ren thought very boldly. He understood that following the classic beaten path of previous Olympic champions was a road to nowhere. So he searched. Thinking, fantasizing, making mistakes. Olga helped the coach a lot in these endeavors. She was a tester, a trailblazer, if you will. Looking at its elements, sometimes it seems that all this ... is impossible, it cannot be so! Knysh's fantasies were so complex.
The first big success came in 1970 - she became the champion of the USSR in the vault and entered the USSR national team. The first gymnast who was able to perform somersaults on the balance beam. The biography of the gymnast is closely intertwined with Lyudmila Turishcheva, a competitor who embodies the old-style academic school of gymnastics in her writings. Olga, on the other hand, was innovative and risky. Athletes were constantly compared, emphasizing the merits of both. At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Korbut demonstrated innovative gymnastic elements and became a crowd favorite. However, in a tough fight for absolute superiority, she lost to Turishcheva

In the US, she was called Russian prima, a miniature beauty.

The popularity of Korbut knew no bounds. external feature the girl was charm, small stature (152 cm), childish spontaneity and the incredible complexity of the prepared program.
Later, Knysh handed over Korbut to another coach - Olga Alekseeva. For the athlete, this was a new format of training, because the methods of Alekseeva were largely different from the previous master. Kind, sociable, but confident and unshakable Alekseeva became a friend for Korbut and in the most difficult period for the athlete was always there.

As a result of her sports career, Olga became a 4-time Olympic champion. 1972 - team championship, beam and floor exercises, 1976 - team championship. And also won many other high awards.
At 23, the girl decided to say goodbye to her career as a gymnast, she even thought of finding herself in equestrian sports. In 1978, she married a famous singer, soloist of the Pesnyary group Leonid Bortkevich and lived with him for 22 years, divorced. Later, Korbut returned to big sports as a coach in the United States and has been living there since 1991 and has American citizenship.

Dead loop Korbut at the 1972 Olympics

"Korbut loop" is a free gymnastic trick - a jump from two legs back. This element was performed for the first time by Olga, which is why it was named after her.
Olga worked on a unique exercise for 5 years together with coach Knysh. Demonstrated the loop in 1969 (14 years old) at the USSR Championship. The girl every time experienced fear, making a dangerous somersault.
“In my life I have never met a man bolder than Knysh. And I have never met him more carefully. He furnished a new element with a dozen lead-up exercises. We started practicing the jump by putting aside ... a gymnastic horse. On the mats, he drew the contour of the upper plane of the projectile with chalk, pulled it to the edge of the pit with foam rubber (“Foam rubber made a revolution in gymnastics,” Knysh liked to say), and before that he suggested that I jump on a trampoline for a month, hitting a given point. And I jumped - first on the trampoline, then on the mat and into the "pit".
Many weeks flew by, a thousand sweats came down from me, until I learned, by spinning, to automatically fall into the chalk contour. Trauma, as we see, was ruled out, and it was only about the size of diligence and perseverance.
A little later, when I got used to it, the coach dragged the horse into the pit, overlaid the projectile on all sides with a thick layer of foam rubber - only the top remained open - and we continued training. Gradually, the horse climbed to the surface, and the jump took on its normal form ”- from the memoirs of Olga Korbut.

After Olga showed her enchanting loop, clubs, schools, gyms under the majestic surname Korbut opened in the USA

Who repeated and why Olga Korbut's noose was banned

In 1978, Elena Mukhina improved the risk element by adding a screw to it. Now the “Korbut Loop” is a prohibited technique in gymnastics, because. the new rules do not allow competitors to put their feet on the top of the sports equipment (bars).
The reason for this was the unsuccessful fall of the gymnast Mukhina in 1980 while preparing for the Olympic Games. The girl hit her head on the floor and broke her spine. The athlete lay for 26 years, bedridden.

Video about Elena Mukhina

Video

• The official video channel of the International Olympic Committee has prepared a special selection (domestic athletes, by the way, are extremely rarely awarded such an honor) of Olga Korbut's performances at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The headline speaks for itself: "Incredible performances by Olga Korbut, the 'darling of Munich'." . Even now, more than 40 years later, many stunts are impossible to watch without admiration. Imagine how the audience felt then! No one has ever been able to repeat it

• Documentary film "Monologue. Olga Korbut. "CT", 2009.

Photo by Olga Korbut

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Interesting facts from the life of Olga Korbut

• As a child, she was a very lively girl, she played football with the yard boys for a long time and even wanted to become a football player.
• At first, they didn’t even want to take her to the Youth Sports School for viewing, considering her too fat.
• Before the first children's competitions, the problem of equipment suddenly arose. From Olga's memoirs: “At school, we studied in tights and Czechs, but here we needed sports swimsuits and white slippers. After my passionate pleas, my mother brought a terry towel, cut a blank out of it, conjured with a needle and got slippers that, when strong desire could be mistaken for gymnastics. The bathing suit was made in the same handicraft way. My mother cut off a long closed T-shirt at the bottom, hemmed it, put it on me and stabbed it from below with a pin.
• After emigrating to the United States, the gymnast told reporters that her coach was a cruel person, often used force and sexually harassed. All these years, Knysh had to explain himself to journalists, to say directly that "there was no sex." Couldn't handle fame, the coach said.
• In 2002, Olga Korbut was arrested in an Atlanta supermarket on charges of petty theft. She tried to steal $19 worth of cheese, grapes, chocolate and tea from the store. Olga herself claimed that the whole story was a pure misunderstanding, and in fact she was just trying to return to her car for a wallet forgotten there. However, the matter went to court.

Biography, life story of Korbut Olga Valentinovna

Korbut Olga Valentinovna - Soviet gymnast, four-time Olympic champion.

Childhood

Olga graduated from the Grodno State Pedagogical Institute (1977) as a trainer-teacher.

Sports career

Olga Korbut came to gymnastics in the second grade at school in the gymnastics circle of Yaroslav Ivanovich Korol in 1963. At the age of 10, in 1965, she got into a group with Knysh. The first big success came in 1970 - she became the champion of the USSR in the vault and entered the USSR national team. The first gymnast who was able to perform somersaults on the balance beam.

The history of artistic gymnastics included the confrontation between Lyudmila Turishcheva and Olga Korbut. Turishcheva personified the old academic gymnastic school, while Korbut embodied new trends in sports: risky elements, athleticism and youth. At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Korbut demonstrated innovative gymnastic elements and became a crowd favorite. However, in a tough fight for absolute superiority, she lost to Turishcheva. Speaking during the absolute championship on her signature uneven bars, she made a serious mistake, and in the end did not even get into the prizes.

In 1976, Olga joined the USSR national team at the Games in Montreal, winning gold as part of the team and winning silver on beam.

After emigrating to the United States, Korbut began to train gymnasts, and also traveled with demonstrations. She currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Personal life

After the 1972 Olympics, Olga Korbut became a star on the air and was invited to tour the United States in 1973. The tour was a triumph, and they are associated with the beginning of the gymnastics boom in America.

CONTINUED BELOW

Olga finished her sports career after the Olympics in Montreal. In 1977 she received a diploma from the Faculty of History of Grodno University. In 1978, she married a famous singer, soloist of the Pesnyary group Leonid Bortkevich and lived with him for 22 years, has a son, Richard. In 2000 they broke up.

Since 1991 he lives in the USA, has American citizenship. She was given a house in Atlanta. The athlete was surrounded by fans.

Achievements

Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1972).

4-time Olympic champion: 1972 - team championship, beam and floor exercises, 1976 - team championship.

Two-time vice-champion of the Olympic Games (1972 - uneven bars, 1976 - beam).

World champion 1974 in the vault.

World champion 1970 and 1974 in the team championship.

Winner of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR and the absolute champion of the USSR in 1975, multiple champion of the USSR.

Winner of the silver medal of the 1973 European Championship in the absolute championship.

"Korbut loop"

Olga Korbut was the first to perform the unique element "Korbut's Loop". The gymnast stands on the high part of uneven bars and makes a flask, clinging to the top bar of the bars with her hands. The element was performed during her routines on uneven bars at the Munich Olympics.

Subsequently, the element was improved by Elena Mukhina - she added a screw to it. Currently, the "Korbut loop" is not performed at official competitions, as it is prohibited by the rules (gymnasts are not allowed to stand on the top of the bars with their feet).

Today I will reflect and talk about my countrywoman, an outstanding gymnast, Olympic champion and favorite of millions around the world, Olga Korbut.

Ouch! How much has already been written, said and rewritten about her. It's hard to say something new. But, you know, dear readers, i found a highlight. And I think you will be interested too. So read the whole post. Only, I want to warn you, there will be no yellow color here!

And, if someone is wondering, did her coach rape Olga or not ...? Why did she break up with Leonid Bortkevich ..? Did she steal $19 worth of groceries from the supermarket..? Sorry, there is no such information in this article.

I agree that in the biography of Olga Korbut there are enough moments for which hot lovers will catch on with pleasure. But honestly, I'm not interested. I suggest talk about the pigtail miracle mission. And in a nutshell, I will say this: “This girl did what the USSR Foreign Ministry could not (or did not want) to do”

Biography of Olga Korbut

Little "bitch"

Olga Korbut was born on May 15, 1955 in Grodno. And she became the fourth daughter of her parents - Valentin Alexandrovich and Valentina Ivanovna.

And you know what? I want to draw your attention to this fact. Fourth sister. Does everyone know what that means? 🙂

And this means that I can already guess how Olga's difficult character began to take shape. May Olga Valentinovna and her fans forgive me, but I still see a little “bitchy” girl in relation to her sisters who, at the first opportunity, will either play a dirty trick or just show her tongue. And on the other hand, all such militant in the struggle with the sisters for the right to be the most beloved daughter.

Well, yes! These are my conjectures. But, they are not based on nothing. Experience gentlemen. But this is so - a lyrical digression.

Gymnast - tester

I started doing gymnastics in the second grade. Here, as well as, the fizruk of the school paid attention to the future champion. He then took Olya to the gymnastics section. Two years later, in 1965, Olga was taken by the Honored Coach of the country Renald Ivanovich Knysh and began to make a champion.

The first thing Ren drew attention to (as Korbut called her coach) was her character. Stormy, explosive, assertive. Olga was a very brave girl. And this is exactly what Knysh needed to realize all his ideas.

And Ren also thought very boldly. He understood that following the classic beaten path of previous Olympic champions was a road to nowhere. So he searched. Thinking, fantasizing, making mistakes.

Olga helped the coach a lot in these endeavors. She was a tester, a pioneer, if you want to. Looking at its elements, sometimes it seems that all this ... is impossible, it cannot be so! Knysh's fantasies were so complex. But, Korbut did the impossible.

But what it means to be a “tester” in artistic gymnastics is probably known only to those who practiced it.

I’ll say to myself that sometimes I’m just scared for the guys and girls (especially girls) who do such things .... that the remnants of hair stand on end. Yes, they, not only their health, risk their lives.

And also, I am very interested in how the coach feels when he sends little girls not an “embrasure”. But, this is already from the field of psychology.

As for Knysh, in my opinion, his role in Olga's Olympic victories is undeservedly forgotten.

I can say the same about Alexander Semenovich Mishakov - coach Larisa Latynina or about Nikolai Grigoryevich Tolkachev - ... Continue?

Dear readers, tell me honestly, have you ever heard these names at all? That's it ... I'm already thinking about expanding the subject of my blog. And write not only about the Olympic champions of the USSR, but also about the coaches that these stars lit.

Achievements of Olga Korbut

The tandem of Knysh and Korbut worked. They managed to come up with, create and polish more than one element, from which even the experts "blew the roof off".

By the way, Olga Valentinovna herself admits that every time she performed her famous “Korbut loop”, she was specifically afraid. It makes no sense to describe the element itself in words. Yes, and to tell about somersaults on a log, will not work either.

Watch this video about Olga Korbut better.

Really impressive and mesmerizing. Sometimes it seems that Olga does not fall, because she weighs nothing! Coordination, jumping ability, artistry ... well, everything is with her.

Here is what our famous athlete Larisa Latynina said about Korbut:

“... audacity, courage, resourcefulness. This is a fusion of reckless courage and grandiose boldness, youthful enthusiasm and charm.

Of course, both Knysh and Olga worked not only for the sake of pleasure and the opportunity to prove something to themselves and others. Both wanted to win. And the victories came.

Bravo! And thank you, Olga Valentinovna.

But, these are all “just” titles and titles. Moreover, if you look closely, the harvest of "gold" is not the richest in comparison with the same Lyudmila Turishcheva. No, Olga's main achievement is different. In addition to medals, she conquered the world.

…. The feeling that I fell in love with the Russian for its exclusivity and individuality filled me for a long time, made it possible to understand Russians and other peoples.

The 1972 Olympics in Munich brought our heroine not only 3 gold medals. She brought her fame and love of the whole world. And I'm not embellishing at all. To be honest, I don’t remember that any of the athletes could “hypnotize” the hall like that. The audience was completely in her power. They applauded when Olga did everything, cried when she cried and were ready to “tear the judges” for “biased” refereeing.

It really was a triumph. But what is most interesting is not the triumph of Soviet gymnastics as a whole (although at that Olympics our gymnasts and gymnasts won a total of 16 medals, of which 6 were gold), but the triumph of one young girl.

Then there was a tour of America. It was something! Amorous America applauded Olya. How many epithets, how many rave reviews and publications. How many gymnastic schools were opened and named after her! America has never met anyone with such joy and has not seen off with such sadness as Olga Korbut.

Well, let's try to understand what is the strength of this "latch" (as my father called Olga). I'll take a chance

1. Small growth. Despite the fact that Olga was already 17, with her height she looked just like a little girl. And kids are always adorable
2. Immediacy. Olga did not hesitate to rejoice and be upset. She did not save her emotions between shells.
3. Undoubtedly, complexity of the program and apparent ease with which Olya performed her elements
4. And all together - charm. Before which the judges could resist, but not the audience

I wonder if this description reminds you of anyone else? How about our beautiful couple Ekaterina Gordeeva - Sergey Grinkov? Not? OK.

Here we come to the most important thing.

Mission of Olga Korbut

Let's move on to the very highlight that I talked about at the beginning of the post. Dear readers, when I was collecting information about Korbut, I found a lot of good and bad things. But, I repeat, I decided not to pour honey and tar into a common barrel. Moreover, the proportions are equal. I didn’t start digging and conducting journalistic investigation (and I’m not a journalist), but decided to focus on the fact that Without wanting or understanding it herself, Olga Korbut became the Ambassador of Peace.

1972 Our "friendship" with the United States, and with the entire dropship in general, was strong and unbreakable. For them we were an evil empire, for us they are bourgeois exploiters without spiritual values. Propaganda from both sides and the Iron Curtain left no chance for people to doubt these stereotypes. Yes, what can I say! We just hated each other.

And here, Olga! I don't know how she managed to "jump" into the hearts of Americans, Germans, British... But, she did it famously. So famously that love for her went over the edge and began to spill over into our country. Yes, and how else? Well, such a bright, cheerful, kind girl could not be born in a “cold lair”. There's something wrong here.

Reading other people's letters

1. firstly, fragments of these letters have already been published
2. secondly, these letters are not polished truth

And further. Everything written above could not be read. These letters are quite enough to understand what Olga Korbut and her coach did ...

“I have always supported the Americans and believed that I could never side with the Russians. It was before you. Your performance at the Olympics was sensational! I suddenly realized that I was cheering you up, crying because of you and, finally, very happy about your victory.
... The feeling that I fell in love with the Russian for its exclusivity and individuality filled me for a long time, made it possible to understand Russians and other peoples ... "
Jack W. Pittsburgh, PA

“Olya, you are so adored by many Americans and millions of other people around the world, not just because of your sporting achievements ... We also have record holders who can do something better than others. You are all filled with some kind of magic, a magnet that attracts people ... "
Drive L., Marport, New York

“Dear, Olya. Now so many people on the globe - full of wars and hatred - need your smile and charm ... "
Dave B., Texas

“…. You know, before, when I played "war" with my friends, they always fought against the Russians. After your performance with us, we are already talking about Russians as friends ... "
Mike A., Clinton, Iowa

“.... A year ago, I could not even think that I would write to a Russian, because the “Reds” have always been enemies for me. And suddenly a little Russian girl Olga Korbut appears, who laughs, cries, waves her hand to the crowd ... And she has everything you want, only there is no heartlessness, stiffness and coldness ... Olya, I love you "
Check G., 58th Avenue, New York

And here's another letter...

“To Mr. Alexei N. Kosygin. Moscow Kremlin.
I consider it possible to ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, to assist in the fact that the USSR gymnasts team led by Olga Korbut ... visit Chicago, which would be fair to the citizens of the second-largest city of the United States and would help strengthen friendly relations.
With sincere respect and hope, Richard Dick Daly, Mayor of Chicago"

And here is Daley's next telegram to Moscow

“... The largest audience that ever gathered in our city, and possibly in the entire United States to watch the gymnastic program, enthusiastically welcomed and admired the magnificent performance shown by the team of Soviet gymnasts ... These wonderful girls made a great contribution to deepening friendship and understanding between your country and the people of America.”

I think that's enough. Just such letters and from ordinary people Olga herself and the official ones had a huge number. You can't read everything, and you don't have to. And so everything is clear.

The New York Times: Olga Korbut and the Russian women's gymnast team ended their US tour tonight, melting the remnants of hostile Cold War ice floes.

And the last. At the end of the triumph of Korbut UNESCO awarded her the honorary title of Ambassador for Peace in 1974.

Before finishing, I propose once again to enjoy the talent of our beautiful athlete.

That's all. See you soon.