Women's Artistic Gymnastics During the Cold War and Its Aftermath

340 Pages·2017·2.19 MB·English

A Balance of Power:
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics During the Cold War and Its
Aftermath

Georgia Cervin
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Otago

This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of
Western Australia
School of Humanities, History
2017
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Abstract
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) entered Olympic competition in 1952, when the first
appearance of the USSR started forty years of ascendancy. By 2000, emphasis on spectacle
and risk had replaced its balletic origins. This research traces such development of WAG
during the Cold War and its aftermath, through exploration of the differing responses to
Soviet domination in the United States, Australia and the international gymnastics federation
(FIG). It pursues this through semi-structured oral histories, print media sources and –
uniquely among studies of gymnastics – the archives of the FIG and the International
Olympic Committee (IOC). In doing so this thesis has two aims: first, to make sense of
WAG’s development with consideration of international sporting governance, and second, to
position it within wider understandings of the Cold War.
In this thesis I argue that the context of the Cold War was crucial to the development of
WAG, both internationally and domestically within the USA as well as Australia. Cold War
rivalry heightened the importance placed on Olympic competition as one of the foremost
demonstrations of soft power and national ascendency. The Cold War not only motivated the
pursuit of international success on the Olympic stage, it resulted in female gymnasts being
used in political endeavours. It influenced the rhetoric surrounding women’s sport, where
women’s gymnastics was in the vanguard. It affected the governance of international sport
and judging of gymnastics. Moreover it flavoured the Olympic landscape of the time, lying
beneath issues such as amateurism and the slowly professionalizing nature of the Games.
However, the Cold War was not the only influence on WAG’s development. These issues
were negotiated by the international non-government organizations controlling international
sport, which endeavoured (with varying success) to remain aloof from politics. Within the
FIG, there was debate over the feminine vision for WAG, which differed from the acrobatic
practices of the gymnasts. Within the IOC, there was concern over the size of the Olympic
programme, of which gymnastics was considered to occupy more space than it deserved.
The FIG was thus caught between its two main stakeholders, and the debates waged within
the sport reflect this duality.
In WAG lies a microcosm of socio-cultural issues that have been mediated by its
participants, spectators and governors. This research is significant because WAG illustrates
the on-going dialogue between sport and society. It thus contributes to the growing body of
work on sport during the Cold War, which until now has largely excluded gymnastics.
Furthermore, it also marks one of the few attempts to study the history of WAG as a
competitive sport.
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Contents

Abstract iii
Contents v
Acknowledgements vii
Statement of Candidate Contribution ix
Statement of Ethics Approval xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 15

Part I: 1952 – 1969 61
Chapter One 65
‘The Games Operate on an Honour System’: Avery Brundage’s Amateur
Olympics

Chapter Two 93
Dreamboats And Amazons: The New York Times, Female Athletes and
the Cold War
Part II: 1970 – 1979 111
Chapter Three 113
Dynamic and Young: Daredevils and the Changing Nature of WAG

Chapter Four 153
Cold Warriors: Gymnastics Tours and Flic Flac Diplomacy
Part III: 1980 – 1989 175
Chapter Five 177
The Devolution of Détente: Cold War Boycotts and the Olympic Movement

Chapter Six 205
An Art of Flight: WAG Under Globalization and Professionalization
Part IV: 1990 – 2000 253
Chapter Seven 255
Raising the Bar: Soviet Emigration and International Improvement

Chapter Eight 273
Swinging Into Action: Influences on FIG Policy in the 1990s
Conclusion 311

Bibliography 319

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Acknowledgements
This thesis would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of people. First
and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Mark Edele and Tony Barker. It is only
with their unfailing support and encouragement that I have been able to come this far. Tony
in particular has devoted much of his time and interest to this work. Their gentle criticisms
have taught me much about research and writing, without compromising my motivation. In
fact, with them I was always inspired to continue pursuing my research. I could not have
asked anything more from these two scholars.
Thanks also to the wider discipline group of History at the University of Western Australia,
which has been an excellent environment to undertake this work. I give my sincerest
gratitude also to the history department at the University of Otago – I am certain that without
this solid foundation I would never have been able to come this far.
I have been the beneficiary of several scholarships from the University of Western Australia,
without which this work would have been impossible. The Graduate Research School
enabled me to undertake the first research trip for this project, and funds from the Broeze
Award enabled a second trip to collect oral histories. The Postgraduate Student’s
Association topped up this award, so to them I also extend my thanks.
I owe a great debt to the team at the Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne, and their award of
a PhD grant to complete this research. In an old villa atop the lake, these are more than the
most beautiful archives in the world, they are a haven for the sport historian, and the
friendliness of the staff there enhances the experience. Thanks to Nuria Puig, for arranging
my visit, and to the staff for their unfailing positivity and helpfulness, particularly Stephanie
Moreno and the entire archivist team. Thanks also to the staff at the Reid Library at the
University of Western Australia, who have been extremely patient with the infinite influx of
books I have requested from around the world.
Beyond the archives, I extend my thanks to staff at the FIG, Nicolas Buompane, and
particularly Philippe Silacci. These men took an interest in this work, provided a list of
names and contact details for oral histories, and organized a media pass to conduct
interviews at the 2014 world championships in China. Thanks also to all those who were
willing to engage in interviews with me, particularly Hardy Fink, who was always willing to
answer my questions later in the research.
The small group of international scholars researching WAG have also made me feel
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welcome in academia, and their interest in this work encouraged me to keep going. To
Natalie Barker-Ruchti, Astrid Schubing and Myrian Nunomura: thank you for taking me on
and trusting me as part of your team. Here, I would like to extend a special thanks to Roslyn
Kerr, who had a great role in facilitating this network, and who has been a kind of unofficial
mentor for me throughout my PhD. I am humbled you took an interest in me.
My thanks also to the other scholars I have met at various conferences, who have also been a
fantastic source of insight, debate, advice, and empathy. You are too numerous to name,
although I would like to mention the team in sports sciences at the University of Lausanne,
who adopted me into their academic world, particularly Gregory Quin.
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their unwavering support, belief in
me, and patience. Janet Klee, your encouragement has been crucial. Neil Cervin, all those
times you answered my questions with thirty minute lectures, thank you for beginning my
interest in history. Greta Cervin, thank you for being a reminder of normal life throughout
all of this. And finally, my thanks to Christopher Heydon who helped conceive this project
and has been my biggest supporter along the way.
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Statement of Candidate Contribution
The examination of the thesis is an examination of the work of the student. The work must have been
substantially conducted by the student during enrolment in the degree. Where the thesis includes work
to which others have contributed, the thesis must include a statement that makes the student’s
contribution clear to the examiners. This may be in the form of a description of the precise
contribution of the student to the work presented for examination and/or a statement of the
percentage of the work that was done by the student. In addition, in the case of co-authored
publications included in the thesis, each author must give their signed permission for the work to be
included.
Chapters three and four have been published as two separate articles, both of which
were sole-authored by the candidate, Georgia Cervin. The details are as follow:
Cervin, Georgia. ‘Gymnasts Are Not Merely Circus Phenomena: Influences on the
Development of Women’s Artistic Gymnastics During the 1970s.’ The
International Journal of the History of Sport, 32, no. 16 (2015): 1929-1946.
Cervin, Georgia. ‘Making Meaning of the 1970s East-West Gymnastics Tours.’
Sporting Traditions, 31, no. 2 (November 2015): 85-100.
Extracts from chapters six and seven have been used to contribute to a co-authored
article with Roslyn Kerr of Lincoln University, New Zealand, with each author
contributing 50 per cent. For this article, most of the data and writing on WAG in
Australia comes from this thesis, along with the explanation on the use of archival
sources. Kerr was responsible for the New Zealand data, organization of the article
and its invitation to the special issue. The citation for this article is as follows:
Kerr, Roslyn, and Georgia Cervin. ‘An Ironic Imbalance: Coaching Opportunities
and Gender in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Australia and New Zealand.’
The International Journal of the History of Sport, special issue: Trans-
Tasman sport (April, 2017). doi: 10.1080/09523367.2017.1283307.

Signature of Student, Georgia Cervin:

Signature of Co-Author, Roslyn Kerr:

Signature of Co-Ordinating Supervisor, Mark Edele:
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