OLYMPIC FINAL TRIALS:
MEN MAINE WEST HIGH SCHOOL, DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS JUNE 16-17. 1972 Report by Les Sasvary Excellent gymnast ics, individual heroism , suspense and great a nticipation by the entire gymnastic world , were the main characteristics of the 1972 Final Olympic Trials for Men's Gymnastics. It was no secret to our gymnast ic experts that the United States w ill be introducing its finest and most qualified men's gymnastic team for international competition. Millions of television viewers have already see n our best-ever wom e n's gymnastics team with Cathy Rigby being a strong favorite for winning America 's first gold medal in Munich, Germany. Since the Internationa l Gymnastics Fed eration established a qualification system for teams and individual gymnasts for participation in the Olympic Games in Munich, it was important that each gymnast would score 102 points and that the team would reac h 510 points for 5 gymnasts out of 6 for twelve events to qualify. Examining the results of the previous trials held at Berkeley, California , itwas obvious to all that the U.S. will have no problem qualifying for the Games.
The twelve finalists: (Back row L to R) Greenfield, Marti , Avener, Lindn er, Culhane, Ivicek, Butzman . (Front row L to R) Crosby, Morava, Hug, Sakamoto, Dickson .
Results, Top 12 Qualifiers, Berkeley, California May 18 and 19, 1972 (12 exercises) Results: Steve Hug 108.25; John Crosby 107.15; George Greenfield 106.95; Makoto Sakamoto 106.40; Marshall Avener 106.30; Gary Morava 105.80; James Culhane 105.70; Tom Lindner 105.25; Dave Butzman 104.10; Bob Dickson 103.85; Ted Marti 103.35; Jim Ivicek 102.65 The United States Olympic Gymnastics Committee has decided in advance that each gymnast will carry his all-around sco re into the Final Ttials. The philosophy behind this concept was pointed out by Bill Meade, chairman, U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Committee: " We are looking for quality as well as consistency as c haracteristics for our 1972 Men's Olympic Team." Chicago was no disappointment to us when we arrived on June 14th at O'Hare Airport in a pouring rain . All gymnasts and officials were housed at the Caravelle Motor Inn a nd Restaurant in the City of Rosemont, approximately ten minutes drive from Maine West High School, where the Final Trials took place. Sid Drain, meet director a nd the hosting I.H .S.G.C.A. did an exce llent job making our stay enjoyab le. They programmed an itin e rary which included eve nts such as T.V. and press conferences, the Mayor 's re ceptio n , luncheons at private homes in the community, hospitality room , and a meticulously worked out schedule for meals, workouts and official meetings. We found out at the T.V. and press conference on June 15th at 10:00 A.M. that Ted Marti injured himself a nd unfortunate ly would not be able to participate . Gary Morava, who had injured his back during a recent trip to Riga , U.S.S.R., was in bad pain and a doubtful
The Who's Who of Gymnastics entry. Gary, the sensational sophmore from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, has proven several times this year that his place on the Olympic team should not come as a surprise to anyone. His superior skills in Vaulting and on Floor Exercise make him a potential finalist at a ny international competition. Talking to Steve Hu g, I have found out that hi s old shoulder inju ry reocc urred , caus ing him a great d eal of pain. We were lookin g forward with great a nticipation to the performance of
these two young stars. Th e good news was that Sakamoto is healthy again, looking excellent in practice and the rest of the kids were well and eager to co mpete. At this time I would briefly like to mention the a lways forgotten judges who, equally with the gymnasts, were under great pressure. Due to the new requirements of the F.I.G., qualifying trials such as ours and all dual matches between nations have to be conducted with one neutral superior judge and two neutral F.I.G. judges. 11