Before Nadia Comaneci, there was Olga Korbut. The Soviet gymnast captured the hearts of everyone in the 1972 Munich Olympics with her charisma, display of emotion, and daring routine that earned her three golds and a silver.
The 17-year-old Korbut’s stunning back flip on the uneven bars during the team competition was so groundbreaking that it was eventually named after her and became known as the Korbut Flip. She won golds in the team competition, floor exercises and balance beam, but missed out on a fourth gold in the individual uneven bars after committing costly errors in her final routine and had to settle for the silver medal.
Korbut’s breakthrough performance transcended the medal count as it also inspired a whole generation of young girls to take up gymnastics. One of these was the Romanian Comaneci, who would rule the 1976 Montreal Olympics with the first perfect 10 score in gymnastics competition. Korbut still managed to win a gold in the team competition and a silver in the balance beam in Montreal, bringing her Olympic total to four gold and two silver medals.
Editor's Note: To celebrate the 100-day countdown to the London Games, we will be publishing 100 tidbits about the Olympics. Come back to Yahoo! PH Sports, as we publish a new tidbit every day.
