Cathy Rigby 1972 Olympics Team Compulsories (all 4 events)

Cathy Rigby performs her compulsory routines in the uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise, and vault during the team competition of the 1972 Olympic Games.

[@KimZfan]

People need to keep in mind that this was the COMPULSORY portion of the competition. The skills were generally easy and every gymnast had to perform them. The OPTIONAL portion of the competition was where the gymnasts showed their more difficult skills and individuality.

[@kathleenirish]

I cannot read comments anymore on these old videos people are ignorant

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

Well, if you are a gymnast that's easy for you to say. I find it remarkable. I was never good at gymnastics in PE because I was afraid of falling first, and failing next. But I could kick a$$ in the folk-dancing section. Got an A+ in that.

[@saragrant9749]

@@KimZfan AND the equipment was completely different- far less padding, very narrow vault horse, solid run up area, etc.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Rigby was a true pioneer for American women's gymnastics. Such a cutie!

[@DeeFutral]

I just ran across this. I remember her from when I was a young child. She was one of my early sports heroes and made me love watching gymnastics. I was so young that I only remember the fear from this Olympics. I was too young to understand what it all meant.

[@emeraldtabby]

it's so interesting to see those olympic routines back then- they've amped the difficulty so much that now those routines would be like what a level 7 would be doing (but they wouldn't be as clean and put together I'm sure)

[@miloandtock1]

Wow interesting to see the compulsories from 1972, and to hear that each country could choose their own music but all the routines had to be the same!

[@rachelplows3001]

In later years everybody had to perform to the same music and do the same routines.

[@ThorAdorator]

Rigby is gorgeous. And very beautiful the floor routine.

[@Tertullian1971]

This was fifty years ago today. Olga was the darling of Munich, and rightly so. But Americans liked their Cathy Rigby too.

[@dellercooldaccount.checkne8109]

I can't believe I saw this person in real life once.

[@metsdudenj]

She won the 1971 world cup in fact swept all 5 golds, yet I never see any of it on line or on here,

[@viktoriaironpride4977]

CR got tons of publicity before the Munich Olympics, national magazine covers, TV appearances and such. Her coach said she would win the gold on beam and then, four years later, would win the AA. However, in the preliminaries she, on the advice of her coach, left out her front walkover, which was considered extremely hazardous at that time, because if she missed it it would imperil the success of the American team. As a result she did not even make beam finals, much less win the gold.

[@niseplank4527]

And she had that leg lift on the beam cartwheel. Really unfortunate, because she was excellent on beam.

[@metsdudenj]

This is not accurate, She had a huge break in the compulsories on BB which prevented her from qualifying to the EF, when only 6 finalists were chosen, in the team final, she omitted the aerial walkover, which made no difference in her final score, as she had 2 other breaks on the routine anyway. It would have made no difference as they lost the bronze to Hungary by almost a point,

[@saezvirginia4575]

Very good image quality! Thanks for sharing :)

[@unknownuser_99]

I wish they had compulsory rounds nowadays.

[@lilgiggler35]

the americans got screwed cuz cathy's UB routine was near perfect and the judges scored her low to leave room for the other teams. Not right to do that to her.

[@saragrant9749]

That was the Soviet era for you. The judges- for DECADES- were under the control of certain countries and the U.S. was not one of them. It’s why today the judges are watched very closely to eliminate biased scoring.

[@metsedudenj]

no you couldnt have. At the time, those exercises were top of the line difficult, and the equipment was different.

[@QueenE31]

Oh my- what a difference just 4 years makes. Here I am thinking the 1976 Olympics was on the go slow.....

[@michaelparbatule]

JUST LIKE IN TENNIS I LOVE THE OLDIES BETTER AND SINGNG AND DANCING ,I MET HER RIGBY ONCE SHE WAS WEARING HIGH RED HEELS AND WAS 5 INCHES OR MORE STILL SHORTER THAN ME ,,SHE WAS A GREAT AND GREAT COMMENTATOR TOO ,,HER FLAWLESS TECHNIQUE WAS OVERSHADOWED IN 72 BY YKW

[@desphousewives11]

im agreeing with you haha, its crazy how much the level of difficulty has increased over the past few decades... this legit looks like the routines are somewhere between a level 5 and 7... shocking! she almost fell on a cartwheel on the beam and that was considered her "big skill" I could have been in the olympics too!!! haha

[@virghammer1]

They did not have SPRINGS UNDER THE FLOOR then, for heck's sake! That all changed, late '80s.

[@mrderpatronio4760]

She was shown on NASA's golden record

[@unicornx9879]

She was on Mckenna shoots for the stars

[@shawnathegymnast1316]

Yep!

[@marlenenodinesheisamazingt5588]

Nadia made no mistakes,she was flawless!!

[@inthekurpfalz4328]

IMO she's the gymnast who comes closest in her movements to Nadia Comaneci - or vice versa.

[@janetwilliams7213]

All of you criticizing the "non-difficulty" of the routine...things were different back then. You only had to show you could perform certain basic gymnastics skills in order to move forward in the competition. They didn't want a bunch of non-capable gymnasts moving into the final rounds and wasting precious time.

[@AJ-si4he]

The awkward moment when most level 3/4 can do this now...love the elegance though!

[@kathyhoward9223]

Her vault was super easy. That's like intermediate or even beginners. Gymnastics has changed so much. It's incredibly hard now.

[@saragrant9749]

It may look easy but keep in mind- they were landing on very thin, unpadded mats that were little more than wrestling mat style, the vault horse was extremely narrow with almost no margin for even slight errors in hand placement, plus the run up area was completely solid with no spring at all.

[@marwahussein666]

It's a COMPULSORY VAULT

[@Spanishdog17]

I wanna see you try it.

[@virghammer1]

@@saragrant9749 EXACTLY! Thanks for clarifying, Sara. ❤

[@ralphflori4129]

Olympics don't seem as magical without Jim McKay.

[@suzypertle4700]

yes the level of diificulty is so much higher now

[@kathleenirish]

Compulsories are not done anymore but were very important

[@MissScarlett27]

I'm 33 years old and haven't done gymnastics for almost 20 years and I'm pretty sure if you put a beam in front of me I could still do and land a beautiful perfect cartwheel. Now, I'm too old and weak for even kips though, so I'll give her that. But lol at her floor routine! I'm sorry! This looks like a level 5 meet from early 90s (which I was very familiar with!!)

[@CarolanIvey]

I guess that's how far gymnastics has come since back in her day!

[@MissScarlett27]

+Carolan Ivey no kidding! But actually, gymnastics went crazy distances in just one to to two decades as far as skill, and IMO has stagnated in the last decade with artistry.

[@MissScarlett27]

+Carolan Ivey but seriously, 2 back handsprings as main tumbling pass in '72. Even to what came up at '76 games is huge change! It's just crazy to me that so much could change in 4 years, and being generous, even 12 years with Mary Lou et al.

[@KimZfan]

Cathy's optional routines had more difficult skills. This video is showing her performance of the compulsory routines, which every gymnast had to perform.

[@matthewhines9787]

MissScarlett27 - Frankly Scarlet, I dont give a damn. Im calling BS. If you had any experience in the level system of gymnastics, you would know that each level has compulsory routines/requirements. Communism was just a red-herring, but Nadias famous first perfect 10 was on her 1976 compulsory UB routine. Just watch that and you can tell how less complex the skills are compared to the optional routine. Also, even the most casual fan would know that the FIG designed compulsory routines every quadrennium until 1997. These always contained exponentially easier skills, but were very tricky because of the diamond headed drill bit of pressure to perform each skill perfectly. i.e.- even if it was a type of skill you didnt do well, you were forced to perfect it. Kind of like if a talented culinary student wasnt great with pastry, but they would practice it if the exam required them to make a pie crust. 1 plus 2 plus 2 plus 1

[@JulieDelahooke]

And to think she went from that to playing Peter Pan :)

[@mathseacav]

I find it funny that they make a huge fuss about something that nearly every Olympic finalist do nowadays on the bean

[@saragrant9749]

It was a different era, unsprung solid wood beam, and many tricks not possible because of it. Olga Korbut started the trend towards more acrobatics on beam.

[@virghammer1]

*beaM

[@michelbethge6114]

💖💖❤️

[@susanrodgers9222]

Cathy brought eating disorders to light. She was a hell of a competitor!

[@saragrant9749]

Yes she did, and thank goodness for it. It is unfortunate that, all the way into the early 2,000’s it was still commonplace for athletes to be treated critically for their weight and appearance- when it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the sport as a whole. Today gymnasts are actually encouraged to be strong, athletic and sturdy.

[@rg1whiteywins598]

There wasn't enough difficulty on her bars routine.

[@janetwilliams7213]

It was only the compulsories - which they don't have any longer. You only had to prove you could perform basic skills, which she did.

[@morgaffi]

Now watch Simone Biles or Katelyn Ohashi to see how unbelievably far the sport has progressed in 50 years. It's mindboggling.

[@larrywakeman4371]

IT has NOT progressed- they look like carnival tumblers- NO elegance, NO grace, No artistry- just flipping gawky hand movements that meant NOTHING just give them time to catch breath from tumbling, and then more klunky tumbling with NO style or ballet type elegance. You can tell modern gymnasts in the last ten years don't take ballet. Oh, and Gymastics in this GLORIOUS era back in the 1960's and 1970's was NOT sexy, like that oha****- she looks ridicuilous. Gymastics were gracious and feminine, but NOT today. I don't even watch them today. AT ALL. I jrefer the vintage clips when young girls were ladies and had CLASS.

[@barbaraallen7164]

@@larrywakeman4371 Well said!

[@debiseltmann7341]

Loved CR!! but the skill/mechanics/strength differences between 1972 and 2021...........

[@alisade127]

She did not 1 handstand or twist on the bars. That y she didn’t get a higher mark.

[@saragrant9749]

No, she didn’t get a higher mark because this was Soviet era judging- where only certain countries were permitted to receive higher scores. This was a compulsory routine where the complex tricks weren’t required, just a demonstration of ability to perform basic moves well.

[@erinjohnson1124]

The judging and blatant underscoring by biased Soviet judges was obvious in this era of gymnastics and that BS went on for the entire Cold War.

[@bobgianna7457]

wow i could of been in the olympics!

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

Now I wonder why trans women never want to compete in gymnastics? Only weightlifting, running, swimming... things that men traditionally excel at. Hmm. I'd have no problem with a lady like Lia Thomas or Dilly competing as an XX person. As a non-man, as we are called now.

[@RS-rz9xj]

She was cheated. We all knew it. In every way, Cathy was cheated.

[@kellyanderson7624]

Those routines were good for the 70's but by today's standards they wouldn't be good. Way too many harder tumbling moves done now.

[@erinjohnson1124]

This was the compulsory round.

[@virghammer1]

+ TOTALLY different equipment, back then.

[@memail-fn6yb]

She moved so beautifully across the beam. There was so much grace and fluidity in her movements. Gymnastics has completely lost that. It really should drop the word "artistic" from it's title. It lost any claim to artistry in in it's pursuit of ever increasing difficulty. People who think they can match that quality of movement are giving themselves way too much credit. It wasn't just about the tricks. The fact that many can't see anything but the tricks really shows you how and why gymnastics lost all claim to beauty.

[@pedropelaez]

BORING!!!!!!!

[@janetwilliams7213]

So agree. There used to be a beauty to gymnastics, now it's so hard-edged. I miss the old days.

[@larrywakeman4371]

PERFECTLY SAID. Today's clunky 'gymnasts' are really tumblers with gawky hand movements, NOT artistic, graceful feminine gymnasts. That *i*e will NEVER be this graceful and light on feet and elegant.

[@saragrant9749]

Just because it’s become more about a combination of difficult acrobatic action and dance elements- that are INTERPRETIVE AND INDIVIDUALISTIC doesn’t mean it isn’t artistic anymore. To be honest gymnastics of old was very unexciting and unenthusiastic. Today it has the “wow” factor and action that really captivates and grabs the attention. You can go ahead and watch old school gymnastics if you want, and there’s always ballet and ballroom dancing if that’s what you’re into. Saying this though demeans the spirit of modern gymnastics and all the hard working athletes who participate in it, and is highly uncalled for.