- Date
- 04 Sep 1972
- Tags
- Munich 1972
Korbut no bar to success for impeccable Janz
Gymnastics Women
While the eyes of the world were on Olga Korbut, East Germany's Karin Janz was a more successful competitor in Munich. Having burst into the international limelight in the 1970 World Championships, where she won gold on the uneven bars and also on the vault, silver in the team combined and the all-around competition, and bronze on the beam.
Her victory on the uneven bars was perhaps her most noticeable. This was supposed to have been Korbut's favourite event, but Janz was not to be outdone. Certainly her pedigree in the event was strong, for just a year before she had produced a new element to her routine that was so good and original that it became known as the Janz Salto.
Still, though, Korbut remained the dominant figure of gymnastics even though, with five medals, Janz was the most decorated – and perhaps most overlooked – star of the Games. After her sporting career, she became an acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon.