Olga Korbut's banned dead loop takes internet by storm

Bengaluru, January 17: Not many know that, a video of famed gymnast Olga Korbut performing her dead loop 50 years back, which had gone viral in the world of web recently, is apparently banned in the sport.

It may be recalled that legendary gymnast Korbut had carved a niche in the sport by showing off her incredible talent and skills, especially at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

On Sunday (January 16), a video of her performing the dead loop, which is also known as Korbut flip, took Internet by storm.

The banned dead loop of Olga Korbut. 1972 pic.twitter.com/8YTO676pbq

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The NY Daily News, reported that the dead loop or the Korbut flip was banned because there was a high level of risk involved.

The dead loop was performed by standing on a high bar, executing a backflip, and grasping the bar once more.

Korbut, who represented the erstwhile Soviet Union at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, was the first and the last one to perform that stunt.

The gymnast was a star at the 72 Munich Games where her acrobatics and open high-level gymnastics brought her much fame and adoration.

As per Wikipedia information, during the 1972 Munich Games, Korbut was one of the favorites for the all-around after her dynamic performance in the team competition; however, she missed her mount on bars three times and the title went to team-mate Ludmilla Tourischeva.

That said, Korbut won three gold medals for the balance beam, floor exercise, and team competitions. In one of the most controversial finishes of all time, she took a silver medal in the uneven bars.

Korbut's first attempt at her uneven bars routine was marred by several mistakes which all but ended her chances of winning a gold medal in the all-around. The next day, Korbut repeated the same routine in the final, although this time successfully.

After the boards displayed a score of 9.8, the audience began to whistle at the judges in disapproval, believing her score to be too low, though they refused to change her score.

Nicknamed the Sparrow from Minsk, Korbut won four gold medals and two silvers in two Olympics -- 1972 (Munich) and 1976 (Montreal) -- she competed under the Soviet Union flag.

The ace gymnast was also the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.

And 50 years down the line, Korbut and her famous dead loop of 1972 Munich Games is still the talk of the town!