On this day: Born May 16, 1955: Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast


FILE PHOTO: Former gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Olga Korbut throws out the first pitch before the start of an MLB interleague game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, Arizona, September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Ralph D. Freso/File Photo

(Reuters) - At the 1972 Munich Olympics, an unheralded 17-year-old gymnast broke the Cold War stereotype that the Soviets were stone faced performers who displayed no emotions as she sobbed on the bench after her performance on the uneven bars went horribly wrong.

In the final a day later, she broke the glass ceiling with a pioneering move that shocked the world, transforming the sport and ushering in a new era in gymnastics, a move that would be named after her -- the Korbut Flip.

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