The Olympics has given us plenty of jaw-dropping gymnastics moments. Few were as shocking as the “D*** Loop,” a goosebumps-giving move that thrilled crowds before officials banned it from competition forever.

The skill was first performed by Soviet star Olga Korbut at the 1972 Munich Olympics and became one of the most dangerous maneuvers ever seen in the sport. It still captivates gymnastics fans every Olympic season, decades later.

The Korbut Flip was a move where a gymnast would stand on the high bar, do a backward flip over the high bar, and regrab the high bar in the middle of the routine. It took perfect timing, upper body strength, and control of the whole body. One little mistake and a gymnast can hit the mat.

Gymnastics historians often say of Korbut’s daring routine in Munich that it was unlike anything people had seen before. The move rapidly became one of the defining images of Olympic gymnastics in the 1970s.

But along with the thrill came safety hazards. Officials worried the risk was just too great for athletes. A missed grip can cause serious falls and head or neck injuries. The quick movement also put a lot of stress on the body, especially the shoulders and the spine.

Those dangers prompted gymnastics officials to ban the D*** Loop from competitive routines in the 1980s. The skill is still banned today and did not feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The ban also signaled a broader shift in gymnastics. The sport kept pushing for difficulty and innovation but with more focus on athlete safety. They still have complex airborne releases in modern routines, but most are with safer techniques and landing positions.

The Korbut flip is not an Olympic event anymore but remains one of the most memorable moves in gymnastics. Every Olympic cycle, clips of Olga Korbut’s routine still pop up online, presenting the skill that once stunned the world to a new generation of fans.

New Release Moves Took Over After the D*** Loop, a.k.a. the Korbut Flip

The d*** loop disappeared from elite gymnastics, but in the years after, several new release skills became front and center.

One of the most famous is the Tkachev, named for Russian gymnast Aleksandr Tkachev. The move consists of a gymnast swinging around the bar, releasing in the air, and catching the bar again after a backward straddle salto.

Another fan favorite is the Gienger, invented by German gymnast Eberhard Gienger. It is a backflip with a half twist, and then the gymnast grabs the bar again.

Indian-American Olympian Mohini Bhardwaj also created a standout uneven bars skill, the Bhardwaj. It contains a full twisting Pak salto between the bars and continues to be one of the sport’s most technically difficult moves to this day.

Read more at the Gymnastics Digest!

Written by

Chitrak Mukherjee

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi