Soviet Gymnastics Art Print, Forty Years of Team Gold, Vintage Wall Art

Nine golds for Latynina alone. From 1952 onward, every time the Soviet women's team appeared at an Olympics it won the team gold: a continuity of almost forty years that no nation has approached in any sport.

From that school came absolute queens. Larisa Latynina collected nine golds and for nearly half a century remained the most decorated athlete of the Games. The system found the girls, shaped them and replaced them, generation after generation, with a depth that made the team stronger than any single star.

Then the Soviet Union disappeared and the inheritance was divided among new flags. The honour roll is still there, almost one colour.

Stories worth passing on, not just remembering.