Moon flip unveiled by Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan) on the horizontal bar, 1972 Munich Olympics, freestyle team

The moon somersault was unveiled in the free team finals at the Munich Olympics. It was also the performance that determined Japan’s overall team victory. The footage from Montreal appears to be from a separate event. The landing technique in the free team competition was a new moon somersault. The term moon somersault is unique to Japan. As Tsukahara says, it is known worldwide as “Tsukahara.” The FIG registered the technique as “Tsukahara.” Tsukahara was a hero to the children of his time. Tsukahara Mitsuo is a handsome man. His son Naoya is handsome too.