who was first to compete Giant?

The first female I recall was Shaposhnikova, perhaps my favourite gymnast of all time.

But Brian Bakalar informs me on his fantastic club website Gymnastics Revolution that it was the great Elena Davydova, 1980 Olympic Champion:

Photography: Philip Morton

And in the late 1970’s, Elena Davydova first performed a skill that has become the basis for today’s optional Uneven Bar routines – the Giant.

Parents – The Giant

To see Elena’s bar routine in 1981, click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

She was, I think, also the first international gymnast to compete Tkachev.

Elena is a coach in Canada today. (I’ll have to ask her about who in the Soviet Union competed those skills first.)

Yelena Davydova – Wikipedia

Now … the much tougher question. Who was the first MAN to compete giant in international competition?