From: rachele@cs.rice.edu (Rachele Harless)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.olympics
Subject: GYMNASTICS: my opinions of the women's competition on Tue night
Summary: top ten notes on women's gymnastics
Keywords: gymnastics
Date: 30 Jul 1992 04:30:59 GMT
Expires: Mon, 10 Aug 1992 05:00:00 GMT
Organization: Rice University, Houston

Notes from the women's team competition:

1. The Unified Team, although undoubtably executing great routines,
was not as dominant as in the past.  The Romanians bypassed the US by
the smallest of margins, avenging their Indianapolis defeat.  The US
had problems with landings, especially off of beam and bars, which
probably cost them the silver medal.

2. Kim Zmeskal posted the highest optional total of the night (39.687)
to finish in 12th overall, just qualifying for all-around finals over
Kerri Strug. by .014 points.  She and Shannon Miller were the only two
gymnasts who did not score below 9.9 the whole night.  She
(disappointingly but understandably) played it safe on floor and used
her older and much easier floor passes.  She did very well on vault
(9.95) and got through her bars and beam routines pretty cleanly.  But
did everyone notice her limping after the competition?

3. Shannon Miller posted the highest total of the two competition days
(79.311), and the second highest optional total (39.675).  She had
three slight bobbles on beam and not much power for her tumbling and
slight form breaks on bars.  However, her choreography on floor, three
releases on bars, and creativity on beam set her apart from the rest
of the competition.  Miller is the only gymnast from any country to
qualify for all four event finals at this Olympics.  She was the first
US gymnast to do this in 1991 at the Worlds and now is the first US
gymnast to do this at an Olympic Games.

4. Boguinkaya looked stronger than expected.  She had excellent floor
& beam choreography, but weak tumbling passes on floor. She had the
second best overall total (79.287) and the third best optional score
(39.662).  Her bars set is elegant but too simple (only one release).

5. I would tell you what I thought of Romanian gymnasts, but NBC
HARDLY SHOWED ANY OF THEIR ROUTINES (boooooooo).

6. The audience gasped when Tatiana Gutsu fell on her layout mount
onto the beam.  But never fear, the EUN claims that one of their
gymnasts is injured... Gutsu will compete in the all-arounds despite
finishing 9th.  Had she not fallen off of beam, she would have posted
a higher optional score than Zmeskal.  She deserves to be in the
competition without the EUN having to manipulate the standings.  The
three gymnasts per country rule needs to be re-examined.  It just
doesn't seem fair that Vanda Hadarean, who finished 11th overall with
the 6th highest optional total, isn't allowed to compete, when the
gymnast in 52nd place is.

7. Bela Karolyi, gymnastics' most famous coach, announced his
retirement from the coaching of Olympic gymnasts.  He did look
somewhat tired out there... but how can he retire now with the '96
Games in Atlanta, Kerri Strug not retiring, and two very promising
upcoming 10-year-olds at his gym in Houston?

8. Kim Zmeskal, before the optional competition, when asked off camera
by NBC if she had any statement she wanted to make: "Just tell
everyone that I'm ready."

9. Kim Zmeskal, after the optional competition, having qualified into
the all-arounds: "I was pleased to come back from my shaky start, I'm
just happy to make the all-around finals."

10. Tatiana Lysenko, speaking of the breakup of the Soviet Union: "It
is a pity.  We had organized our work in a given way and our success
was a show of the training we had developed. In the future we will be
dispersed into the various republic teams to participate. It is a
pity."
Newsgroups: rec.sport.olympics