Athleticism Almost Trumped by Skepticism

As eldest and captain, she led off both of the final two rotations -- beam and floor. But time dragged as she waited. Martha Karolyi claimed there was Chinese gamesmanship, somebody dawdling with the clock. Whatever the cause, Sacramone needed only one awful second -- the first instant of her program -- for disaster. Her flip onto the beam was awkward. She tottered on one foot and fell off -- an automatic .800-point deduction.

What followed was an agony to watch, the worst image in sport -- an elite athlete bent to the breaking point on her biggest stage. Her face ashen, Sacramone finished a numb performance, her score 15.100.

"When Alicia began this sport, she was a very emotional athlete. But over time she has become consistent. But she had to wait before the beam and it looks like she flew back to her original state," Martha Karolyi said. "She was very upset going over to the floor. Alicia couldn't get over it. We always say, 'Turn the page.' But sometimes it is hard to turn the page.

"Just two days ago, she had a stunning beam -- 15.950. If she did that again . . . " Karolyi shrugged.

China won the gold by 2.375 points, normally a rear-end-kicking margin. But Karolyi implied (nice of her) that Sacramone might have squandered .825 of a point on beam.

Not that Sacramone missed the point. After pressing her forehead against Karolyi's, she was determined to atone in her floor exercise. Instead, she went from bad to horrid. First, she fell after a difficult flip and tumble. Then she stepped out of bounds. Finally, she got a 14.125, the lowest score by .975 of any Chinese or U.S. gymnast in any discipline in the finals. She and her team were toast.

As she left the mat, the two-year battle between the United States and China -- with each winning a world title by a tiny fraction of a point -- was as good as decided.

Sacramone fled from her teammates, buried her head in her hand and began to cry. For the next 20 minutes, she fought back tears, sometimes failing. After the verdict was final, Johnson sat next to Sacramone, looped her arm through the older girl's, then laid her head on Sacramone's shoulder in an instant of consolation.

Such talent and grace, such sadness and sympathy, such ethical complexity, all tangled up together. In the end, it may be too much to digest. Who's juicing, who's not? Whose age is fake or real? Which judges are biased or wise? Forget it, Jake, it's the Olympics.

Only Johnson, who did well in all four events and is favored in Friday's all-around, saw the day in focus, got it exactly right with a kid's clarity. Sometimes complexity's a bore. Hold tight to the strong and solid -- what there is of it.

"I honestly think our team did great today," she said, smiling at a packed news conference. "We are proud of each other no matter what we do. We are like a family. We respect China. We will wear our silver medals proudly."

Johnson is 16. Really. Though she'll have a hard time growing wiser.