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U.S. Gymnasts See Gold Turn to Silver
U.S. gymnasts Alicia Sacramone, left, and Bridget Sloan congratulate Chinese gymnasts He Kexin, left, and Cheng Fei during the medal ceremony.
(By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)
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Valeri Liukin, a former Russian champion and father of Nastia Liukin, said he was proud of the fight the Americans showed, particularly Johnson, who outscored all competitors on the vault, and his daughter, who scored highest on the uneven bars.
But he also said he had no doubt the gold was within reach -- until the two calamitous falls.
There were other unknowns in the maddening equation of what-might-have-been. What if Chellsie Memmel hadn't injured her ankle the previous week -- she revealed Wednesday that she has a broken bone in her ankle, not a sprain, as had been originally thought -- and been able to compete on the beam instead of Sacramone?
What if the peculiar delay hadn't rattled Sacramone's nerves? And what age were the Chinese gymnasts, so tiny and seemingly weightless as they whipped around the uneven bars? Sixteen, as claimed? Or closer to 13 or 14?
"Possibly could be," Karolyi said, "because one little girl has a missing tooth. If it's true, it's totally unfair. Certain countries go by the rules, and certain countries may not. And Olympics should be about fair play."
Staff writer Maureen Fan contributed to this report.
