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For Dawes, Today's the Thing

When you mention the word -- "Atlanta" -- Dominique Dawes reacts with a curious uncertainty. Most Olympic-caliber U.S. athletes would do almost anything to participate at the 1996 Summer Olympics in their home country. But Dawes says she might not compete through 1995, much less 1996.

"I don't want to just jump ahead because I had one really good competition," she said yesterday on the telephone from her family's home in Silver Spring. "I really haven't figured out what to do next year, much less 1996. I really plan to take it just one competition at a time."

Considering what happened to her last weekend, these words are almost impossible to believe. Could this really be, that Dawes, the 17-year-old graduate of Gaithersburg High School who won five gold medals last weekend at the national gymnastics championships in Nashville, might not try to compete at a Summer Olympics that will be held less than a two-hour plane flight from her home?

Mary Lou Retton, in a telephone interview from her home in Houston, wanted to know if this was true.

"She's going to keep going, isn't she?" Retton asked.

Told this was very much up in the air, Retton said, "As Bela {Karolyi, her legendary coach} always said to me before the L.A. Olympics, as only Bela could, 'I would stand on my head and spit quarters for the opportunity to have the Olympics in my home country.' "

In 1984, in Los Angeles, Retton won the women's all-around gold medal and never looked back on her way to a life of fame and fortune. When she opened her newspaper Sunday morning and saw the headline about the U.S. gymnastics championships, she shook her head in wonderment.

"Dominique Dawes won everything," she said. "That's amazing. Most gymnasts have some weak events and some strong events. She's strong in all of them."

Dawes, who tumbled onto the national stage three years ago and joined in the U.S. team bronze at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, today reigns as not only the most dominating one-time women's national champion in history, but also, arguably, the finest female gymnast in the world -- at least for one weekend.

On Friday, she won the most prestigious title in the country -- the national all-around championship -- and followed on Saturday with national titles in each of the four women's events: the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.

"I truly, truly respect what she did," Retton said. "I never did that. Are you kidding? With the way I performed on the beam? I think I always won a medal in each event, but I never won them all."

Winning everything was not what Dawes had in mind when she arrived at the nationals.

"It's kind of overwhelming," Dawes said. "It seems kind of neat for me, that it's only been done one time before {in 1969}. It's neat for my own self-esteem. It means I've accomplished something very unusual. I just went out there to hit my sets. I never imagined I'd win all the events."

Dawes did what only one other woman has ever done. At first, Dawes's sweep was announced as the first ever, but then a woman named Joyce Tanac Schroeder came out of the stands to say that she, in fact, had done it first, at the 1969 AAU Nationals, which then were the national championships.

Back then, the United States was a weak sister in international gymnastics. Today, it is one of the preeminent nations in the sport, which makes Dawes's feat all the more remarkable. To win the all-around title and every individual event, Dawes had to defeat two-time world champion Shannon Miller, one of the world's best gymnasts the past two years.

In every event, Dawes came in first and Miller finished second.

"I didn't go in trying to beat Shannon," Dawes said. "I don't consider us to be competing against each other."

While Dawes was flawless on one apparatus after another, Miller stumbled here and there. Said Retton: "One slight bobble and it's over. It can be that close."

For Dawes, the all-around title was all the more meaningful because of her performances in the last two world championships. Both times, Dawes could have won the world title were it not for dreadful mistakes on the vault, the final event of the competition.

"She's been so close to No. 1 these past few years," said Retton. "She's been in the shadow of Shannon Miller. I have such great respect for both of them, Shannon and Dominique, for being on top so long. Now, it's Dominique's turn."

But for how long? Gymnastics, especially at its highest level, chews up and spits out its tiny champions with alarming frequency. For example, at 14, American Kristie Phillips was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That was in 1986. A year later, at 15, she was national champion.

The following year, 1988, she failed to make the U.S. Olympic team.

"I think it's premature to say anyone is a favorite in 1996," Retton said. "Two years is such a long time. We may have a brand new junior we've never even heard of come up and blow everyone away. That's the sport."

Hence, Dawes's reticence to say anything about her future, beyond this: she wants to make the U.S. world championship team and travel to Germany this autumn. She has put off entry into Stanford University until the fall of 1995, and could push it back another year if she chooses to try for the Olympic team. She will take a couple of courses at a local community college this fall, as she trains. She has no other plans.

"I don't want to say anything about the next few years because I want to make sure that if I stay around for Atlanta, my body will be able to hold up -- both physically and mentally," said Dawes, a muscle-bound 5 feet tall and 96 pounds. "You're concentrating all the time in this sport. I'm really excited right now, but I don't like to get overexcited about competitions. You know there will be good days and bad days. And I know I still will have some bad days."

For Dawes, burnout -- and retirement -- seem a long way off. She spent her first day back in town running to the post office, the grocery store and the mall to shop with her sister.

"I gave her the week off," explained Kelli Hill, her long-time coach in Gaithersburg.

But Dawes, to no one's surprise, already is planning to disobey the coach's orders:

"I'll be back in the gym Thursday."