Word: atlanta
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...want a medal, maybe even a gold on the beam." She pauses, then shrugs and adds, "A medal in the all-around." While neither achievement would place her in the firmament of such all-around stars as Comaneci and Retton, if Moceanu can be her witty, outspoken self in Atlanta, a strong performance should be enough to earn her Olga Korbut honors: sweetheart of the Summer Games...
...also helps that neither Dimitry nor Karolyi seems to be hinging his future happiness on the outcome in Atlanta. Though Dimitry remains his daughter's most avid fan, he also takes great pride in the used-car lot he opened last December. He and Camelia, he says, "succeed in our life too, day by day, year by year." As for Karolyi, he says only Zmeskal could have made him bleed. He isn't concerned that the Olympics will throw Moceanu off her stride--or off the beam. "Dominique is naturally self-confident," Bela says, then laughs. "Sometimes too much...
...inaugural track-and-field meet for Atlanta's Olympic stadium in May, two officials watch a Ukrainian pole vaulter prepare for his first jump. The vaulter has been rooted in hypnotic concentration for almost two minutes when, without warning, he explodes down the runway. His legs blur into the scorching stride of a 100-m sprinter, but his upper body is like no sprinter's on earth. It looks more like a bag of rocks lashed together with steel cable. He hauls all this bulk to the end of the runway, then plants 17 ft. of fiber glass into...
...fluency he achieves in midair is present outside the stadium as well. He is funny, charming and, despite a reputation for tempestuous disputes with officials, utterly without arrogance. The day before the Atlanta meet, he is the merry prankster, full of jokes and wisecracks. When his Nike representative's cell phone beeps, Bubka snatches it up and informs the caller that the official is too tied up with girls to talk. While perusing socks at Macy's, he seizes a pool cue from a mannequin and declares, "This is my new pole!" Then he giggles over the fact that...
...Bubka is haunted by Barcelona, he's not about to let on. "A medal?" he asks, smiling. "We will see. I try to remember Barcelona and use it to be more focused for Atlanta. But I just want to make best results possible." That sounds innocuous enough. But the piercing memories of the past, like the injuries that increasingly plague him with age, are clearly visible, etched into his face when he competes. He is still great, but he can no longer overpower the field with the effortlessness of yore. Barcelona changed that. Which...