Word: bilozerchev
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...opted for a subtler form of boosterism: its commentators are neutral, but if a sport offers dim prospects for a U.S. medal, it gets scant airtime. U.S. viewers intrigued by all the advance talk about Soviet gymnast Dmitri Bilozerchev were able to view only a smattering of his routines, although the reporting team of Dick Enberg, Mary Lou Retton and especially Bart Conner explained the events incisively. Fans of men's diving were lucky to see Greg Louganis tucked into the bottom right-hand corner while a minor basketball game dominated the screen...
Heading the charge were three Soviet veterans, Vladimir Artemov, 23, Valeri Liukin, 21, and Dmitri Bilozerchev, 21. Coming into the Olympics, the favorite for the all-around title was Bilozerchev, the handsome, brooding Heathcliff of gymnastics who just three years ago almost lost a leg in a car accident. On the night of the all-around fight, Bilozerchev met expectations, outscoring both his teammates as he took 10s in three of the six events. But 50% of the all-around score carries over from the team competition, and there, Bilozerchev had faltered badly in one event, slamming into the high...
When the individual events got under way two days later, Bilozerchev earned two golds. But in both instances, he had to share the medal, on the rings with East Germany's Holger Behrendt and on the pommel horse with Zsolt Borkai of Hungary and Bulgaria's Lubomir Geraskov, the first such three-way tie for gymnastics gold since 1948. Artemov took two golds and a silver; Liukin one of each. When all the 10s from the various competitions were totaled, the Soviets had claimed 15 of the 25 awarded...
Many consider Bilozerchev beatable, especially at the hands of his teammates. Yet the burden he carries will be greater than theirs. Says Coach Aleksandrov: "It was Dima's charge to raise the sport to the next level. If he is remembered for only medals, it will be a failure...
Doctors saved the leg by implanting a steel bar from Bilozerchev's knee down ! to his heel. Two months later, Dr. Sergei Mironov, who treats virtually all top athletes and performers in Moscow, inserted an external fixator to realign the bones. The contraption consisted of metal rings used to support pins that screwed the bone fragments together. When he tried to train, Bilozerchev favored his left leg so badly that he damaged the tissue in his right ankle. In December 1986 he underwent surgery to correct that problem...