Word: medalling
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...through them with the image in my mind." The following day, the spunky Retton led the U.S. team through a stylish and rousingly high-flying performance. The Americans could not quite match the lavishly talented and seasoned Rumanian team, but their second-place finish won them a silver medal. It was the first team medal ever won by the U.S. in women's international gymnastics competition. The moment fully lived up to Retton's expectations: "It was just like I dreamed it, the excitement, the tension, the crowd, the feeling you have standing on the podium with...
...they left the arena, Retton had sneaked a close look at the Rumanians' medals, and told U.S. Women's Coach Don Peters, "Theirs are shinier than ours." Two nights later, everything that glittered was around Retton's neck. She won the gold medal in the all-around championship, the most coveted prize in gymnastics, since it marks the winner as the finest gymnast in the world. It is the crown Nadia Comaneci once wore, and Lyudmila Tourischeva, and which Olga Korbut, for all her charm, was too limited an athlete to achieve. Retton sealed her claim...
...Olympics," Vidmar recalls. "We'd turn off the radio, and the gym would be all silent. We'd go to the high bar, and then we'd say, 'O.K., we have to hit both of our routines perfect in order to win the Olympic gold medal.' We always laughed, because it seemed so unrealistic. And all of a sudden, we found ourselves in that exact situation. It was incredible." But not as incredible as how they lived out the dream. Daggett scored a 10 and Vidmar a 9.95 on the high bar to clinch...
...strategy sounds simple, but the catch is that it is predicated on sacrifice. Thus Bart Conner, at 26 the smooth old master technician of the squad, an Olympian since 1976 and one of two American men since 1932 to win an individual gold medal in a world championship (the other: Kurt Thomas), was sent to the floor second and third to "make base" for the more flamboyant routines of Vidmar and Mitch Gaylord. Similarly, James Hartung, 24, and Scott Johnson, 23, dutifully rolled out in the early rounds, though they knew that in doing so, they gave up their hopes...
There are no Nadias among them-her particular perfection remains unchallenged-but it is fitting that the Rumanians won the gold medal on the balance beam, the event that Comaneci had once commanded with uncommon aplomb. The beam, a 4-in.-wide strip that demands the greatest precision and exacts the severest penalties for the minutest errors, is the great winnower of women gymnasts. It is a tightrope without a net, and every bit as dangerous as turning handsprings on a cliff. Beam injuries have been crippling, and few women ever lose their fear of it. When it is done...