The 1995 World Champions, China enters the Games as the gold medal favorite after earning silver medals in 1992 and 1984. All-around World Champion LI Xiaoshuang and 1995 parallel bars silver medalist HUANG Liping lead China in its attempt at a first-ever team Olympic championship.
Japan has won a medal in every Olympic competition it has attended since 1956, including a streak of five consecutive gold medals from 1960 to 1976. The Japanese won the bronze medal in each of the past three Olympic Games and finished second at the 1995 World Championships. Deep in talent, the Japanese roster usually includes at least one Olympic veteran, and 1995 world pommel horse runner-up Yoshiaki HATAKEDA is expected to fill the leadership role in Atlanta.
While the Japanese look to add to their collection of gymnastics medals, Romania is seeking its first team medal in the men's competition. Romania earned a bronze medal at the 1995 World Championships with a balanced performance that sent five different individuals to apparatus finals including rings silver medalist Dan BURINCA.
With the former Soviet republics now competing as independent countries, the wealth of Eastern European talent has made Russia, Ukraine and Belarus instant contenders in their first Olympic competition. The three countries finished fourth, fifth and sixth at the 1995 World Championships are expected to continue their battle for medal honors in Atlanta. World bronze medalist Evgeni CHABAEV and 1994 Goodwill Games champion Alexei NEMOV lead Russia's delegation while 1992 silver medalist Grigory Misyutin heads the Ukrainian team and defending Olympic all-around champion Vitaly SHCHERBO leads the Belarus squad.
The host United States used the home floor advantage to win the gold medal the last time the Games were held on the continent, and an enthusiastic crowd should spark a rise in scores. Four-time national champion and 1992 Olympian John ROETHLISBERGER and 1996 national champion Blaine WILSON head the U.S. hopes for a medal.
1996 Men's Team Qualifiers | |
---|---|
Belarus | (BLR) |
Bulgaria | (BUL) |
People's Republic of China | (CHN) |
France | (FRA) |
Germany | (GER) |
Italy | (ITA) |
Japan | (JPN) |
Korea | (KOR) |
Romania | (ROM) |
Russian Federation | (RUS) |
Ukraine | (UKR) |
United States | (USA) |
The defending Olympic champion, Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus dominated the 1992 competition on his way to winning six gold medals. SHCHERBO is expected back in 1996 along with silver medalist Gigori MISIUTIN (UKR) and bronze medalist Valeri Belenky. The fifth place finisher in the 1995 world all-around competition, Belenky earned his 1992 medal as a member of the Unified Team but will represent Germany at the 1996 Games.
The all-around gold medalist has traditionally come from the championship team and that could be a good sign for China's LI Xiaoshuang. China ranks among the pre-Olympic favorites for the team title and LI also should challenge for the individual title after defeating SHCHERBO for the all-around crown at the 1995 World Championships. China's first-ever world gymnastics champion and the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the floor exercise, LI finished fifth in the all-around competition in Barcelona.
Russia's Alexei NEMOV won the 1994 Goodwill Games championship but suffered a disappointing finish at the 1995 World Championships where he failed to qualify for the individual all-around finals. NEMOV may have rebounded from his 1995 performance, however, after winning one gold and two bronze medals in apparatus finals at the 1996 World Championships. Russia's Evgeni CHABAEV earned the bronze medal at the 1995 World Championships, edging out Russian teammate Akexei VOROPAEV, Japan's Yoshiaki HATAKEDA and Italy's Yuri CHECHI.
Floor Exercise
The defending Olympic champion, LI Xiaoshuang of China thrilled fans and judges in Barcelona with a backward triple salto, but the man to beat could be Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus. The event's dominant performer in the 1990s, SHCHERBO finished fifth at the 1992 Games after losing a tenth of a point for stepping off the mat, but came back to win both the 1995 and 1996 World Championships. Grigory MISUTIN of Ukraine earned bronze medals at the 1992 Games as well as at the 1995 and 1996 World Championships. Russia's Alexi VOROPAEV won the silver medal at the 1995 World Championships.
Pommel Horse
Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus and PAE Gil-su of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea tied for the gold medal in Barcelona and could continue their twirling battle on the horse in Atlanta. PAE added a gold medal in the event at the 1996 World Championships to edge out 1995 world champion LI Donghua of Switzerland. China's HUAG Huadong finished second at the 1995 World Championships while Russia's Alexei NEMOV won the bronze medal at the 1996 championships. Japan's Yoshiaki HATAKEDA finished sixth in Barcelona but earned a bronze medal at the 1995 World Championships.
Rings
The reigning "King of the Rings," Yuri Chechi of Italy earned an unprecedented third straight world title in the event in 1996. Although dominating the competition since Barcelona, CHECHI missed the 1992 Games due to injury and Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus won the gold medal. With a healthy CHECHI back on the rings, Italy could capture its first gold medal in the event since 1924.
Also returning from injury, 1994 world silver medalist Jordan JOVTCHEV of Bulgaria finished third at the 1995 World Championships and fourth in 1996.
The 1995 world silver medalist, Romania's Dan BURINCA placed fourth at the 1996 World Championships behind Hungary's Szilveszter CSOLLANY.
Vault
Original vaults have traditionally been rewarded with Olympic medals, and the 1996 field again is filled with high-flying innovators. Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus won the 1992 gold medal with an original vault and finished third at the 1995 World Championships. Russia's Alexei NEMOV is the two-time defending world champion in the event and tied Grigory MISUTIN of Ukraine for the 1995 world title.
Perhaps the event's most daring performer, Korea's YEO Hong-Chul earned a silver medal at the 1995 World Championships while recording the event's highest score (9.825) on the first of his two vaults. While vaulters like YEO may earn high scores with original, high-difficulty vaults, they also run the risk of disaster. Failing to perfectly execute the difficult vaults can quickly drop a competitor out of medal contention.
Parallel Bars
Vitaly SHCHERBO of Belarus earned one of his six Olympic gold medals in 1992 with his parallel bars routine, but his award-winning performances didn't end in Barcelona. SHCHERBO went on to win the 1995 world title and finished second in the world in 1996. Rustam CHARIPOV of Ukraine finished fourth at the 1995 World Championships, but could be peaking at the right time after winning the 1996 world title. Russia's ALEXEI NEMOV won the world silver medal 1996 while China's HUANG Liping won the 1994 world title.
Horizontal Bar
Grigory MISUTIN of Ukraine and Andreas WECKER of Germany finished second and third in the horizontal bar in Barcelona, but the two Olympic veterans will have to take on a new group of daring rivals in their pursuit of the gold medal. In his third Olympic Games, WECKER won the 1995 world gold medal by edging out Japan's Yoshiaki HATAKEDA and Bulgaria's Krasimir DOUNEV. DOUNEV finished second to Spain's Jesus CARBALLO at the 1996 World Championship in the event but it was Kazakhstan's Sergei FEDORCHENKO who dazzled the crowd -- but not the judges -- with a triple-twisting double layout dismount at the 1996 World Championships. Slovenia's Aljaz PEGAN earned a meet-best 9.85 from one of the judges at the 1996 World Championships, but had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
After making its first Olympic appearance in 1952, the Soviet Union won every Olympic team competition it entered, including the 1992 win by the combined Unified Team. The talent that made up the Soviet dynasty is now scattered throughout 12 independent nations, leaving the door open for a new Olympic champion.
The only non-Soviet team to win an Olympic title in more than 40 years, Romania could begin a winning streak of its own. The 1984 Olympic gold medalists and four-time Olympic runners-up, the Romanian's won back-to-back world championships in 1994 and 1995 and appear ready to add the Olympic title to their collection in 1996. Two-time Olympians Gina GOGEAN and Lavinia MILSOSOVICI and head the Romanian squad along with Simona AMANAR and the country's newest international sensation Alexandra MARINESCU. GOGEAN won two events at the 1996 World Championships while MILSOSOVICI and AMANAR finished third and fourth at the 1995 World Championships.
The United States earned its best ever Olympic finish with a silver medal the last time the country hosted the Games and another vocal crowd of supporters could place the U.S. team back on the victory stand. The United States earned a bronze medal in Barcelona before finishing second at the 1994 World Championships. An injury depleted U.S. team finished third at the 1995 World Championships, but a healthy squad is expected in Atlanta. Three-time world champion Shannon Miller and 1994 national champion Dominique DAWES are two-time Olympians while Dominique MOCEANU finished fifth at the 1995 World Championships.
China finished second at the 1995 World Championships and could be in line for its best Olympic finish since taking a bronze medal in 1984. China finished fourth in Barcelona, but MO Huilan and JI Liya could lift the youth-laden squad back to the medal podium.
Russia and Ukraine finished fourth and fifth at the 1995 World Championships with Russia's Svetlana CHORKINA and Dina KOCHETKOVA placing in the all-around top-10 and Ukraine's all-around champion Lilya PODKOPAYEVA and Irina BOULAKHOVA leading their country's delegation.
1996 Women's Team Qualifiers | |
---|---|
Australia | (AUS) |
Belarus | (BLR) |
People's Republic of China | (CHN) |
Spain | (ESP) |
France | (FRA) |
Greece | (GRE) |
Hungary | (HUN) |
Japan | (JPN) |
Romania | (ROM) |
Russian Federation | (RUS) |
Ukraine | (UKR) |
United States | (USA) |
Olympic veterans Shannon MILLER of the United States and Lavina MILOSCOVI of Romania earned the silver and bronze medals in Barcelona while two-time Olympian Gina GOGEAN of Romania won the vault and floor exercise competitions at the 1996 World Championships. Fifteen-year old Alexandra MARINESCU is on track to become Romania's newest international champion after winning the Atlanta Gymnastics Invitational in the Georgia Dome last November.
MO Hulian could become China's first woman to medal in the all-around competition while Russia's Svetlana CHORKINA won the silver medal at the 1992 World Championships.
Vault
Completing saltos and twists in just a fraction of a second, gymnasts in the vaulting competition have little time to impress the judges. However height, distance, precise form and a lawn dart landing remain the key ingredients to a gold medal performance. Romania's Simona AMANAR and Ukraine's Lilia PODKOPAYEVA tied for the title at the 1995 World Championships while AMANAR also collected a silver medal at the 1996 championships. Gina GOGEAN of Romania won world titles in 1994 and 1996 and finished third in 1995.
Uneven Bars
Following gold medal performances in the event in 1984 and 1992, gymnasts from China quickly established themselves as nearly unbeatable on the uneven bars. The silver medalist at the 1995 World Championships, MO Huilan leads a Chinese delegation that also includes medal hopefuls MENG Fei and LI Xuan.
The two-time defending world champion, Svetlana CHORKINA of Russia used a near-perfect 9.900 to top MO and Lilia PODKOPAYEVA of Ukraine at the 1995 World Championships, and the rivalry should continue in Atlanta.
Shannon Miller of the United States won the bronze medal in Barcelona while teammate Dominique DAWES won the event at the U.S. National Championships.
Balance Beam
Athletes from Romania or former Soviet Republics have won the balance beam in every Olympic competition since 1968. However, that streak could be in jeopardy in 1996. China's MO Hulian enters the Games as one of the gold medal favorites after winning the title at the 1995 World Championships. MO could be joined on the victory stand by teammate KUI Yuanyuan of China or 1996 World Championship's bronze medalist LIU Xuan.
However, tradition's die hard and Romania and Russia both have contenders for top honors. Romania has won the gold medal in four of the past five Olympic Games and 1996 world silver medalist Alexandra MARINESCU could continue her country's "best on the beam" reputation while Russia's Dina KOCHETKOVA won the title at the 1996 World Championships.
The United States has won the bronze medal in each of the past three Olympic competitions and will look to move to a higher step on the podium behind 1996 World bronze medalist Dominque DAWES, 1995 silver medalist Dominique MOCEANU and 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Shannon MILLER.
Floor Exercise
Lavinia MILSOSOVICI of Romania won the 1992 Olympic gold medal with a perfect performance and she may need to be equally as flawless in 1996. No woman has repeated as champion in the floor exercise since the Soviet Union's Larysa LATYINA earned back-to-back gold medals in 1960 and 1964. MILSOSOVICI's toughest competition could come from teammate Gina GOGEAN, who won world titles in 1995 and 1996, as well as China's Kui Yuanyuan -- the co-gold medalist at the 1996 World's and JI Liya, the 1995 World Championship's silver medalist.
This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department.
Written by Diana Drayson and Howard Thomas.
| Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park. |