ACOG - News - IBM

(25 July 1996; Day 6)

Like Kissing Your Sister, or Your Gymnastics Teammate

In gymnastics, six judges score each routine. The high and low scores are thrown out, and the remaining four are averaged. Repeat that process for four exercises: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, and ties are highly unlikely.

But it happened for the bronze medal in the women's individual all-around. The tie was among teammates Simona AMANAR and Lavinia MILOSOVICI of Romania. Winning the silver medal was another Romanian, Gina GOGEAN. Three Romanian flags rose over the competition floor.

A fourth flag rose for the gold medal winner, Lilia PODKOPAYEVA of the Ukraine.

Only three athletes from one team may compete in the individual all-around, so for Romania to have all three on the medal podium was truly impressive. Even more impressive was that AMANAR was selected over her teammate, Alexandra MARINESCU, because of the AMANAR's superior score in the optional competition. A team may determine which three of its athletes compete as long as all three are among the 36 that qualify for the event.

"It is normal to think only of first place, but it was impressive for us to have three girls on the podium," said Romanian coach Octavian BALU. "I don't think anyone was surprised. PODKOPAYEVA is a very outstanding gymnast. I think the results were good. The difference between first and third was very, very small."

AMANAR and MILOSOVICI, who tied for the bronze, showcased their talents in different events. AMANAR scored her best on the vault (9.843) and the uneven bars (9.762). MILOSOVICI was at her best on the floor (9.812) and the balance beam (9.775).

"On the floor I was a little bit disturbed because I couldn't hear the music very well," said AMANAR. "But aside from that I felt fine."

"I am happy to take a medal home," said MILOSOVICI. "And I am happy to still be in front, competing against many younger gymnasts. For four years now I have been among the best and for this I am happy."

Two days ago, the Romanian team won the bronze medal in the team competition.

"For everyone I think it is nice to have an individual medal here," said BALU. "All the girls are satisfied."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Theresa Kelly Gegen.


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More tickets were sold to the competitions of the 1996 Games than to any other Olympic Games or sports event in history. The 8.6 million ticket sales figures topped sales to the Los Angeles and Barcelona Games combined.