12B
SPORTS
OLYMPICS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
Romanian gymnast edges out Johnson for the gold
BY BARRY WILNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Romania's gymnast Sandra Izbasa is kissed by her coach during the apparatus finals at the Olympics in Beijing Sunday. Izbasa won the gold medal.
BEJIING — Once more, the gold medal was within Shawn Johnson's reach. April.
was snatched away.
Two days after Nastia Liukin edged Johnson for the all-around title, Romania's Sandra Izbasa — the very last competitor — grabbed the floor ever
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cise gold that was almost in the American's hands.
"I had a little bit of hope inside of me, but seeing how beautifully she executed her routine, I knew."
After Johnson went in the unenvirable first spot Sunday night and saw her 15.50 stand up through six other finalists, including Liukin, only Izbasa remained. But the Romanian wowed the judges with her soaring somersaults and solid landings, earning a 15.65.
That left Johnson, the 2007 world champion, with three sil-
SHAWN JOHNSON American gymnast
in three years. The gold medalist at the last three world championships landed on her knees on her second attempt, leaving the competition wide open. North Korea's
ver medals in Beijing, and gave Liukin, who took bronze, one of each. Not a bad haul, with more event finals to come.
Johnson, gracious as always,
wore a bright smile all night.
"After the all-around I was excited to have made the floor finals and a bronze medal feels great."
The men's event finals were — here's a shock —
— the first gymnastics medal for her nation.
and gave several competitors big hugs when they finished their routines. She barely finched when Izbasa's mark came up, and the 16-year-old American also had a hug for the winner.
"After the all-around, I was excited to have made the floor
The biggest upset of the night came in women's vault, with China's Cheng Fei losing for the first time
"I had a little bit of hope inside of me," Johnson said, "but seeing how beautifully she executed her routine, I knew."
And not at all disappointing for the U.S. women, who now have five medals. Johnson and Liukin had a hand in all of them.
Hong Un long stepped in with two solid vaults and clean landings to win the title
dominated by China. Zou Kai won the floor exercise and Xiao Qin took pommel horse, making the hosts 4-for-4. Add in the women's successes, and it's been a medals feast for the Chinese.
NASTIA LIUKIN American gymnast
finals and a bronze medal feels great," Liukin said.
Neither of them competed in vault. where Cheng followed the best effort of the night, a 16.075, with her huge error ending
up with the bronze behind Oksana Chusovitina of Germany. Cheng also fell during her floor routine, then burst into tears as her coach tried to console her on the sideline.
Chusovitina, competing for Germany for the first time but in her fifth Olympics, won silver. A native of Uzbekistan and now a German citizen, the 33-year-old Chusovitina said she "feels 18."
"Today I concentrated only on my moves, not the medals," she said. "I felt that I had a very normal performance without surprises, and
that is why I got a silver medal."
American Alicia Sacramone, who has three world championship medals in vault, felt she deserved a medal, but finished fourth.
"I'm disappointed, especially since third place had a fall and I made both of mine," she said. "I can't change her score." 'Tl theirm'
team competition, when she fell off the balance beam, then struggled on floor as the United States finished second to China.
her score. The judges made up their minds."
"I definitely had to pull myself together a little bit the
Sacramone was hoping to atone for her weak performance in the
"I definitely had to pull myself together a little bit the last few days. I'm sure someday I'll appreciate what I did. I still have to get to that step."
The Chinese men just kept stepping all over the competition.
Zou zipped through a series
ALICIA SACRAMONE American gymnast
of pretzel-like twists and lightning-quick somersaults to easily beat Spain's Gervasio Defern in the floor exercises. The Spaniard took the silver with a
powerful series, then threw kisses to the crowd. Russia's Anton Golotsutskov got the bronze.
"It is amazing to go to three
"I was struggling during those 10 minutes. I was worried that I wouldn't get the gold medal.
last few days," Sacramone admitted. "I'm sure someday I'll appreciate what I did. I still have to get to that step."
XIAO QIN
Chinese gymnast
go to three Olympics and get three medals," said Deferr, the 2000 and 2004 vault winner.
W or l d ch a m p i o n Diego Hypolito of Brazil seemed headed for a medal until he
fell on the landing of his final pass. Hypolito then sat nearly in tears, shaking his head back and forth.
"I'm sorry," Hypolito said,
before breaking down, his body shaking as he cried. "I'm sorry to all the Brazilians."
Three-time world champ Marian Dragulescu of Romania fell on his second tumbling pass.
On pommel horse, even though world champion Xiao had a break in form and was hardly overwhelming, his 15.875 easily beat the eight-man field.
"I was nervous when I was watching the other gymnasts competing after me," Xiao said. "This is a competition, so two or three mistakes are pretty common. I was struggling during those 10 minutes. I was worried that I wouldn't get the gold medal."
Filip Ude of Croatia won the silver. His 15.725 score tied with Britain's Louis Smith, but Ude won the tiebreaker with a higher execution score, 9.325 to 9.025, earning Croatias first-ever gymnastics medal.
Smith had a strong, clean routine to take the first Olympic gymnastics medal for his nation since a 1912 team bronze.
All-around winner Yang Wei of China was fourth.
China now has won the men's team, the all-around with Yang, the pommel horse and the floor exercise.
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U. S. gymnast Shawn Johnson performs to win the silver medal during the women's floor apparatus finals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing on Sunday.