
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 30, 1990                   TAG: 9007300164
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SEATTLE                                LENGTH: Medium

SOVIETS EASILY PUT AWAY U.S. WOMEN GYMNASTS

The Soviet Union dominated the women's gymnastics finale Sunday night at the Goodwill Games as time ran out on America's tiny tumblers.

Soviet gymnasts took all but one gold medal in the individual apparatus, while Americans settled for a pair of bronze medals by 14-year-old Kim Zmeskal.

Only two days earlier, U.S. coach Bela Karolyi had boasted: "We are on the heels of the Soviets." The Americans won the silver in the team competition, but they failed to win a medal in the individual all-around Saturday, and fell short of expectations Sunday.

"Of course, it is best to have good competition, but perhaps we got our second wind after the first night," Soviet coach Alexander Alexandrov said.

Zmeskal and her U.S. teammates sought redemption Sunday but earned little of it.

Zmeskal was the standout gymnast in team competition, but she fell off the uneven parallel bars in the individual all-around Saturday. She wound up sixth as Soviets Natalia Kalinina and Svetlana Boginskaya swept the first two places.

Sunday, she earned bronze medals in the uneven bars and the floor exercise. She scored a 9.900 on the bars, a score that might have put her into contention a day earlier in the all-around.

"We competed very strongly and very closely to the best in the world," Karolyi said. "I see a great achievement, even with the few medals we won tonight. It's a great perspective for the future and a tremendous incentive."

Kalinina had two gold medals, on the balance beam and floor exercise, in which she tied for first with Boginskaya. Another Soviet, Oksana Chusovitina, won the vault, and Xia Zhang of China captured the uneven bars.

Elsewhere, America's boxers gained momentum. Led by world champion Eric Griffin, the U.S. won five of six fights. Griffin forced his opponent, Alcis Bel Flores of Venezuela, to take a standing 8-count in the second round and dominated him.

"I knew this guy was going to respect me," Griffin said. "I'm a world champion."

Griffin, a 106-pounder, was so dominant in his fight that one of the five judges had him winning by an almost unheard-of 10 points.

Also a winner was light heavyweight Jeremy Williams, who scored a first-round knockout of Ljubomir Agov of Bulgaria.

All five Soviets fighting won.

The American baseball team moved into the medals round with a 15-2 rout of Mexico.

by CNB