THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 TAG: 9607260630
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Olympics '96: from Atlanta
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: 61 lines
I wish one of them had stood up and marveled at the guts Kerri Strug showed on her incredible one-legged vault. If one of her teammates had simply stepped to a microphone and admitted that Strug did something out of the ordinary, my faith in elite female gymnasts might not be waning.
Not one did. Instead, the six other young women on the U.S. gymnastics team, by their casual response and recognition of Strug's effort, seemed to say more about themselves than they might have imagined.
It was not flattering.
Did you notice, too? Why they weren't more generous with their praise? More effusive? Why so reserved? It was curious.
After Tuesday's team competition, they said so little about Strug, and only when asked, that they left a hint of jealous children. That they envy the media spotlight that Strug, always the overshadowed one, suddenly commands.
That perhaps they even resent Strug, who vaulted injured for the sake of rescuing the team's gold medal, for shifting the attention from their collective performance to her.
This was the gist of team leader Shannon Miller's assessment: ``She did a great job for the team.''
That was about as descriptive as any of the six got. One made a point to remind the media of the ``team effort'' it took, as if the stellar U.S. performance was really going to be overlooked.
Another said, ``I'm glad Kerri gave it her all, but I think all of us would've done the same.''
Yes, they would have. Wind up elite gymnasts, send them on stage and they do these things by rote. They are driven teenagers, some call them robots, who rehearse their stunts thousands of times, surely for enjoyment and self-fulfillment at first, but ultimately for glory.
They are in it for themselves, let's not bury it. That isn't necessarily bad. Everybody gets into things for themselves, for love, money or whatever else.
But in the case of the U.S. women, rightly or wrongly, the idea lingers that their selfishness is too-consuming.
I'm thinking of other sports and how teammates react to displays of raw courage. I'm thinking, as one example, of the mobbing and the hosannas Kirk Gibson received from the other Los Angeles Dodgers when he hit that game-winning World Series home run while barely being able to walk.
Now I'm thinking of the comparative yawns the U.S. women gave Strug. Granted, these ladies are hardly an expressive bunch. You know that if you've heard any of their canned interviews.
I know you have to remember that elite gymnastics is a harsh, narcissistic business. Bad publicity over the girls' training methods and lifestyle is rife. Books have been written that decry the whole racket. ``Legalized child abuse'' has come to be its code name.
These athletes are tough, fierce competitors or they are chewed up. Grit is a worthy virtue. But somewhere, it seems, there has to be room underneath for some soul.
Strug's mates have been with her a long time. They know her and probably love her like family. They've trained, performed, laughed and cried with her. It's just not clear that they really feel for her, even now.
It makes you question what's behind those frozen smiles.
KEYWORDS: OLYMPICS by CNB