Little Girls Grow up in the Most Mysterious Ways
Beam Routine of Nastia Liukin
Gymnasts Liukin, Johnson end with eight medals 01:19 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
by Kate Hairpoulos
BEIJING – Olympic competition ended appropriately Tuesday for Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson – on the medal stand, together, one last time.
Johnson, finally, took her first gold of the Games – to go with her three silvers – in the balance beam final at National Indoor Stadium. Liukin earned silver, raising her medal count to five and tying her with Shannon Miller and Mary Lou Retton as the most decorated American gymnasts in a single Olympics.
"I think Nastia is gorgeous," said Martha Karolyi, the U.S. national team coordinator. "She's probably one of the greatest gymnasts [ever] for USA."
Johnson scored 16.225 on the beam, the class of the field. Liukin, from Parker, scored 16.025 and China's Cheng Fei took bronze at 15.950.
Liukin and Johnson – rivals, roommates and friends – came to Beijing with grand expectations and lived up to them. Their order of finish in the all-around, Liukin No. 1 and Johnson No. 2, surprised some, but they made history. For the first time, the U.S. placed more than one gymnast in the all-around and on balance beam.
Opposites in style but equally stunning, Liukin and Johnson accounted for eight of USA Gymnastics' 10 medals, the most for the U.S. in a non-boycotted Olympics.
Not bad at all, especially considering the American women's rocky start, when mistakes helped give China – despite questions regarding the eligibility of half of its team – the team gold. On the men's side, the Chinese flat-out dominated, winning every gold but one.
Liukin said Monday night she and Johnson crossed off another day of the calendar they keep in their Olympic Village room, intent on finishing strong.
"We thought, 'Wow, this is the last day, so let's really try to enjoy it and have the time of our life,' " said Liukin, 18. "And I think we did."
Liukin's fifth medal meant she topped her father and coach Valeri's four medals from the Seoul Games in 1988.
"I'm glad she did," Valeri said.
Liukin, artistic and clean on the beam as usual Tuesday, finished with one gold, three silvers and a bronze. She tied for first in the uneven bars final Monday, but took silver because of the the International Gymnastics Federation's tiebreaker.
"It was really great to be able to spend it with my dad," Liukin said of her Olympic experience. "This whole trip has been harder and longer than any other trip we've been on, but it's also been so much better.
"It's definitely been more than a dream come true. ... To say we have nine medals combined – Olympic medals, not just any medals – it's amazing."
Johnson, the world all-around champion, was thrilled to win gold in her last opportunity. Especially after a shaky day in which Johnson, 16, dealt with a headache and wasn't her normal self in warmups.
But Johnson hit each of her difficult tumbling passes on the four-inch wide beam. As Karolyi said, Johnson tumbles on the beam like other gymnasts do on the floor.
"For the first time, I really just let everything go," said Johnson, who bit her lip to fight back tears and then beamed her trademark smile on the medal podium. "I didn't think about what other girls had gotten or what the judges were going to give me. It's the Olympics. I wanted to finish up the best I can."
Johnson came to Beijing as the favorite to win all-around gold. And she admitted Tuesday being bothered by not receiving scores as high as she'd become accustomed to. But with a gold finally around her neck, she said she is at peace with the outcome.
"At first it did upset me a little, and I thought about it, and I didn't care," Johnson said. "I was at the Olympics, having the time of my life."Coming out here today, whether [I won], I didn't care. I knew in my heart what I deserved."
There are three American gymnasts who have won five medals in an Olympic Games:
Nastia Liukin: 2008 (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
Shannon Miller: 1992 (2 silver, 3 bronze)
Mary Lou Retton: 1984 (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
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