Kayla Williams from the US is a former World Champion on vault. She won the title at the 2009 World Championships in London with two fabulous vaults in her first major international elite competition. This was all the more impressive because she had only moved from the JO program in early 2009 (where she won the AA, vault and floor). In 2010, she quietly retired back into the JO program at Cincinnati Gymnastics.
Kayla winning vault at the 2009 World Championships in London (credit: zimbio.com)
I remember seeing her reaction after nailing her second vault- a perfectly executed and stuck DTY. She clearly was delighted to be at the World Championships and incredibly proud of her performance!
Kayla's gold medal performance at 2009 Worlds
I very much respect Kayla's decision to retire from the elite scene, these days I feel that elite gymnasts push themselves too hard and too long. Perhaps for Kayla, she felt as though she had achieved her goals in gymnastics, and was quite happy to retire to a program where she could really enjoy her sport without fear of injury. She became an excellent addition to Alabama's college gymnastics program, where she has been a consistent performer on both with particular strengths on vault and beam. Their team finished 3rd at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Kayla competes for Bama on beam (credit: gymnastike.org)
Kayla's passion for gymnastics is obvious, and it is great to see her continue to do well in the sport. She will be one of the leaders for the team this year, and what a year it should be! Good luck to Kayla and the rest of her team.
Check out Kayla's 9.9 beam routine from earlier this year
Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on Twitter @Iflip4gymblog)
"Starting from nothing we can forge gold, and the gold will shine" -Encouraging words from the Chinese National training centre in Beijing China has a strong history in artistic gymnastics. Chinese gymnasts are known for their elegance, especially on bars and beam where they display intricate and difficult gymnastics performed with breath-taking precision. Chinese gymnasts are often small with long lines making them very well suited to the sport. China has produced some of the most beautiful and innovative gymnastics seen over the last 20 years, but mistakes often plague them, meaning that no single gymnast has ever won all-around gold at an Olympics. The following list includes (some of) the Chinese greats over the past three decades.
Yang Bo (1899 World Championships, 1990-1992 Olympics)
A young Yang Bo
Yang Bo was one of China's young stars to emerge after the 1988 Olympic Games. She was known especially for her balance beam performances, where she perfroms her own skill, the Yang Bo. This is a split leap with the head dropped fully backwards and is currently a D-skill. Her routine from the 1989 World Championships is shown below. Note the beautiful toe point and the extension through her legs during both acrobatic and leap movements. Her acro series is impressive (back-handspring, layout step-out into a full-twisting Korbut flip) and performed with amazing amplitude. Unfortunately she did not win gold at the 1989 World Championships because of a mistake on the dismount.
Yang Bo competes on balance beam for China during the event finals at the 1989 World Championships
Performing her trademark 'Yang Bo' leap
Liu Xuan (retired after the 2000 Sydney Olympics) Liu competed for China at the 1995, 1996 and 1997 World Championships where she won three medals (two team and one for beam). After the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, she continued training for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she was one of the older gymnasts on the team (the Sui Lu of 2000!). She performed extremely well in these Games, finishing 3rd in the all-around competition and winning gold on the balance beam. She also contributed to the team effort earning a bronze medal, which was recently stripped from the team due to Dong Fanxiao being underage. As well as being a beautiful performer on beam, Xuan showed originality on bars, being the first female gymnast to perform one-armed giant swings on the high bar. This was down-graded to a B skill to discourage female gymnasts from performing this move.
Liu Xuan performs her optionals un-even bars for China at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
Liu Xuan earns her Olympic Gold medal for balance beam at the Sydney Olympics after another 4 years of sacrifice and hardwork
Zhang Nan (retired 2009) Zhang placed 3rd in the all-around competition at the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens (only the second Chinese gymnast to medal in the all-around after Liu Xuan). She was hailed as being China's best all-around gymnast and was a reasonably consistent competitor under pressure. She was always incredibly focused during competition and her hard work clearly played off. Her floor routine was particularly enjoyable and had an interesting choice of music which was very well suited to her style and her country. It is well-paced and she makes the tumbling, leaps and turns look effortless.
Zhang competes on floor in the final rotation of the 2004 Olympic Games
Zhang on beam during the team final at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
Team China, 2008 Olympic Games Cheng Fei, He Kexin, Deng Linlin, Jiang Yuyuan, Yang Yilin and Li Shanshan These six young ladies made gymnastics history at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, taking the gold medal in the team final (both men's AND women's) in front of a home crowd. No doubt the Chinese coaches had been meticulously grooming a new generation of gymnasts to compete at these games. They worked magnificently as a team, were strong with specialists such as He Kexin on bars, Li Shanshan on beam and team captain Cheng Fei on vault, floor and beam. They also had two solid all-around gymnasts, Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan. Although the sustained one fall on beam, the managed to win the gold over the USA and Romania.
Team captain Cheng Fei celebrates after nailing her floor routine during the team final in 2008. Cheng also placed 3rd on vault and 3rd on beam in the event finals
Tiny Deng Linlin competes on the beam during the team final. She became Olympic Champion on beam at the 2012 London Olympic Games
The elegant Li Shanshan competes on the floor exercise. She also qualified to the beam final where she unfortunately fell during finals
Jiang Yuyuan performs some charming choreography on floor during the team final in Beijing
Yang Yilin competes on beam during the team final. Yang also placed 3rd in the all-around final behind Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson and 3rd on bars behind He Kexin and Nastia Liukin
Bars specialist He Kexin performs her laid-out Jaeger during the team final at the Beijing Olympics. She later went on to become Olympic bars champion in 2008 and placed 2nd in 2012
Cheng's famous floor from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which clinched gold for the Chinese Women's team for the first time in history
He Kexin's crazy difficult bar routine from the team final at the 2008 Olympic Games. She is their bars specialist and only competed on this event at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. China gains a huge advantage over countries such as the USA and Romania on this event
Chinese superstars of 2008, (left to right) Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Linlin
Times of Change, 2012 London Olympic Games
The difficulty and consistency that the Chinese team displayed in 2008 was lacking in 2012, with China only earning a silver and a gold on beam and a silver on bars at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Their young all-around star Yao Jinnan had a rough time during qualifications and failed to qualify to the finals (she qualified first at the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo). Deng Linlin carried the flame for China, becoming Olympic champion on beam and placed a respectable 6th in the all-around final with Huang Quishang close on her heels in 7th. China was edged out of the team medals by Romania due to some poor performances. Hopefully China will resolve to come back stronger in the next quadrennium. They will really need to work on upgrading vaults (well executed DTY are almost not sufficient any more) and floor routines. Hopefully with Cheng Fei helping out as a coach, they should make significant improvements on the power events.
Deng gives a wave after her gold medal-winning performance on the balance beam, where she edged out compatriot Sui Lu for the top spot
Yao Jinnan is embraced by her coach after competing her well-executed routine in the un-even bars final at the 2012 Olympic Games
Rebecca Bross is hands-down one of my favourite gymnasts. I first noticed her at the 2007 Pan-American Games where she competed alongside Shawn Johnson and Ivanna Hong. It was well known that she was immensely talented, and trained under Valeri Luikin at WOGA gymnastics. She was impressive, even back in 2007 and showed a large repertoire of skills for a gymnast so young.
Becca Bross, Shawn Johnson and Ivanna Hong at the 2007 Pan-American Games
I love that Bross is a very focused athlete and competes with great intensity. She really attacks her routines, especially on bars and beam. Rebecca made the World Championship team in 2009, the competition was held in the exact same arena as the 2012 Olympic Games. Due to a stumble on her last tumble of her floor routine, she finished second in the all-around competition to her team mate Bridget Sloan. The fact that she still managed to place second at a World Championships after a major mistake proves how talented she is. But she is a fighter and came back strong to perform well in floor and bar event finals, tying in 3rd place with Ana Porgras on bars.
Rebecca with game face on! Third place finish in the un-even bars final at the 2009 World Championships
Becca performs a sheep jump on beam during the all-around final
Becca shows a bit of extra height on her release moves compared to other gymnasts
Rebecca Bross (USA), Bridget Sloan (USA) and Koko Tsurumi (JAP) on the podium at the 2009 World Championships in London
Rebecca started off her 2010 competitive year at the American Cup where she performed very well and introduced a new floor routine with much improved choreography. The music suited her very well and she seemed very comfortable with the dance. Her tumbling, especially the twisting moves and double front somersault are particularity impressive.
Bross on floor at the 2010 American Cup. I love how she saves her smile until after the last tumbling pass!
Her best event is probably beam. When she hits, she is awesome. I love the unique turn in the squat position and the standing arabian that she performs. She won the silver medal during the event finals at the 2010 World Championships with this incredibly solid performance.
Becca wins the silver medal on beam at the 2010 World Championships
Unfortunately Rebecca dislocated her knee performing a DTY at the 2011 Nationals on the second night of competition. It was an absolutely devastating injury that took her out for the rest of the competitive season. She worked extremely hard to come return to competition in 2012, choosing to become an event specialist on bars and beam, the areas where she felt she could contribute to team USA. I have incredible admiration for her comeback, the whole process would have taken much patience and hard work. Rebecca had a couple of mistakes in her routines at the Olympic Trials and unfortunately was not selected onto the Olympic Team. For Rebecca, it was a case of bad-timing and the incredible depth of the American team at the time.
Rebecca on floor at the 2011 US Nationals
Recently she participated in the Mexican Gala exhibition event (see floor routine below) and the 2012 Kellogs Tour of Gymnastics. It is uncertain what Rebecca will decide to do in 2013. Team USA could definitely use her on bars and beam and I'm sure many fans around the world would be delighted to see her continue in the sport. But in the end it all comes back down to what Becca decides to do. But no matter what, she will forever be a World-class gymnast!
Becca's lovely floor routine from the 2012 Mexican Gala
Sorry the third part of this has been so long coming. Where to start? We have been treated to so many artistic and expressive floor routines over the last quad, ranging from the beautiful balletic style of Ana Porgras to the powerful (and in my opinion, equally as artistic) Jordyn Wieber. A gymnast that links powerful and cleanly executed tumbling with difficult spins and leaps will get a good mark. However, the gymnasts that set themselves apart from the rest of the field do so by portraying their own unique style and flair to the audience and judges. Artistry generally ripens with age, but some young gymnasts have 'it', such as Victoria Moors (Canada) and Anastasia Grishina (RUS). I'm not even sure what kind of style I enjoy, but I have put together a list of my favourite floor routines from the last quad. 2009 Ana Porgras (ROM) The young Romanian appeared on the international stage in 2009 at the World Championships held in London (same venue as the 2012 Olympic Games). Romania is not particularly well-known for their artistry on floor, but Ana was in a class of her own. She has lovely long lines and performs well to a waltz piece. She had an extremely well-polished routine for a gymnast so young. Unfortunately Ana retired before the Olympic Games in 2012, due to ongoing injuries. She would have been a huge asset to the Romanian team on beam and bars in particular.
Ana showing off her gorgeous lines during the floor final at the 2009 World Championships in London (tied for 5th place with Rebecca Bross)
Ksenia Semenova (RUS) I've said it before and I will say it once again. Semenova's '09-'10 routine is simply divine. The choreography gels perfectly with the music and her routine is entirely her own. I have never seen a gymnast perform as she does, she captivating and tells a story with her routine. Note the interesting spins with the leg held behind the head. Love love LOVE this routine.
Semenova's routine at the 2009 Memorial Gander Competition.
Sui Lu (CHI)
This Chinese gymnast deserves to be on the list for her stellar tumbling alone. She is always so clean and has one of the best triple twists I have ever seen (except for perhaps Larisa Iordache!). Sui has since gotten a new routine, but I prefer the older one for some reason. I mean, who couldn't love her with her cute Chinese choreography and little white gym shoes? Check out her awesome, cleanly executed spins too.
Bronze medal floor routine from Sui Lu at the 2009 World Championships in London
2010
Aliya Mustafina (RUS)
The 2010 World Championships were Aliya Mustafina's and Team Russia's time to shine. She was at her peak and was the best gymnast in the world at this time, and she knew it! Her floor routine was totally captivating. She has the classic Russian lines, the sass and the tumbling to boot. She performs as though she owns the place! I especially love her close-to-the-floor dance section, it changes the tempo of the routine and builds suspense for the final tumble.
Mustafina's floor routine in the 2010 World Championships Team Final, where Russia took home gold for the first time in history
2011
Jordyn Wieber (USA)
Many people complained about the lack of artistry in Jordyn Wieber's routines, the World all-around champion from 2011. I was also sceptical, but found myself loving her new floor routine performed to 'Wild Dance'by Ruslana. Jordyn may not have the classic lines of the more elegant gymnasts, but her floor routine suits her body type and personality so well. She performs with great energy, shows beautiful control and even looks as though she is enjoying herself out on the competition floor. I love the bit before her last tumble run, where she sweeps her arms around towards the audience, this routine interprets the music extremely well. Another great thing about Jordyn is that you know that she will always land on her feet! Unfortunately the same can't be said for a lot of gymnasts out there (particularly Russia!)
Jordyn on floor at the 2011 Visa National Championships
Ksenia Afanasyeva (RUS)
This Russian veteran was the 2011 World Champion on floor. Her routines have always been beautifully artistic but this one was a step above the rest. She has beautiful choreography, great turns and powerful, clean tumbling. She pays attention to detail and always finishes dance skills on toe point. Like Mustafina, she is captivating and absolutely stunning to watch on floor. Well deserved gold medalist on this event!
Afanasyeva wins the floor at the 2011 World Championships
2012
Victoria Moors (CAN)
One of my general rules is that gymansts shouldn't reuse floor musics. However, Victoria's interpretation of Aussie Daria Joura's music is fantastic. Man this girl can dance! Her confidence is extremely impressive in someone so young! (At 15 she helped Canada to their 5th place finish at the Olympics this year). Also check out the air that she gets on her double double opening pass. Victoria is a very exciting newbie for the Canadian team and I'm sure that she will medal in World Championships on floor exercise in the coming years.
Victoria's floor routine from the 2012 Pacific Rim Championships
Aly Raisman (USA)
Aly has developed into this routine over the '11-'12 period. At first I disliked it, but it has grown on me over time. She is, without a doubt one of the most powerful and clean tumblers of all time. Her opening pass is a jaw-dropper, double-piked arabian to immediate layout punch-front, I'm not sure how this is even possible, this girl is a machine. Like Jordyn, Aly proves that you do not have to have a classical, balletic style of gymnastics to be successful. Check out the best floor routine from the 2012 Olympic Games. I was so pleased that she got her individual gold medal at these Games, she is extremely hard working and deserves to be in the spotlight and have her talent recognised. I really hope Aly continues to stick around, I'd love to see her compete again at a World Championships and see her get that all-around medal she deserves.
Golden Girl Aly performs in the floor final at the 2012 Olympic Games
Ksenia Semenova (now retired) was a key member of the Russian team from 2007-2010, participated in three World Championships and the Beijing Olympic Games. She was often under-rated as she was Queen of the dreaded 4th position not unlike her fellow Russian Anna Pavlova.
A young Semenova on floor in the all-around Olympic competition where she finished 4th place (Photo credit: Getty Images, Jeff Gross)
However, she was a champion in her own right, winning the uneven bars title at her first World Championships in 2007 outshining fellow competitors Nastia Liukin (USA) and Yang Yilin (CHI). She became the first uneven bars World Champion since Khorkina. Here is her gold medal performance at the 2007 World Championships. She swings extremely efficiently and moves very quickly through her routine. Note the Rebecca Bross-like toe point! She perhaps lacks some difficulty and there is a bit to be said about her technique.
Ksenia wins the uneven bars title at the 2007 World Championships (aged 14!!)
She underwent a growth spurt after the 2008 Olympics and really matured as a gymnast. Her personality flourishes in her 2009-2010 floor routine which is one of my all-time favourites. The choreography fits her and the music so perfectly and she performs it with such passion! I also love the unique turns (foot held up behind her head). With strong routines on floor, beam and bar, and with a decent vault she became the European all-around champion in 2009, she was at the peak of her career in 2009. Here is her excellent floor routine performed at the Memorial Gander competition in 2009.
Ksenia's 2009 floor routine (best quality video I could find!)
Ksenia helped the Russian team to win gold in the Team competition at the 2010 World Championships for the first time EVER alongside Russian star Aliya Mustafina. Semenova contributed with beautiful balance beam routine. It is amazing what Team Russia can accomplish when they are confident!
Semenova's beam routine helped Team Russia to gold at the 2010 World Championships
Semenova has since retired from gymnastics due to on-going injuries and further growth spurts, she is now pursuing her studies in law. She is still involved in the gymnastics community and helps with coaching at her old club. Ksenia should be immensley proud of her gymnastics career, she has contributed much to Russian gymnastics and will be remembered! World Champions are forever, afterall.
Semenova hanging out with Aliya Mustafina and Ksenia Afanaseva in 2012
Daria 'Dasha' Joura is a Siberian-born Australian gymnast. She competed at two World Championships and was part of Australia's Beijing Olympic Team in 2008. Dasha is best known for her expressive and innovative floor choreography, and her trademark salute, where she throws her head back. She was a great performer and a crowd favourite.
Daria Joura, Siberian-born member of the Senior Australian Team, 2006-2008 (photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)
Probably on of the best performers gymnastics has seen, Dasha has an amazing presence on the floor exercise. See the video below of her performance during the all-around competition at the 2007 World Championships. She gives the judges a cheeky wink before she begins her routine! She has definitely mastered the head-flick as well, whether it be upwards, or to the side, it helps adds drama to her routine. Many other international gymnasts have since used her music, but to me it will always be Dasha's!
Dasha competes in the all-around final at the 2007 World Championships
During the 2012 Olympic year, to the excitement of many fans, Dasha re-emerged onto the Australian gymnastics scene. She felt as though she could help Australia on vault, with her powerful double -turning Yurchencko (see below). Her 2008 Olympic experience was disappointing as a problematic qualifications round meant that Dasha did not advance to any individual finals. Dasha was not selected for the team, probably because steady all-arounders and bar specialists (Larissa Miller) were required.
Stuck DTY from Dasha in May, 2012
It was fantastic to see Dasha in competition again, after overcoming a 'career-ending' ankle injury that she sustained in 2009. I am unsure of her plans for the future, but would love to see more of her!
Diana (Didi) Bulimar is one of Romania's younger team members who was part of the 2012 London Olympic Games. She was born in 1995 and competed in her first World Championships in Tokyo, 2011. Particularily strong on floor exercise and balance beam, Bulimar's talent was first recognised at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games where she competed against Russia's Victoriya Komova, China's Tan Sixin and Italy's Carlotta Ferlito. Low scores on bar and a few shaky beam routines kept her out of the running for an all-around medal.
Diana competes on floor at the 2010 YOG in Singapore, finishing second in the final (photo credit:wikia)
At the 2011 World Championships, Bulimar competed a new floor routine in the team final, showing great tumbling and plenty of charm. Bulimar was one of the many gymnasts to pull out of the floor final due to injury. Romania finished fourth in the team competition and sadly left Tokyo with a medal count of zero. Team coach Octavian Bellu described this competition as being 'Catastrophic'- see the Couch Gymnast's article from 2011 here: http://www.thecouchgymnast.com/?p=4453
Diana on floor at the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. She was forced to withdraw from the floor final due to injury (credit: International Gymnast Magazine)
2012 proved to be a much better year for the Romanians, with a gold medal win at the European Championships, which proved to be a suprise for many. Romania was back with a bang! Diana was an excellent table setter for bars put up strong routines for the team on beam and floor. Her floor routine from this competition can be viewed below. The music and choreography suits her so well, the tumbling is high, clean and difficult to boot. I love the interesting arm movement in her leaps at 1:18, which add a bit of flourish to the routine. The huge smile at the end is so gorgeous!
Diana's floor performance during the team finals at the 2012 European Championships in Brussels. Team Romania took home the gold medal
Coach Octavian Bellu hugs Diana and Larisa Iordache, the youngest members of his gold medal winning team (credit: The Gymnastics Examiner)
Cata Ponor, one of the veterans of the team congratulates Didi after her routine- so cute! (credit: instagram)
Golden team: Sandra Izbasa, Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar, Raluca Haidu and Catalina Ponor (credit: tumblr)
During the team final at the Olympic Games in London, Diana put forwards strong scores on bar, beam and floor (14.066, 14.533 and 14.700 respectively). Romania managed to edge out 2008 Olympic Champions China to take the bronze medal. Bulimar's solid performances, along with the rest of the team allowed them to take this prize. Bulimar also qualified for the balance beam final. Unfortunately her coaches decided that Larisa Iordache would take her place in the final. This seems unfair to me, not only for Bulimar, but also for the other competitors who did not get a second chance to redeem themselves after a bad qualification round (eg. World Champion Jordyn Wieber missed the all-around final due to the two per country rule- she was beaten by her country women Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas in the qualifications round). It would be nice if the FIG could make it a rule that qualifiers must compete, unless of course they become ill or are injured (which must be approved by an FIG doctor).
Bulimar on floor in the team final at the London 2012 Olympic Games (credit: GSP)
I look forwards to seeing Bulimar around for many years to come, especially on floor and beam. She is a consistent and trustworthy member to have on your team! Over time, her and Iordache are likely to become the leaders of the Romanian team and I hope that they continue to perform strongly over the years to come! If only Romania could get their bar routines up to scratch with the rest of the competition, they would truely be a formidable team! I'd also love to see Diana get that beam medal that she so well deserves at the 2013 Worlds!
There is no better time to watch old routines than in the 4 year lull between the Olympic Games. In Women's Artistic Gymnastics, the Floor Exercise is one of the most exiting events. Gymnasts perform to music for around 90 seconds, combining powerful, explosive tumbling with graceful dance passages, including leaps and turns. The floor is a gymnast's stage, where they are able to express their own personality and put on a good show for the audience. A great gymnast is one that manages to engage the audience. Part One of these posts includes historical routines from the Atlanata 1996 Olympic Games and before. Being a 90's child, I have watched them, and fallen in love with them thanks to YouTube! Nadia Comaneci, 1976 American Cup This was the young Romanian's international debut. She captivated the commentators and audience alike with her stunning opening pass (a double back was a big thing at the time!). The slightly childish and cheeky choreography suits the 14 year old perfectly. The routine is made memorable by her trade mark 'straddled' back layout and the flick of the hand at the end of the routine. She scored a perfect 10, and went on to make history as the first gymnast to ever score perfect score at the Olympic Games
Nadia performs her floor exercise at the American Cup in 1976
Irina Baraksanova, 1985 World Championships, Optionals One of the lesser known Soviet gymnasts of her time, Baraksanova performs to a beautiful piece of music used many years later by American gymnast Ivanna Hong. She uses her flexibility in her back and shoulders to create beautiful positions throughout the routine. Graceful and intricate hand movements add to the artistic flair of this routine.
Irina Baraksanova of the Soviet Union competes her floor exercise at the 1985 World Championships
Olessia Dudnik, 1989 World Championships Olessia uses the music to accentuate her tumbling, which keeps to routine upbeat and exciting. Performed in a theatrical style, it is easy to believe that she is portraying a story with her movements. The central section is so expressive and lovely to watch. Due to composition requirements, gymnasts these days rarely take time out in their routines to focus on artistic segments. The stuck landing on the final pass doesn't hurt either!
Olessia's floor exercise, performed at the 1989 World Championships
Svetlana Boginskaya, 1996 Olympics
Demonstrating the typical 'diva' style of the Russians, Boginskaya takes it a step above the rest of her competitors by channeling her inner tigress. Although the choreography is somewhat bizzare, it suits her well. She has mastered the head flick, but the routine contains a bit to much hip-waggling for my liking! Nethertheless, she is entertaining, dramatic, powerful and graceful- exactly the qualities a champion should have.
The Russian Svetlana Boginskaya competes in the 1996 Olympic Games of Atlanta
Dominique Moceanu, 1996 Olympic Games
Moceanu, the 'darling' of the gold medal winning USA team brings the house down with her rendition of 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia'. She displays her incredible athleticism, poise and beautiful extension on her tumble runs. Most importantly, she looks as though she is enjoying the whole performance. And the crowd absolutely loves her- listen to the cheers at the end.
Dominique Moceanu, the youngest member of the winning USA team competes during team finals at the 1996 Olympics in front of a home crowd
