It was the largest margin of victory in an Olympic women’s team final since the Soviet Union – remember when we used to call it that?
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The 73-year-old Karolyi, who, with her husband, Bela, had a hand in gymnastics champions from Nadia Comaneci to Mary Lou Retton to Kerri Strug, has served as the US women’s national team coordinator since 2000.
Even Karolyi did not know that the team was nicknamed in her honor.
After the team photos, Raisman immediately walked over to her longtime gymnastics coach Mihai Brestyan, of Brestyan’s American Gymnastics Club in Burlington, placed her medal around his neck, and gave him a big hug.
That and the age of certain competitors has raised plenty of questions about who will compete again for Team USA.
On Wednesday night, Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura won the men’s individual all around gold medal, adding to an awesome record that includes three world championship titles and gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
Madison Kocian did her job as specialist on parallel bars, the US team’s weakest event sticking her full twisting double back dismount for 15.933.
Shortly afterwards, she was back on Twitter to pass along some sound advice: “When a fire alarm goes off in your building, grab your medal and gym bag”.
Karolyi, 73, has built the United States into a powerhouse and is retiring after these Olympics.
Douglas, the breakout star from the 2012 squad, is now celebrating her third gold medal in Rio. Laurie Hernandez made her mark had the internet dancing to her savvy floor routines.
“Once you install a system and unite the gymnasts and the coaches, you will be improving every year, and we have improved every year under this”, Karolyi said. Next came Kim Zmeskal, the world champion in the all-around in 1991, and Kerri Strug, the sweetheart of the 1996 Atlanta Games. Something she never saw coming.
“She’s going to have that Olympic title”. Her second trick of the afternoon involved a handstand into backbend, and for her final performance, she threatened to do a flip, but was promptly stopped by my mother, who vied to save all her art pieces surrounding us. The gymnasts could feel her presence.
The charismatic Douglas would become a household name and face, as Biles now is, and who knows how many little girls will later say they were influenced by seeing someone who looked like them in the sport?
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USA gymnasts and gold medallists, right to left, , Gabrielle Douglas and Lauren Hernandez celebrate during the medal ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women’s team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I mean at 19, she’s already a superstar. He told her he was proud of her.
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