Liukin Shares The Limelight With Hosts

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday August 28, 2008

Linda Pearce

THESE were Nastia Liukin's Olympics. And China's. The hosts won nine of the 14 artistic gold medals, dominating the men's events so completely that only the vault title was left unclaimed. Meanwhile, the Chinese women competed under the cloud of the underage controversy to take the team crown and He Kexin was awarded the contentious gold on the uneven bars.

Yet if Liukin narrowly lost the sport's first Olympic tie-breaker to a girl who some believe to be just 13, the Russian-born Texan still emerged with more medals than any other gymnast: five. The graceful Liukin, 18, won the individual all-around, silver in the team event as well as on beam and bars, plus bronze on floor. Liukin's roommate Shawn Johnson had arrived in Beijing as the reigning world champion, but had to wait until the final women's event - the balance beam - for gold.

But at least Johnson got one, unlike her teammate Alicia Sacramone, whose fall from the beam and on the floor killed off any chance of team glory. China took the team double, emphatically in the men's case, as its champion Yang Wei added silver in the rings to the men's all-around title and Zou Kai collected three gold.

Romania, Korea and Poland were the only countries able to interrupt the China-US domination. Stunningly, traditional powerhouse Russia was not seen on the dais at all.

Nor was Australia, as usual, but the gymnasium is not the pool. Whatever slim medal hopes had existed were damaged irreparably when Dasha Joura injured her ankle before competition began, then jarred it during her opening floor exercise in qualification. After that day, she was fit for just one more routine, and even then smashed her nose on the uneven bars in the team final. It was not the Olympic debut of her dreams.

The Australian women finished sixth, the country's best Olympic result. Georgia Bonora and Shona Morgan were 13th and 15th respectively in the all-around, and the sole male competitor, Queensland's Sam Simpson, was 39th. Rhythmic representative Naazmi Johnston was 22nd of 24 in the preliminaries and trampolinist Ben Wilden 13th of 15.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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