Hail to Hartford
Serving Gymnastics Since 1956 P.O. Box 721020, Norman, OK 73070 Tel: (405) 447-9988 Fax: (405) 447-5810 Printed in USA IG Online: www.intlgymnast.com Letters to the Editor: ig@intlgymnast.com
THE VISA CHAMPIONSHIPs were held in Hartford, Conn., this year,
and I can assure you that no city has done more to promote and
execute an event than the people of Hartford. From huge banners
in almost every store to renaming the street in front of the XL Center, the competition site, Tumble Avenue, the atmosphere was
electric the entire weekend.
So were many of the performances. I was most impressed with
the junior women, hence the cover of this issue of IG. The top
three junior girls were quite amazing, showing a very high level of
difficulty and artistry surprisingly above the level of the senior
women. The gymnasts from Gym-Max, GAGE and All Olympia stood out for their
smallest details of execution. I respect this, because although these things are not reward-
ed by the current Code of Points, they show a real passion for what gymnastics can be.
I attended the U.S. Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon as a guest of inductee
Dominique Moceanu and her husband, Dr. Michael Canales. I luckily sat between
Dominique’s mother, Camelia, and Alicia Sacramone. I am always amazed and
encouraged when I hear the remarks from the former greats; they are usually deep and
very informative. This year was no exception, with the highlight being Dominique’s wonderful speech—well thought out, perfectly worded and brilliantly presented. She cleverly
chose her words and people whom she wished to thank. Making that list was a special
moment for me, because I know how difficult some parts of her life have been. But now
she is a well educated, happy mother of two and with an incredible husband, proving that
old scars can heal!
It was quite an honor and yet a little heart-wrenching when the 1980 U. S. Olympic
Teams were honored at the start of the senior women’s final. I had coached two young
men to that team, Bart Conner and Mike Wilson, and was appointed the assistant
coach for the women’s team. Then, of course, President Jimmy Carter decided that the
U.S. would boycott the Moscow Olympics, using sports in the political arena. To know
that many of these very accomplished athletes had been forced to surrender their Olympic
dreams brought back some awful memories. Nevertheless, the Hartford crowd showered
all of us with a wonderful standing ovation and an outpouring of respect and joy that certainly soothed the pain somewhat.
Also of note was the presentation of the team bronze medal to the members of the
2000 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team. Following the FIG order to strip the Chinese of
the bronze for using an underage athlete, the U.S. women were awarded the medal by the
International Olympic Committee. It appeared to be a bittersweet ceremony where some
of the young ladies were able to speak their minds. Isn’t freedom of speech wonderful?
Lastly, I would like to thank the thousands of you who followed our online coverage
from Hartford, despite the incredible challenges we had
with the Internet service there. Assisting me were Cori
Rizzo, Christian Ivanov and Dwight Normile, and
photographers Jeff Sipsey and Debbie Poe worked very
hard to bring you the beautiful images in this issue.
PUBLISHER
Paul Ziert
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Bart Conner
PUBLISHER EMERITUS
Glenn M. Sundby
EDI TOR /AR T DIREC TOR
Dwight Normile
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Nadia Comaneci
WRITERS
John Crumlish, Amanda Turner, Christian Ivanov
PHOTOGRAPHERS
CONTRIBUTORS
Anneleen Kaptein-Dekker, Amy Van Deusen
WEBSITE
John Crumlish, Amanda Turner
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Benjamin Fox
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Lynn Landis
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Dominique
Moceanu (in red)
was inducted into
the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
She is shown here
with (from left)
Svetlana Bogin-skaya, her mother,
Camelia Moceanu,
and Alicia Sacramone.
International GYMNAST (ISSN 0891-6616) magazine is published monthly except bi-monthly January/February and
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