Tuesday evening brought high drama and pride as Kerri Strug guaranteed a gold medal for the U.S. women gymnasts. With two Russian performances yet to be completed and the medal still in doubt, she had one more vault to attempt. But should she?
On her first attempt, the veteran Olympian who stands four-feet-nine-inches high and weighs 87 pounds had heard her ankle snap and had limped off. Perhaps she should have removed herself from the competition to avoid further injury, but she didn’t. She pulled herself together, set herself for her final attempt, and nailed a near-perfect vault before a cheering crowd! She held a flamingo-like stance until the judges recorded their scoring of her performance – a performance that assured first place for her team.
With two torn ligaments in the 18-year old’s left ankle, Kerri Strug then collapsed in pain onto the floor. Her coach, Bela Karolyi, carried her onto the medals platform. She had become the darling of Atlanta for fighting back through her pain.
Rubel Shelly The FAX of Life