They weren't the best, but...

As I have been going through and dubbing all my tapes to DVD, I've been enjoying a nice stroll down memory lane. And I've come up with a sub-category of gymnasts who are favorites, and not necessarily because they were the most technically correct (like Dobre) or had the most success (like Miller), but just because I really admired them for the work that they DID do. Because maybe they weren't as talented as some of the bigger names, but they pulled out every ounce of talent they had and utilized it. I have a theory/feeling that some gymnasts work hard, but not as hard as others, and just compete very well. Obviously, at the elite level, all gymnasts must work very hard, but still, I remember reading that Zmeskal said she didn't always have to work so hard in competition but could usually pull things off when in competition. I have read that about Peszek, Dantzscher and Schwikert, to name a few.


I have a soft spot for Morgan White. In all honesty, I don't think she was as good as some of the other members of the 2000 team. But she is so REAL, she is so human. You know, as much as a I love Nastia, there's something inhuman about her. Whether she did a great routine or not, she had little facial expression. She was kind of like a little gymnastics soldier. I used to print up Nastia interviews about how she got her motivation, thinking I could apply her thoughts to my own life. But...she's kind of like a machine. She says she never lost faith, and hard times are hard but they make you stronger. Those are kind of like stock answers. Really? REALLY? You felt like that? Because... it's pretty hard to accomplish all that you have done, Nastia, without doubting yourself, or wondering why you're doing this, or wondering what life would be like without gymnastics, or freaking out after making a mistake. And maybe she DID some of these things, but if so, she never let on that she did. That's kind of hard to relate to.

Morgan was not the brightest star on the team. I think she never really thought she'd be at this level. Poor thing could not vault, and yet this was the pre-specialist days, so she HAD to vault. I'll never forget her reaction at the 2000 Nationals after she fell on her Yurchenko 1.5. She looked like she was going to lose it. Like REALLY lose it. And there is something so human about that. You know, that was an Olympic year. The stakes were HUGE. This was her life. She'd be letting her family and coaches down if she didn't qualify to the team. This was the first step and she blew it. Bela is 15 feet away. And then it's just so exciting when she comes back to make the vault later on at the Trials. And in both occasions, she can't hold her emotions back. And yea, gymnasts are all supposed to be little Gina Gogeans and not feel anything, but you know, that's really hard to understand. She is the total underdog and comes back to make the team.



And then she gets to Sydney, breaks her foot, game over. I mean this was her peak time, too... I have a feeling that no matter how hard she tried, she'd never come back to be this good again. And that's just more real, I'm sorry, than some other gymnasts' stories.

The second gymnast is Courtney Kupets. I already admired her consistency and difficulty, but I really came to like her when she talked about her Achilles tendon injury. I'm sure that the pain and hardship was even greater than she let on:

But I really, REALLY admire her attitude. I have a really hard time staying positive and believing that things will work out. From what I can gather in this interview, as well as her discussing her comeback from her second Achilles injury, she must just be a positive, perky person with lots of friends, and an amazing inner strength. She took the attitude of, ok, what's done is done, we can't do anything to change it other than be positive, not feel sorry for ourselves, but to work hard with what we can do and be patient. Wow, that is some hard stuff! Easy to say, hard to do! I mean, imagine how you'd feel, being the national champion, and then getting injured AFTER prelims at the Worlds? I bet she is the kind of person who is a terrific friend and teammate. I just have loads of admiration for her.


Tabith Yim. OK, her arms are a bit jerky and she's a bit too flexed at the wrist, but I REALLY admire her goals, and that she TALKS about that at each competition. Like, that she wanted a standing ovation after her floor ex! Wow, who says that?! And her unusual choices in music. The way she dances and performs. And, how can you not adore that after her floor ex on night two of the 2002 Nationals, she jumps up and down on the floor exercise mat?! WHO does this? And, I love when she fell off beam, I think at the same Nationals, she puts her hands on her hips, pissed off, gets back up and finishes the routine. I LOVE this. It's so refreshing after the Gina Gogeans and Nastia Liukins of the world, who show you nothing, yet do extraordinary things. It's so inhuman.

Not favorites technically, but....

Do you (any of my ?? readers...if I have any?) have any gymnasts that, while technically are not your favorites, they have a compelling story that makes them kind of a favorite anyway? I was thinking about this the other day.

Like, for example, Morgan White. Back in the "dark quad" era. America needed a shining light. By late 1999, Vanessa Atler had dimmed. Morgan had some sloppy things here and there, lacked power, and IMO, did something kind of funny with her arm placement.

That said, she came a long way between 1999-2000, especially between Nationals, where she fell on vault, to Trials, where she landed her Yurchenko 1.5. THAT was a big deal for her. Morgan was so teeny and fragile and lacked a lot of confidence, I think, but to her, just getting that vault to her feet was huge. She may not have been Elise Ray that year, but just watching her "grow" and improve over that two-year period, to making the team, I found to be very touching.

And then she broke her foot.


Another one is Courtney Kupets. While I could never get into her strange choices of floor exercise music, and choreograpghy that lacked grace, MAN you have to give it to her for coming back from not one but TWO torn Achilles tendons. In an interview recently I heard on an NCAA competition, whomever the commentator was (can't remember), she noted what a true champion Kupets was, because in the interview, Kupets made note of how she actually looked forward to the comebacks from injury, and fighting her way back. Wow, who likes that?! Who looks forward to that? Who doesn't want to scream and throw a fit an an injury like that?!



Also, as a side note, Kupets needs to teach the world how to do Tchatchevs, Never seen a better one from anyone.