A Look Back in Time (III)

Before anything else is to be said, I must direct you to the wonderful tribute the Gymblog featured on Miss Terin Humphrey. God I miss her. (sob)

Now, then…

The Real All-Around Champion of the 1992 Olympic Games

Who was it? Shannon Miller or Tatiana Gutsu?

• Those who support Gutsu say that it came down to difficulty between her and Miller. Gutsu simply had more difficulty in her routines. Plus, Miller wobbled on beam and the judges “blatantly” ignored that.
• Those who support Miller point out that the judges also “blatantly” ignored Gutsu’s stumble on floor exercise and slightly uglier vault. They also bring up that old hooey about the Soviet camp “lying” to get Gutsu into the lineup ahead of teammate Roza Galieva. There are those who say that if Galieva had competed instead, as was ‘fair’, Miller would have had a better chance of winning hands down. (So sad for Roza…first she loses her well-earned spot and then people undermine her abilities…)

Now I watched Miller’s fateful vault(s), and I was so awed:

Shannon Miller, 1992 Olympics all-around (both vaults)

It ruined Gutsu’s vault for me…

Tatiana Gutsu, 1992 Olympics all-around (second vault)

Yes, back in the day they did two vaults, and the higher score counted. (Or were they averaged? Can’t remember)

I think that, all things considered, the judging was dodgy anyway, and no matter which girl won the day, Miller or Gutsu, people would be carping and complaining about it for years to come. The question is, who would they carp and complain about less?

Now a couple of Code of Points experts (known as “armchair judges” to sarcastic people) on the gymnastics messageboards sat down and analyzed the routines from Barcelona. (I assume they judged with the Code of Points used in 1992.) Much to my (and their) surprise, they ended up giving the gold to Lavinia Miloşovici.  But that won’t settle the Miller vs. Gutsu argument…it then morphs into a Miller vs. Gutsu vs. Miloşovici argument.

OH WAIT I KNOW!

Let’s hand the 1992 all-around gold to Svetlana Boguinskaya and call it a day.