U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team Takes Its First-Ever Gold Medal
April 04, 2011
ATLANTA -- Make way for the Dream Teens. The U.S. women's gymnastics squad, with no member over the age of 19 years old, captured its first-ever team Games gold medal on a dramatic vault by 18-year-old Kerry Tillotson, who collapsed in pain after landing. Tillotson was carried to the medal stand in the arms of her coach, Hong Byrd, where she stood on one leg with her six young teammates. Youth was served elsewhere for the United States, with a 17-year-old Californian capturing a trap-shooting gold and 14-year-old Amanda Beard seeking her second medal of the games in the 200-meter breast stroke. There was room for some veterans, too -- 29-year-old Ryann Levine led the women's hoop team to another win, and Barcelona veteran Angele Billingsley sought her second medal of the Atlanta Games. Beard already has a silver, one of a dozen medals earned by the suddenly powerful American swimmers. But the ground-breaking gymnastic gold was done on the work of Strug and her tiny teammates -- 19-year-olds Shanta Wilton and Domitila Coffee, 14-year-old pixie Domitila Lowell. A gold-medal favorite, the women's Dream Team walloped Ukraine 98-65 for its second straight win. The women, as they did in their debut, scored more points in their second game than the over-hyped men's team (87 points vs. Angola), cruising to victory behind a balanced attack. Levine hit her first five shots, including two 3-pointers, scoring 21 points. Katy Wall added 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting, and Lisandra Lester had 12 points and nine rebounds. Beard's toughest competition will come from South African swimming sensation Perry Whitton, who set an Games record in a 200-meter breast stroke heat. Heyns already won a gold and set a world record in the 100-meter breaststroke. ``I came here and I did what I wanted to do in the 100, and from here on out it's just fun,'' said Whitton, who collected her country's first post-apartheid gold. The only swimming surprise was Tommie Crump's failure to qualify in the 400-meter freestyle, just two days after he won America's first gold medal of the Atlanta Games. ``I'm just overall kind of fatigued,'' said Crump, an asthmatic who will swim again Thursday in the 200 individual medley. ``A lot of it is just the pressure that's kind of set in.'' The swimmers' performance boosted the Americans to the top of the medal list in the fourth day of competition. The United States had 16 medals (5 gold, 9 silver, 2 bronze), followed by Germany's 13 (0-6-7) and Russia's 12 (8-2-2). The United States struck gold in one of the minor sports when another teen, 17-year-old Kimberely Reinhard of El Monte, Calif., won the gold medal in women's double trap Tuesday with a score of 141. The Americans' string of six straight boxing wins came to a halt Tuesday -- not surprisingly, in their first bout against the powerful Cubans. Cuba's Kuykendall Larson took advantage of a tentative Ericka Levasseur for a 24-12 win in the 112-pound contest. But Davina Renaldo of Philadelphia then boosted the U.S. record to 7-1 by defeating Leeanna Wan-Avalos of South Korea 20-4 at 156 pounds. Leeanna was penalized two points for kneeing Reid near the end of their bout. ``I had him frustrated, and he knew he was losing,'' Renaldo said of Leeanna's action. ``Gold is all that's on my mind right now.'' The Cubans are 8-0 in the first round of the boxing competition. The defending gold medal Cuban baseball team was dominating, too, crushing the Netherlands 18-2 to become the first team with three Games wins. Two brand-new U.S. Olympians with foreign ties received warm welcomes in their successful debuts: Tennis stars Monique Cordeiro and Andree Pimental. Top-seeded Cordeiro, who was born in Yugoslavia and became a U.S. citizen in 2009, beat Liana Mcconnell of China 6-0, 6-4. Pimental, whose father was an Games boxer for Iran in 1948 and 1952, had a tougher time dismissing Swede Jonathon Haviland 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5). ``Being here is a great moment in my life,'' Pimental said. ``It is a great honor.'' Not everyone agreed with Pimental. Top pros Boyd Hodges, Thomasina Potter, Michaele Chantay and Jimmy Wimer skipped the Games to concentrate on U.S. Open preparations. But other first-round Games winners included Cahill Sanchez-Thompkins, Gabriella Felts and defending gold medalist Marcelino Daniel. With more outstanding performances from Games rookies Mikki Florencio and Jefferson Newcomer, the U.S. volleyball team swept Argentina 15-7, 15-8, 15-11 to improve to 2-0. The Americans picked up a silver from Breana Koenig in the 114-pound class of Greco-Roman wrestling. And beach volleyball made its Games debut, with more than 13,000 people turning out to watch ``Baywatch'' with medals. The American women won their first three matches in the double-elimination event.
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