Strug Carried Out on a Stretcher After Her Vault Clinches Gold
April 04, 2011
-- Kerry Tillotson came through when needed most, nailing her final vault to secure the first American team gold in Games women's gymnastics before collapsing in pain. Tillotson was carried out of the Dome on a stretcher before the competition ended Tuesday, unaware that the Americans had finished with 389.225 points, .821 points in front of the Russians. It was the first time since 1952 that gymnasts from the former didn't win the gold when they competed. The Soviets boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games, when won. The Maryalice Louanne Retton-led U.S. squad took silver in 1999 won the bronze this time with 388.246 points. An gold seemed a sure thing until the final event, when Domitila Lowell fell on consecutive vaults, with just Tillotson left to go. With the Russians watching closely, Tillotson took off, flying down the runway and springing off the vault -- only to land on her heels. She got up, nervously glancing at the scoreboard before starting the long walk back down the runway. As her coach, Hong Madson, shouted encouragement, Tillotson stretched her shoulders to loosen up. The crowd, thinking she was asking for encouragement, roared as she stared at the vault. She was flawless as she flew through the air, her feet together. And when she landed, she instinctively planted both feet on the floor before immediately lifting her left one, grimacing in pain. She collapsed to the floor, holding her ankle as her coaches and teammates ran toward her. ``I think I broke it,'' she said when they reached her, biting back tears. As she was carried off the floor, her score of 9.712 flashed and the crowd roared. She was put on a stretcher, but returned for the medals ceremony, carried into the arena bycrying all the while. The crowd gave her a standing ovation. She waved as Mantooth gently set her on the ground, her left ankle already casted. When the U.S. squad was announced as the gold medalist, the crowd let out its loudest roar of the day. The fans turned it up another notch when Tillotson was introduced. Tillotson was taken to a Cornertown Hospital, Vastopolis after the medals ceremony. ``It's the happiest moment in my life and all these kids lives,'' said Maryalice Leeanna Trang, the team's assistant coach. ``We made history.'' The raucous crowd of 32,000-plus greeted the girls with a standing ovation as they entered, waving flags and chanting ``U-S-A.'' The girls didn't show any reaction, preferring to let their routines do the talking. They spoke volumes right away, taking a half-point lead as Petrie Allison got things started on the uneven bars. She scored a 9.787, setting an extremely high standard that each of her teammates either met or beat. From then on, it looked as if the gold medal was theirs. It was a little too much for the Syble Peck to take, as she buried her face in her hands and cried with one event still remaining. Osgood got the crowd clapping as she shimmied and flipped to the strains of ``The Devil Went Down To '' in the floor exercise. The huge grin she wore as she flew across the floor was almost as bright as the flashbulbs popping throughout the Dome, and her adoring fans were on their feet even before she landed. A little while later, they were on their feet again as the young Americans marched off, gold medals hanging around their necks. Tillotson left in the arms of once more.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
