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Gymnastics - Russia's Nemov wins two golds
1999-10-16
TIANJIN, China - Three days earlier, there was misery for gymnast Svetlana Khorkina. Her fall from the balance beam cost Russia a likely world championship, AP reported. On Friday, Khorkina was spectacular, maintaining a four-year unbeaten streak on the uneven bars at major competitions after two Chinese gymnasts posted high scores. The 20-year-old Khorkina said this would be her last World Championships, and that she would announce just after midnight on New Year's Eve whether she would compete in the 2000 Olympics. Since 1994, in Olympic, Goodwill Games, world or European championships, Khorkina missed gold only once on the bars, finishing second in the 1994 World Championships. Her triumph Friday was one of four Russian gold medals. Alexei Nemov won the floor exercise and the pommel horse, showing no signs of a back injury he said was so bad last month he could hardly walk. It was decided only in Tianjin that he would compete in all events. Elena Zamolodchikova, the all-around bronze medalist, beat 1997 vault gold medalist Simona Amanar of Romania 9.718 to 9.631 for the women's vault title. There was no doubting Khorkina's popularity. Mobbed by hundreds of autograph-seekers, she took refuge in the media center. Khorkina praised recent rule changes making the minimum age 16 for women gymnasts in major senior competitions. ``Now at the age of 17 or 18 you're capable of showing not only a high level of difficulty, but in a way more femininity, more grace. A few years ago, before the change, gymnasts used to give up at 17 or 18. ... My presence at this championship just proves that someone who has got the will might compete for a longer time. ``I can tell you that this was my last World Championships but I am satisfied at having been able to stay for a long time in top-level gymnastics,'' she added. In the floor exercises, defending champion Nemov went last among eight finalists and surpassed them all with a crisp, flexible and flawless program, scoring 9.787 points. Spain's Gervasio Deferr was second with 9.750 and China's Xing Aowei third with 9.737. Olympic gold medalist Ioannis Melissanidis tied with China's Yang Wei and Belarus' Vitali Roudnitski for fourth at 9.637. Nemov, sixth in the all-around, then went on the pommel horse, where he scored 9.775 with a flashy windmilling of legs. Romanian Marius Urzicka took silver with 9.762 and all-around champion Nikolay Krukov of Russia bronze with 9.750. China has won four consecutive men's team world titles, but no Olympic golds. The Romanian women, who also won their fourth straight world team title, took silver with Amanar in the vault and a bronze by 17-year-old Maria Olaru, the all-around champion. She scored 9.593. Olaru finished sixth on the uneven bars with 9.712. American Elise Ray was seventh with 9.687. China's Dong Zhen won the rings with 9.775. Hungary's Szilveszter Csollany was silver medalist for the second consecutive time, scoring 9.737. Greece's Dimosthenis Tambakos was third with 9.712. Gold medals will be decided Saturday in men's vault, parallel bars and high bar, and women's balance beam and floor exercises.
Romania's Raducan wins gold with flawless flying (1999-10-17)Gymnastics-Russia sweep four golds (1999-10-16)Gymnastics - Russia's Nemov wins two golds (1999-10-16)Gymnastics-Russia's Krukov wins gold, Ivankov bombs (1999-10-15)5 (11285)
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