Olympics
Gymnastics: Beaming Patterson earns top qualifier

By Diane Pucin
Los Angeles Times

BRUCE CHAMBERS / KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS Courtney McCool of the United States performs on the beam during qualifying rounds yesterday in Athens. She stepped off the mat in floor exercise, earning a major deduction.

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ATHENS — The happy face came after the gymnastics, when the coaches and competitors smiled and said, one after another, that things were good, mistakes were minor, nerves were nothing special and all that mattered was qualifying for the team finals.

It was the other faces that were more telling.

It was the steely smile Courtney Kupets forced herself to offer judges after her lifeless floor exercise routine was scored only a 9.4. It was the little grimace Mohini Bhardwaj allowed herself after she needed a big extra step to steady herself after a vault landing she usually sticks without a twitch.

And it was the scrunched-up eyes of Courtney McCool, who looked as if she wanted to burst into tears when she scampered away from the floor exercise mat after a major mistake. McCool sat on a chair in a corner while team captain Bhardwaj told the 16-year-old that everything would be all right tomorrow night.

If it wasn't a disaster, it also wasn't the clean, crisp, poised performance expected of the United States women's gymnastics team yesterday in the qualifying round. The U.S., defending world champion, did march safely into the team finals, though, finishing second to Romania.

Romania finished with 152.436 points. The U.S. was more than half a point behind at 151.848 and China was third at 151.085. Russia, Ukraine, France, Spain and Australia also qualified, but it appears the race for team gold will come down to the top three.

Carly Patterson, 16, of Allen, Texas, was the top qualifier for the individual all-around competition. Kupets, 18, of Gaithersburg, Md., also made it to the all-around finals, qualifying fourth, as did Kate Richardson, a UCLA junior who competes for Canada and qualified 14th.

	BRUCE CHAMBERS / KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS Courtney McCool of the United States performs on the beam during qualifying rounds yesterday in Athens. She stepped off the mat in floor exercise, earning a major deduction.

Svetlana Khorkina, the 25-year-old Russian who is defending world all-around champion, qualified fifth. She refused to comment on her performance, which included a low score of 9.137 on balance beam. But she had a score of 9.75, the best of the day, in her signature event, the uneven bars.

Patterson also qualified for the balance beam final along with Kupets. Kupets and Terin Humphrey made it to the uneven bars final, Bhardwaj sneaked into the floor exercise final and Annia Hatch, 26, of West Haven, Conn., will be in the vault final.

Patterson was the only American woman to avoid any huge mistakes and proved a point to herself when she produced a light, airy balance beam routine that was scored 9.725. Patterson had fallen off the beam twice at the Olympic trials in June.

"I trusted Carly all the way," team coordinator Martha Karolyi said. "Yes, she had a few problems earlier in the season. But in all her gymnastics career, she always was an excellent beam worker and that doesn't just fly away with a few mistakes."

Karolyi must hope that some of her other performers have similar recoveries.

McCool, 18, of Kansas City, Mo., and Humphrey, 18, of Blue Springs, Mo., both stepped off the mat in floor exercise and suffered significant deductions. Hatch, the 26-year-old Cuban defector, and Bhardwaj, the 25-year-old former UCLA star, both were put on the team for their demanding and consistent vaults. Bhardwaj had a major stumble on her landing and ended up as the lowest-scoring American with a 9.337. Hatch also had a major step out on her landing and was given a 9.387.

"On vault we were expecting a little higher scores," Karolyi said. "I am really positive the girls will be able to deliver the score we are expecting in the team final competition."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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