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About the '91 Worlds...

Men's Team- Some people hit, some didn't. Scores were fair, Soviets dominated. Kroll pulled through with no falls.

Women's Team- Soviets hit everything. Lysenko best in compulsories and optionals. U.S. begged its way to second behind coaching antics of Bela Khomeini and Kim got most undeserved 10 since her last undeserved 10. Romania was tossed down to third, but was just ultra cool thanks to Eugenia Popa and Vanda Hadarean. Pasca was just plain stinky. The Chinese, the ultimate 2 event team, did what it could on the other 2 events to place 4th. Bo don't know floor. (8.687)

Men's AA- Some people hit, some didn't. Scores were fair, Soviets dominated. Kroll was 18 for 18.

Women's AA- The Horror, the Horror. If you have a weak stomach, read no further. No, the best did not win. Actually, the best was not even in the top 10. Lysenko, the best gymnast in prelims (although she qualified as the 3rd Soviet) started off with a wildly innovative yet superbly controlled bars performance for a 9.937, which was not fair given the scores awarded later. Boguinskaia, leader after prelims, walked back and forth across beam with flat feet for 9.912. The little bitch Zmeskal led after one rotation with her ugly Yurchenko full. Elsewhere, Guitsu tumbled her brains out (9.912) and Bontas did the same for 9.95. Mitova dazzled on floor with superior tumbling and wild dance for 9.887. Gee, don't theBulgarians always get the scoring breaks? In rotation 2, Zmeskal did her usual bar routine with Onodi-low releases, form break on her Gienger, no swing, and an unstuck landing for 9.937. The same score given earlier to Lysenko for the bar routine of the night. Maybe that explains Lysenko's sudden demise. She did an incredible beam exercise only to miss a foot on her dismount takeoff, and face it. Either she just said "fuck it,I'II do the American Cup thing" or she was irritated by Shannon Miller's obnoxious floor music in the background. Either way, the best just took herself out of the running. Boguinskaia was gnarly on floor for 9.95, while Gutsu and Bontas had trouble on vault (9.875). It must be noted that Gutsu chucked a double twistingYurchenko.

In the next rotation, Zmeskal kept the lead with her normal beam exercise. You know, two low layouts, a gym-acro series with a pause in the middle, low unsplit leaps, and a wobble on her gainer (9.962). Boguinskaia stuck a gorgeous layout full on vault (utmost in height) for the same score. Lysenko lacked her usual spark on floor (its hard when you have a cast on one leg) for 9.937. Bontas scored over 9.9 on bars (I'm serious), and Gutsu got screwed again on bars(9.937), while Pasca screwed the beam to hold on to 6th place.

The final rotation was hardly a climax, as we all knew what was coming, and it frightened us. Boguinskaia did a super-clean, super-extended bars set for a 9.912. The silver was hers, they weren't about to give her the gold. Sure enough, despite discouraging screams of "face it" and "break your neck", icky Zmeskal hit her tumbling well enough (cowboyed form and unpointed toes) for a 9.987. Yes 9.987. She outscored all competitors on floor. Bontas hit beam to stay in 3rd, then went to join her teammates in the stands. Lysenko sailed gorgeous double twisting Yurchenkos en route to 13th. Mitova got marked way too low on beam and got booted to 16th place. The judging was strange. It appeared that if the gymnast was not from one of the top 3 teams, then the judges threw out scores regardless of the quality of the performance. Explain to me De Tena getting merely 9.825 after absolutely rocking her wild bars set. Explain Stella Umeh's 9.812 for a super Yurchenko-full. Maja Hristova, really tumbled (double layout, 2 whips immediate double tuck, tucked full-in) and received 9.862 despite doing the highest double back in history. Oh, by the way, Rueda was there.

Men's EF- Poor Wecker...poor, poor Wecker. Neil Thomas delighted on floor, but he's British. Zoltan Supola showed off a bit on high bar. Scherbo sailed a lovely Yurchenko double-full. Li Jing simplified P-Bars, while Kroll fell off pommels (twice). Iketani was indecisive.

Women's EF- Kim Guang Suk...wow, quite a change from '89. Was Chusovitina robbed of her vault title or is it us? Mitova won floor outright, but ended up sitting in 6th place. After realizing what a tragic mistake was made in the vault competition, the judges tried to appease Chusovitina by handing her the floor title. Yang Bo, mission denied, you don't need to prove yourself. Eva Rueda was nowhere to be seen.