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``When you walk onto the floor the first day, everything looks fine,'' Nemov said. ``But today I was like an automaton. I was performing like an automaton. I could fall at any moment, that was how I felt.''
He sure didn't look like it. His only stumble of the night came on the vault, when he landed short and had to take a step forward to keep from falling on his face. Still, the judges gave him a 9.65, prompting one fan to yell, ``Just give Nemov the gold now!''
After he finished his parallel bars, his last routine, Nemov appeared to be holding back tears as he waved to the cheering crowd. He hugged his coach and then sat down to wait out Yang, who needed a 9.863 on the pommel horse to pass Nemov.
Yang came through with a solid routine, punching the air in triumph and exchanging high-fives with his coach when he finished. But he earned a 9.75, only enough for the silver.
Ivan Ivankov, favored in 1996 until he tore his Achilles tendon two weeks before the Atlanta Olympics, finished fourth.
``I'm very proud and very satisfied with myself,'' Yang said. ``Even though he beat me, I'm very happy.''
So is Wilson. But not for the same reasons.
``I'm going to go drink some beers with my parents. I'm done,'' he said. ``Now I don't have to do any gymnastics for four days.''
The usually rock-solid gym rat has been out of sync since the games began. He faltered during the team competition, as the United States finished fifth.
He climbed as high as third after one of the best vaults of the night. He flew high over the horse, somersaulting and then slammed his legs into the mat with a resounding THUD!
He took a little hop, but the vault was spectacular and he knew it, slapping his thighs in satisfaction.
But Wilson stumbled back on the dismount of his high bar, and the 9.525 dropped him all the way to seventh.
He moved back into contention with a solid floor routine, giving the crowd a little wave as he came off the floor. He needed better than a 9.8 on his last routine, the pommel horse, and he didn't even come close, scoring a 9.587.
The original results had Wilson in eighth place, but a protest over the start value of his pommel horse routine boosted him two places.
``I knew it was in the 9.8 range, but I've never scored a 9.8 in my life,'' Wilson said. ``So, whatever.''
Wilson still has a chance for the medals in the event finals, where he'll compete in the vault.
Nemov has a chance to take home more hardware, too. His Olympic exploits will make for great bedtime stories someday.
``I have not seen my son yet, so I cannot give you any impressions,'' Nemov said when asked how he'll describe this day to young Alexei. ``I live in the moment. When he grows up, come and see me and we'll talk together to my son.''
- AP
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