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Ukraine leads mixed-pair gymnastics American pairs struggle
Posted: Sunday July 26, 1998 12:29 AM
NEW YORK (CNN/SI) -- The Ukrainian tandem of Olga Teslenko and Roman Zozulya held the lead at the halfway mark of artistic gymnastics mixed pairs competition at Nassau Coliseum, with three Russian duos and both Chinese tandems among the eight teams advancing to Sunday's finals. Meanwhile, three pairs from the United States struggled, and the Americans will not participate in the final two rounds. "I felt good about my bars routine," said two-time Olympian Dominique Dawes, who returned to amateur international competition for the first time since the Atlanta Olympic Games. "I wish I had done that for the individual competition." A fall by Dawes on balance beam in the second round proved costly, as she and partner Chainey Umphrey tallied a 37.350, missing the cut-off for the finals by .075. "I've had trouble with that combination," said Dawes of the point of her routine when she slipped off the beam. "I definitely need to work on that. I'm viewing my gymnastics from a different perspective now. I'm older, and I have to be wiser about my gymnastics, not as emotional." Hot on the heels of the Ukrainian tandem is a pair of world champions from Russia, Svetlana Khorkina and Aleksei Nemov, who scored a 38.575 to trail the front-runners by .075. In third at the halfway point is the Chinese team of Meng Fei and Lu Yufu at 38.500. Sunday's finals will see the two-person teams start with a clean slate, competing two events and combining their totals for the final standings. Gymnastics at the Goodwill Games concludes Sunday evening with a gala exhibition featuring the top gymnasts from the 1998 Goodwill Games.
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