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Russia rules Nemov, Khorhina golden at worlds
Posted: Friday October 15, 1999 04:04 PM
TIANJIN, China (AP) -- Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov, barely recovered from injury, was crisp, flexible and flawless Friday night, winning the world championship in the floor exercises and on the pommel horse. Compatriot Svetlana Khorkina watched two Chinese set high scores on the women's uneven bars and then beat them with a daring, intricate performance including cross-handed twists upside down on the top bar. Khorkina, all-around and uneven bars champion at the last World Championships in 1997, gained the night's best score -- 9.837 -- to 9.825 for Huang Mandan and 9.812 for Ling Jie. Nemov, a member of Russia's 1996 Olympic gold medal team, said that in September, he injured his back so badly that he could hardly walk. It was decided only in Tianjin that he would compete in all events. "The injury was a very, very bad one," he added. On the floor, defending champion Nemov went last among the eight finalists and surpassed them all with sprightly flips and twists and clean landings, scoring 9.787 points. Spain's Gervasio Deferr was second with 9.750 and Xing Aowei, a member of China's gold medal team at these championships, was third with 9.737. Olympic gold medallist Ioannis Melissanidis tied with China's Yang Wei and Belarus' Vitali Roudnitski for fourth at 9.637. Nemov, who was sixth in the all-around here, 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 won the bronze with 9.750. Germany's Valeri Belenki, the pommel horse 1997 champion, placed sixth with 9.700. After collecting US$6,000 in prize money for his two victories, Nemov said, "We can go for a drink." He then did just that, stopping at a bar next to the stadium for a beer. Khorkina's strong performance followed balance beam mistakes earlier here that left Russia second in the team competition and herself 12th in the all-around event. But the 20-year-old Russian has won every World Championship and Olympic gold medal on the uneven bars since 1995. In Tianjin, she also scored 9.837 in qualifying and 9.762 in the team finals. She said these would be her last World Championships, but she had not decided whether to compete in next year's Olympics. Russia won another gold when Elena Zamolodchikova, the all-around bronze medallist here, beat 1997 vault gold medallist Simona Amanar of Romania 9.718 to 9.631 for the women's vault title. Maria Olaru, the all-around champion and leading scorer of Romania's gold medal team, took the bronze with 9.593. Olaru finished sixth on the uneven bars with 9.712. American Elise Ray was seventh with 9.687. Dong Zhen, a native of the host city of Tianjin, won the gold medal on the rings with 9.775. Hungary's Szilveszter Csollany was silver medallist for the second consecutive time, scoring 9.737. Greece's Dimosthenis Tambakos was third with 9.712. Belarus gymnast Ivan Ivankov, the 1997 all-around champion, pulled a hamstring muscle in warming up for Thursday's all-around competition. He tried to start on the high bar, fell off, restarted and then dropped out. He later withdrew from the specialty finals in rings and parallel bars. The gold medals will be decided Saturday in men's vault, parallel bars and high bar, and women's balance beam and floor exercises. Khorkina has a chance for another gold in the floor exercises, but Nemov has no more events left here.
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