Lou Retton's tumbling is already legendary. Retton has the type of pizzaze that separates her from the competition and may enable her to emerge as a potential medalist in future world competitions. The All-Around: -McNamara was the all-around winner with a 38.95. Except for some slight bobbles on BB, the Eugene, Oregon trained gymnast, with the career ambition of becoming a physician, had a night of near perfect routines. Her excellent technique, clean execution and ability to move quickly are just a few of the reasons she remains at the top of USA women's gymnastics. Her winning bar routine may have been the most outstanding performance of the night.
"McNamara and Talavera ... should give the American women an edge unlike we have ever seen before." Close on the heels of McNamara was Oregon teammate Tracee Talavera in second place with 38.80. Her consistency and overall high caliber kept her competitive with McNamara and clearly ahead of the other competitors. Leading the Chinese contingent was their oldest team member, 19-year-old Zhou Jing Jing. Placing third with a 38.30, Zhuo was a consistent and steady performer. Unlike _h er teammates, she wasn't hampered by a lack of strength. Vault: - The Americans came on strong in this first event. They dominated vault by taking the first five places. Their vaulting was good but not spectacular. Mary Lou Retton won the event with an explosive piked double front scoring of 9.75. Shari Mann took second with a full-twist on full-twist off handspring. McNamara and Talavera tied for third with a 9.60. Both used tucked brani-out. This was the weakest event for the Chinese. Their highest score was a 9.30. They had little variety in their vault selection as five of six attempted layout Tsukaharas. Each was a near replica of the others with minimal repulsion, under-rotation and a piking at the hips after attaining a split-second layout position. Uneven Bars: - The Americans were outstanding on bars with five scores at 9.60 or better. A world-class routine was performed by Julianne McNamara. The 9.90 she received did not do her justice relative to the marks given other competitors. The scoring system failed to reflect a great enough difference between her routine and those of the others. McNamara combines a variety of high difficulty moves in rapid succession with fast moving swing. She does not exploit or rely solely on any one area of expertise but rather shows complete development, in addition to excellent technique. Her routine includes: a mixed-grip stem immediate V2 pirouette, back stalders, giants, kips and a free-hip piked front with a V2 twist dismount.
"From the first event, vaulting, they (the Americans) always commanded a comfortable lead. " Marie Roethlisberger placed second with a 9.80. Her routine uses three spectacular moves: a Tkatchev (reverse hecht) vault, a blind change immediate pirouette and a tuck double flyaway dismount. This girl really swings! Amy Koopman and Talavera tied for third with 9.70. Koopman's routine included a successfully performed straddle front-flip recatch and a Delchev. Talavera twisted a nice full twisting Comaneci dismount. A difficult combination which goes by almost unnoticed is her back stalder hop to the high bar, kip out. The Chinese did not use a high level of difficulty. None of their tricks were particularly noteworthy. (One girl stood on the high bar and dismounted with a double-twisting back.) Although their technique was good, their lack of strength was evident. Balance Beam: - The Chinese proved to be extremely capable on beam with five scores of 9.55 or better. Although not USGF GYMNASTICS MAY/JUNE '82
(Left) All-around champion Julianne McNamara and runner-up, teammate Tracee Talavera (above). Balance beam was the only event the Chinese were able to win in LA.