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Betty Okino earned the 1990 beam champion title with a score of 9.825. the senior status in order to gain experience for the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Olympic Games. 'This competition is exciting because the older ones meet the younger ones for the first time," said coach Karolyi. "If there's no competition then this sport will be dead. I'm creating that new generation and the overall winner will be a stronger program." Karolyi, along with his wife, Martha, and Stormy Eaton will coach the U.S. at the 1990 Goodwill Games and Kim will lead the u.s. team. Other Goodwill Games team members include Karolyi's Elizabeth Okino, Amy Scherr and Erica Stokes and the Desert Devils' Sandy Woolsey who is coached by Eaton. Johnson, who was leading over Zmeskal after the compulsory round of competition, fell off beam during 22
optionals on a flip flop, layout, layout and had problems with her new optional floor routine which dropped her into third place overall with a score of 76.970. ''I'm disappointed with optionals," said Johnson. "But a month ago I wasn't even going to compete so I'm happy I got through it." Because the Goodwill Games team is selected by the top five optional scores, Brandy did not qualify to the team. However, Johnson, coached by Kevin and Rita Brown, has made a great comeback from her performance at the 1990 McDonald's American Cup where she finished 22nd allaround, to finish third at the Championships. The biggest surprise of the Championships was the silver medalist-15-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Okino from Karolyi's.
"I thought Kim would win," said Bela Karolyi. "But the biggest surprise is Betty. She did outstanding. She wasn't even on the national team last year as a junior ... tremendous progress." Elizabeth, who is known as Betty, came to Karolyi's in November 1989 from Illinois Gymnastics Institute, coached by Todd Gardiner. The reason? 'When I was 7-years-old I saw Mary Lou on TV and I wanted to be like that, too," said Betty. She scored a 77.00 allaround, only .42 behind Zmeskal. "My goal was to place in the top four," said Okino. Okino is looking forward to her grandma moving down to Texas in September and her family to follow shortly after. Currently she is living with another Karolyi teammate, Erica Stokes, who placed fourth in the all-
around only.47 behind Johnson. Stokes, 14, who just won the Athens Cup in Athens, Greece, pulled herself up from fifth place after compulsories to fourth, a familiar placing since that's what she finished last year at the Junior National Championships. ''I'm proud of Erica," said Karolyi. "But she can do better." Before the competition Karolyi said of Erica, "She is a strong and overall good performer. She has great coordination, rhythm and swing. She reminds me of Julianne McNamara." Stokes' hometown is Olathe, Kan., however her parents moved with her to Houston, Texas, where she trains with Bela and Martha Karolyi. Stokes said that her weakness is floor bu tit's getting better. World Championships
USA GYMNASTICS September/October 1990
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